Happy Winter Solstice!!

Hello, well we’re well and truly into winter here in Wanaka!! It’s been hitting -7 and we’ve even had a sprinkling of the white stuff in the town, which doesn’t normally happen. Luckily enough it tends to just stick up the mountain! I’ve still been having lots of fun. Today is Sunday 21st June so officially the shortest day for us lot in the Southern Hemisphere.

Feels like it’s been ages since my last update! I’ll have to try and remember what I’ve been up to. I’m getting settled and knowing what I’m doing here in the motel, I bum about the town most days with my mad crazy friends. We’ve had more parties, the latest one last Saturday night was ‘Anything but Clothes’
I dressed myself up in black bin bags with yellow tape and looked like a bumble bee!! Melissa made her costume out of ‘adult’ magazines!! We had two dressed up in backpacks, nappies, shower curtains. It was great fun! Melissa had a bit of a mishap and had her fingers slammed in the door...twice. She’s been back and forth to the medical centre to have it re bandaged. I think she had damaged the nerve endings and the tip of one was split right open. We did our own first aid by sticking a pin in it to remove the blood but it got infected so she ended up going to get proper treatment!! OW!! As you can see we looked really concerned about her while attempting to give drunken first aid!!





On Wednesday last week Melissa, Victoria and I hitch hiked to Queenstown, I woke up fairly early so we could get a few hours there. We met at Kai, we HAD to have a coffee as it was -5...yes minus ahh!! It was white outside too, I was getting a few texts walking down the road and had to stop as I felt like my fingers were going to fall off!! The fastest way to get to QT is over the Cardrona pass, so we did. Didn’t take long before we got a lift, the guy was only going as far as Cardrona so we had to thumbs up there, We played about in the snow there for a while as there wasn’t many cars coming through. Hitching on that road when it was in poor condition wasn’t the best idea!! We managed though, a car was coming through and said we were handy as they wanted weight in the back to save sliding too much!! Couple of hairy moments and slidey slides, but we made it....phew!! Headed off to White Tiger (Tattoo Shop). I have been wanting a Phoenix tattooed on me to mark the beginning of a new life and to show that I had risen from my crap life back home and rose from the ashes!! It’s gorgeous but still healing so no pics yet! I can’t wait until summer so I can show it off in my bikini!!

We bummed about for a bit with our friend Denis who is staying in Queenstown for the season and then hitched back, It didn’t take too long, Vic had made up a sign and we started walking. A yute passed with Wanaka Golf Club written on the side, PERFECT!! We got a ride all the way back, this time we took the longer main road as it was likely the Cardrona pass was now impassable! We had such a laugh that day and it’s nice to get out of Wanaka for a few hours. QT is nice enough but not really my cup of tea! Nice to head through for the day.

The next day we decided it would be a good idea to make a beanie so Melissa has been teaching us how to crochet, I keep getting it wrong and have to unravel it and start again!! I might change my mind and make leg warmers instead!! We were all laughing as one day we’re having a crazy mad party, then hitch hiking and getting tattoo’s then we are doing crochet haha!!

I’ve been getting itchy feet again and panning in my head what to do once the season is over, I have decided in April to head to The Cook Islands and stay on a paradise island in the deep pacific for a week or two before heading over to Oz. I just need to try and sus out where to go from October to April in NZ first!! My plans may change totally before then but I always like to have something to look forward to!
I only have 5 more sleeps now until the mountain opens for crazy boarders. I’m getting rather excited!! Wanaka’s population is likely to double in the next couple of weeks!!

It’s really funny as they have a mock Christmas here!! My friends in the party house have their Christmas tree up, well it’s more like a branch from a tree that Melissa and Victoria found in the Forest! There’s a couple of cafe’s have Happy Christmas signs up and advertising Christmas dinners!! We’re having a Christmas Party this weekend and have organised secret santa’s!! The rule is it has to be found or made!!

I can’t remember if I’ve already mentioned previously just how dark it is here at night, I really need a head torch to be able to get home, I try to follow the line in the middle of the road but the amount of times I’ve walked into traffic cones or ditches is hilarious! It’s not too bad if the moons out but if it’s not and it’s cloudy you might as well walk with your eyes closed!! It’s also difficult if the stars are out as it’s so utterly stunning you walk looking up the way so you end up falling over or walking into things again haha!! I still love stepping out of the motel and walking into town, I’ll never ever get over the view!! When it’s a clear day words just can’t describe how stunning it is, you really have to see it to believe it!

Last night (Saturday) I headed to the party house, which were recovering from Friday and being boring, I drank my wine before heading down to party at Red Rock, my friend Alisha came and picked me up and I met up with some friends who I stayed in the hostel with. I also bumped into a few people I know, had a few games of pool and it was great to catch up with everyone. I had an absolute hoot, apparently you burn up calories by laughing, in that case I really should be a size 0 haha!! It really only is in New Zealand you can get away with wearing your sheepskin slippers out to a club!! No one cares, it’s just fantastic, no one judges anyone for any reason. Everyone smiles and is genuinely happy. It’s a tonic!! My friend dropped me off once we had had enough, I got in and SKYPED my parents.....ooops. Don’t do that when yer pished!! I also tried to get the fire going, burnt my hand from that. Tried to cook food and just made a mess and burnt everything haha!! Some things never change!

That’s about it for now, don’t really have any plans for the coming week, I may try and walk up Mt Iron every day to get my fitness up for Friday!! There’s no way I will last a whole day boarding!!

The next time I update my blog I should be bursting with excitement about boarding up at Cardrona!!

Catch ya’s soon!!

Lynners x

June in Wanaka!!!

Well it’s been a while so about time I updated you!! I’ve been living in my new pad since Tuesday and it’s been fantastic!!

I moved out of the Hostel on Friday and it was fantastic!! I didn’t have to work on my last day so I had a lie in and chilled out, I was going to stay on Victoria’s sofa but ended up hooking up with Melissa and stayed at hers as her flatmates were away for the weekend. I’m sure we went out and had lots of drinkies on the Friday but it seems like so long ago now I can’t remember, I’m sure we had lots of giggles!! We headed out for a walk to the recycling centre on the Saturday, it was a lovely day. We were looking for outfits to make our clothes for Sunday’s Queens party!! Our friend Patrick had been out shooting pigs so Melissa went to help skin them up, we were still finishing off the venison stew from the kill he made earlier that week. Melissa cooked it up and it was delicious!! Back to the olden days here!!

Sunday arrived and it was all very exciting, we spent the day finishing off or costumes for the party and getting the wines and spirits in!!

Melissa and I got ready over at her house, Rachel came over to help us and have a drink and DJ came over too so he could just scoff our drink!! We finally headed over and it started off quite tame but once the drinks flowed it was a riot all the way!! Lots of sore heads and piecing together the night the next morning!! I think we just chilled out that day watching movies and crashing out of the sofa. I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 nights between moving out the hostel and into my new place. I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time!! My stomach was aching with the giggles!! I need to sus out how to sort out the pictures on the blog and I’ll set some up for you to see!!

Well Tuesday came and Laurens came round to pick me up from Victoria’s, we got up to the Motel and unpacked our stuff, it was great to hang up clothes and put them in drawers and not have to deal with trying to find them in a cage under the bed!! Richard showed us around and gave us some of the ropes. He left at 5 so all we had to do was take the phone into the living room and listen out for the bell incase anyone wanted a room. Locked the place up at 9pm and ended up having an early night. I have a king size bed with an electric blanket, which is needed as it’s 0 degrees at night and there is no heating in the back rooms!! There is a wicked log fire in the living room so it’s pretty sweet!

We both got up early in the morning and Andrea gave us a low down on the job too.
After that I headed off to Kai for a catch up with my friends and a coffee. I’ve pretty much done that every day, Kai is fantastic, there’s always someone you know there. It’s the hub of Wanaka!! It’s a 10-15 minute walk from where I live to downtown Wanaka and the scenery is stunning all the way. I was walking home listening to my music and just burst into tears at how beautiful the place was. The lake was still, sun was shining down although it was around 5 deg and the mountains that rose up from the lake are huge and snow capped. It’s such a wonderful place and I can’t believe how lucky I am. I must have done something good in my life and I’m being repaid for it!!

Today I got up for 8.30am to unlock reception and switch everything on and once the owners came in I left them to it and went for a shower, I left Laurens lying in his bed. We can just take it in turns to open up and get every other day as a lie in. I headed out at 11 to meet Rachel and Melissa for a coffee at Kai, shock, I’m just about moving in there haha.

Just as we got our coffee Patrick texted to ask if we fancied heading out with him and Alex on his boat out on Lake Wanaka, did I need to think twice, the word wake boarding was also mentioned so I got really excited!! We went to Melissa’s to wait to be picked up, I wanted to sit in the boat that was on tow but they wouldn’t let me haha!!

We got to an empty park of the lake and they got the boat in, Melissa and I changed into our wetsuits and I began to think, what the hell am I doing, never wake boarded before and it was around 8 degrees and snowy mountains all around us. The four of us had an absolute hoot! Patrick dislocated his shoulder a couple of weeks ago from wake boarding so he stuck to riding the boat! Alex went first, he knows his stuff and was enjoying it. Melissa went in next, she had done it a couple of times before but years ago!! She was fantastic though! My turn next, I had to get them to push me in as I didn’t fancy flinging myself in the cold water!! This was my first time, Alex was a great coach and explained everything well, Patrick was shit hot at being the captain and Melissa was screaming plenty of encouragement and waving the camera at me!! Oh dear!!

When we were ready we had to shout ‘HIT IT’ off we went and off I went haha, didn’t even manage to stand up. Back for round two, I managed to get up but didn’t have the force to straighten up so I was butt surfing haha then fell in!! Next time I got up and stayed on for a good wee while and then again woowoo. Every time I got bits of extra advice and it slotted into place!! By this time though my hands were frozen and I could barely hold onto the rope!! I hopped back in the boat and let Alex go play again, he made it look far too easy!! The lake was perfect for it, totally still and the back drop was just snow capped mountains all round. What a bloody fantastic if not my best day on my travels yet! I love trying out new stuff and to do it with such fab people made it even better!! Once we had thawed out we headed back to Alex’s pad and we all jumped in the hot tub, it was a cloudless night and it got dark, all the stars came out and it was just stunning!! Eventually made it home, threw a pizza in the oven as i couldn’t be arsed cooking!! I’ve been chilling out watching TV and DVD’s ever since and that’s my blog up to date!!

So far so good, it just keeps getting better and better here!! I’ve met some fantastic friends and we’re just having a scream!!

Until the next update....Have fun!! Hopefully if I've managed to work things right you should see a slide show below!! Just some latest random pics from Wanaka!!