Snow!

We have arrived in Queenstown last Sunday. We had been watching the weather forecasts suspiciously, because it kept on saying that a second major cold front would hit the country, and a lot of districts got severe weather warnings. However, our trip through Canterbury passed flawless. The trouble came when we entered Otago. Lake Tekapo was completely snowed under, and the drive went pretty slowly. When we entered Omarama, we heard that the Lindis Pass was closed. Of course, this is the one we had to take to get to Queenstown. We stopped for a while, had a little bit to eat, but after an hour the big sign still gave the same message: "Lindis Pass closed". Bummer!

However, Alex and me are of course not born yesterday, so eventually we just ignored the sign and figured that with our big white 4WD Hilux, we might just make it. And lo and behold! As usual, kiwis had been just a slight bit overcautious, because there was no real reason why we couldn't get through the pass unharmed. We took it nice and easy and got out on the other side in one piece. Hurray! It was a great feeling to see the road we usually take completely covered in snow. Finally the long-expected white carpet! The wind was playing around on the ridges and we saw more than a few little whirlwinds. Our legs started itching for the snow and the newly bought snowboard and skis.

The drive had been long and we enjoyed a relaxing night in the same hotel we stayed at before. On Monday - yesterday - we went for a first ride in the very snowy mountains, and our choice fell on Coronet Peak, because it has such nice beginners slopes. I strapped George (which is how I baptized my precious new Burton snowboard) to my Burton-booted feet and had a great time just getting the hang of it once more. What a great feeling! Everybody has been waiting for this snow for so long, and now it is finally here it is here in big amounts. Delicious!

Today the mountains were closed because of the severe weather so that means that tomorrow will be great, with fresh new carpets to ride on. Yaaaay :-).

In the mean time, I obviously haven't stopped searching for a job, but that has still not been successful. I have contacted just about every architects office in the area without answer (except for the 2 or 3 few) so the time has come to just go walk in and ask what the deal is. If that doesn't work out, I'll have no choice but to resort to what the friendly people at the job agencies have for me. Sad but true.
But hey, let's not go dark over it. We'll see what happens soon!