Characters of Wanaka

For the last couple of months I've been based in Wanaka, cleaning rooms two days a week, doing a little gardening, and skiing 4-5 times a week. I've done a few lessons, but mostly I've been skiing all over the mountain either by myself, with friends, or with strangers I've picked up on the chairlift.

Getting up the hill has been pretty easy. Mostly I've been hitching rides up and town, and just occasionally driving up in the Nissan Tiida. I've met an interesting bunch of locals and tourists who've been kind enough to pick me up.

Monique and her son Carter have taken me down the mountain twice now. It's quite amusing to get a smile and wave of recognition and be picked up by someone you've met before. Monique is a Kiwi who has lived in France for many years with her French husband and has now moved home to New Zealand. Selling a business and home in France to resettle in Wanaka hasn't been easy, but they are managing. We plan to go skiing together some time.

Mark and the kids brought me up one Sunday. Mark and his family of five have relocated from Christchurch earlier this year to manage the local Medical Centre. The same centre manages the Treble Cone medical clinic, so he and his family get season passes. I didn't disclose my previous occupation...

Carl picked me up in an old Toyota Landcruiser short wheel base, a good 5 years older than my old Troopy. He'd just got back to Wanaka after 2 months travelling around Europe, and hadn't paid his WOF yet. In NZ old cars need to get a Warrant of Fitness every 6 months, and Carl had been away, so suddenly we veered off around the backstreets to avoid the spot where the police car often sits in the morning checking cars and booking those over eager skiers who are speeding. Initially I was a little alarmed by the sudden detour, but soon we were back on the usual road and heading up to Treble Cone.

One chap who gave me a lift down the mountain ranted and raved for the entire trip about his legal fight back in 2008 with the NSW government over land tax. Sometimes a conversation about selling your house in Sydney ends up creating a tirade about a very bitter experience which has ripped his family apart. Ouch, that one wasn't pleasant.

One of the local policemen gave me a lift up the other day. He was chuffed to hear that the amusingly written police reports in the local papers are such a highlight for many readers. Apparently whoever does the Monday evening shift has to do the report for the week, so it's a team effort.

Sometimes friends give me lifts down at the end of the day. Both Phil and Barbs have given me a few rides, as have Lyn and John who I met a couple of years ago (hitching then too). Sue and Graeme have been in my masters classes and I often also ski with them on non lesson days. They live in Dunedin and commute up and down as Sue has a shop there and still works a few days a week. Graeme, like me, is retired. Usually we ski until we're tired then they give me a lift down. Their daughter was a ski racer and represented NZ at the Winter Olympics, so it's interesting to get an insight into the world of ski racing.

Jason sometimes gives me a lift up the hill if he rounds the corner in his bus and I'm still at the hitching spot. Jason drives one of the ski shuttle buses and is allowed to take friends for free. I qualify as a friend seeing as I spent a good deal of money doing a ski trip to Japan with him in February. And I've booked another trip with him for next year. I've even gone skiing with him a couple of times, including with Milan, another of the characters from my Japan trip, who turned up here for a couple of weeks.

There have been so many more kind souls, locals and tourists, who've given me lifts. I can't remember all their names, but I am grateful to all of them. There seem to be less people hitching these days, it's such a pity as it saves fuel, is good for the environment, and gives someone a happy feeling that they have performed an act of kindness for the day.

It's just plain good karma.

Retirement is so boring.....

Oh my golly gosh it has been weeks since I last posted. So sorry but I have been having such a boring time being retired that I just haven't been able to find the time to keep you all updated.

So, what have I been up to?

Skiing of course. it's such a hard life getting up at 7am, checking the snow report to make sure the mountain is open, having breakfast, packing lunch then driving over to the other side of town (3mins) to park the car near the hitching spot to get a ride up the mountain.

There's a blog post coming on all the characters I've met, so we'll just say now there are all sorts. And all kind souls for stopping and giving me a lift.

Up the mountain it's into the ski boots, and if time a flat white is enjoyed in the cafe before hitting the six seater for a lift up to the top of the home basin. Usually it's a run or two on the home basin until the quad chair opens in the saddle basin then straight over there to enjoy the dryer chalkier snow as it's at a higher altitude.

Usually I'll meet up with people I know and ski with them, or sometimes hitch up with another single on the chair and take them touring around the mountain. Having skied Treble Cone a good few seasons now I know the mountain pretty well, including all the secret snow stashes. I have no problems sharing my love of this mountain with others.

We've had quite a few "powder days" this year, which is basically any day when there has been a decent dump (10cm plus) overnight and then every skier and boarder within half a day's drive of here descends on TC and the queue lines get horrendous. Of course there are no friends on a powder day, it's every man or woman for themselves finding fresh lines before it's all tracked out.

I have been doing some weekly lessons in a Masters group, which is comprised of local skiers. This is great because I am meeting more locals who I can ski with. I started in a Sunday group but moved to a Saturday group after the woman I was skiing with had an accident mid week and blew out her knee. The group I'm in with now are awesome, I met up with them this afternoon and amongst other runs we did a rat pack run down the lift line in the home basin just to show those youngsters that us oldies still have what it takes.

Actually, my skiing has improved out of sight. Between the couple of group lessons I've had and one private lesson with Heidi, and time on the mountain skiing with good skiers,  I'm now skiing in complete control maybe 90% of the time. I'm relaxing when I'm skiing, I'm enjoying skiing bumps, but I'm still pretty messy and inconsistent, especially off piste. But before, all off piste skiing was really challenging for me, now a lot of it seems pretty easy. Bumps no longer completely throw me off balance, I actually relish making my way through them. It ain't pretty, but it's a long way from where I started...

So, after a day skiing my legs off up the mountain, it's a thumbed ride back down again, pick up the car and drive back to the hostel, where I shower then cook lunch for the following day, and have eggs on toast for dinner. Sometimes, if I've come down early I'll do a little gardening, but otherwise it's just relaxing and chatting to others back at the hostel.

Monday and Tuesday I clean rooms at the hostel, do a little gardening, and chill from my ski days. At first I was only skiing 3-4 days a week, but lately I'm skiing all 5 days. The snow has just been so good, and my legs are keeping up with the workout they are getting. The cleaning isn't difficult: changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms and toilets, vacuuming, and my workmate Anastasia is a huge amount of fun. We laugh, have pillow fights and give each other shit about the tidiness of each other's hospital corners!!

I haven't been doing much apres ski partying. Gone are those days. I've cooked sticky date pudding once, and gained another bunch of admirers, I've been frequenting the Thursday night farmers markets, and on Wednesdays it's Stitch and Bitch night where I meet up for a night of knitting at The Edgewater Hotel. Aside from a Red Star Burger and fish and chips at Boa Boa, I've not eaten out at all. I have, of course, reacquainted myself with the chilli hot chocolate at Patagonia Chocolates, as well as their ice cream. I've also been treating myself to the ice-cream and gelato at Black Peak. Yep, two separate home made ice-cream places in one town. How awesome is that???

So that's my life.

Boring old retired life.....