Wanaka - Day 3 - Cardrona

Snowboarding day... this will be interesting.

Jeff is going up the mountain with a veteran at least, so should be able to get some decent training. Another plus: its the perfect day for it (what's new). Sun is shining and the snow is powdery. Let's get cracking.

Cardrona is only about 3o mins from Wanaka. We all head up the mountain following the long procession of cars snaking up the zig-zag track. Park the car, figure out how many layers of clothes to go with and aim for the beginner's area.
3 runs later, with A LOT of time spent on the ass and Jeff is already shedding layers of clothes. Full body sweat on, mostly due to how hard he's working in not killing himself, and the associated nerves.

It's time to head for a proper run. First trick is getting on the damn chair-lift. The whole "skating" with the snowboard attached to one foot is supremely awkward. Jeff's exit off the chair-lift is less than graceful. An expected stack and snide comment from the chair-lift operator. Brilliant.

Ok, we've made it this far, let' see if we can make it down the mountain alive.
Caleb dumps all the last minute advice down on Jeff and away we go. Many, many stacks later and Jeff is concerned his ass may actually fall off at this point, making it a medical first. But he makes it down without killing himself or any of the many long trains of 3 year olds who are cruising past with style lead by their instructors.

Let's do it again...

Second time down, much improvement, less stacking, same amount of packing it though. Its so easy to get speed on the mountain, even on the beginner runs. Switching directions is still resulting in lots of speed, and lots of scare.
A quick break, take stock. Ok, let's go again. Caleb burns off into the distance this time. No hand-holding. A good run, but geez everything is starting to hurt now.
One more time and things are starting to feel natural. But now the cement-mixer ankle is complaining. This could be time-of-death here.

Jeff decides to grab a bean-bag in the sun, watch the pros go at it (there was a competition yesterday and all the pros are still hanging around). Some of the tricks are insane. Like, death-on-a-stick if you get that wrong. Incredible.
Caleb drags his butt of the mountain and we get the bus back down. We'll take stock of the injuries later. A big box ticked there. Finally did some "snow stuff".

Meanwhile, the girls hop on the Gondola to the top of the mountain to check the view and have a coffee. They get to the top, photograph the views and snow, watch the other skiers and snow boarders for a bit. The only cafe up the top appears to be a champagne bar and weirdly isn't open at 8:30am. They hop back on the Gondola and settle for a coffee and scone at the hectic cafeteria.

The girls then head back down the hill to town to check out Puzzle World. They wander around the museum part, which is a bunch of optical illusion and similar type things. Some pretty cool stuff in there. They head into the maze and get a little bit lost but mostly complete it and make their way out. Having worked up an appetite they head back to the food trucks from yesterday and grab a couple of burritos.

The boys are now all snowed out so the girls head back over to the ski fields to collect them. Jeff is limping, as expected (that damn ankle!). We enjoy a nice home cooked meal of lamb chops (when in NZ) and delicious winter veggies (needed) and have a low key night ready for our next adventure tomorrow.