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Mental-ness on Mt. Hutt
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 84 Viewers|  jamiesmentaltriptoaustralia 2009-05-30 02:28:24 Publish:My Mum reckons I'm getting fat! Can you believe it?! Moving on, I arrived at Christchurch airport at about ten at night on the 28th of May where I was supposed to be meeting John Day whos family I was going to be staying with while I was in Christchurch. I'd been put in touch with him by my great-aunt and uncle who knew him from back in the UK. They were originally from England but had moved to New Zealand quite a few years ago and they were happy to let me stay for a few nights which was pretty cool. I met John and his son Jethro and they took me back to the house where I met John's wife Stephanie and their other three kids: John-Luke, Felicity and Hilary. I say "kids", actually three of them were older than me. They were all a good laugh and I had a great time with them while I was there. I'd heard that you could ski in New Zealand's south island so I was pretty keen to do that so I found a company on the internet who organised trips to the ski region nearby. I rang them up and they told me they could sort out my equipment hire, transport and lift pass for NZ$180 which seemed like a pretty good deal and they said that I could go down to the office that afternoon to get my boots and skis sorted. When I got there they asked me the usual questions about how tall/heavy I was and then they asked me if I was beginner, intermediate or advanced. In a fit of arrogance I told them I was advanced and was rewarded with a pair of racing skis that were as tall as me and nearly as heavy. I've been skiing for seven years but I've always used ultra-light carvers so a pair of dead straight six foot planks would take a while to get used to, they were without a doubt the most unforgiving skis I've ever used. With my skis I can cruise along without really concentrating and just turn by leaning, safe in the knowledge that any bumps will be absorbed comfortably. But with these the slightest drop in concentration would put you face-first into a tree, and every turn needed to be executed perfectly or the backs of the skis would stick in the snow. The skiing was good in general but it was a shame that there were only two or three runs open. The views were incredible but of course I could only look at them while I was standing still or I'd lose control and be killed, I did manage to get some nice photos though. Incidentally, I think New Zealand may be the only place where you can ski with a view of the sea. The first hour or so was really frustrating but when I finally got the hang of it... good grief. They were blindingly fast and the edges were razor sharp so I could take on the most icy slopes without losing grip once. It was getting to be a bit too much fun and I made the mistake of starting to relax, not noticing a tiny bump up ahead... and once again I had a mouth full of snow. By the end of the day I was loving my skis but unfortunately I couldn't say the same for the boots. For some reason the company had run out of modern full buckle boots so my "advanced" skis were going to have to be teamed with a pair of "my-first-ski-boots" made in 1976. By Fisher Price. Probably. There was so much wrong with them that it's hard to know where to begin. But I'll start with comfort. Ski boots are always uncomfortable, they have to keep your ankle rigid, but these truly were the work of Beelzebub himself. They were old style rear-entry type boots which is a stupid system because you can only tighten them in two places so, while my ankle felt like it was set in concrete, the rest of my foot could move freely. Tightening the other control had an effect similar to having a twenty stone man jump on my toes. While wearing football boots. It made the skis even harder to control and I had to stop twice because my foot felt like it was going to fall off. Overall though it was a really good day. I'll always love skiing, even with dodgy boots, and I definitely felt like I got my money's worth. The next day was Sunday and I was due to leave at four in the afternoon. But before then I was going to church with the Days and somehow I'd managed to get myself into the band for the service. I'd been to watch them practice on the Friday night and when I mentioned that I played guitar they asked if I wanted to have a go that Sunday. I've found consistently during this trip that if someone asks you if you want to do something, however random, it's best just to say "sure, why not". I think that church bands must surely be the same the world over because this lot reminded me so much of playing at Carpenters back at home. Even the song choices were pretty similar. The service I was playing at was one of two that happen at the same time, the other one being the more traditional one that happens in the main church building. I really enjoyed it, although I got a few funny looks from the congregation having never even been there before, and it was nice to be able to play guitar again. I'm heading back to Melbourne now to do some more work for WSP. As I've said before, it's not the most interesting work in the world but I'm pretty lucky to have a job at all in the circumstances, and hopefully I will get to leave the photocopier behind and get out on site again. I don't really understand the scientific part of what we're doing so I tend to just walk around wearing a serious expression and pointing at things, but it's still pretty cool and I get to do some off road driving sometimes. This really is the final leg of my trip. In a way I'd like to keep going but I really need to get home at some point and I've now booked my flight back from Melbourne for June 27th. I'll be sad to finish but I am looking forward to getting back really. It's been a great trip but all good things must come to an end. And besides, I need to start going running at Philips Hill woods again because apparantly I've got to lose weight... Comments: Hi Jamie Comments: Hi Jamie. Do please keep writing. I love coming to the computer to chuckle over your latest exploits. Incidentally the latest news I can find is 30th May, so what is hapenning now? Enjoy the last couple of weeks Love Granny Comments: Thanks for the comment on our blog Jamie. Good to see a nice black and white, tell it like it is response. People really are getting their knickers in a twist over that post. They really need to lighten up a bit. Google: Ski Boots Rear Entry Mental-ness on Mt. Hutt ski boots hire |
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