The Andrews: October Break

Sorry we haven't really been around for a while! We have had a fun packed time going away for a long weekend down to Queenstown! We had the pleasure of visiting Jen and Fran which we have been wanting to do for ages so we thought we would combine it with a trip to one of the southern ski fields before the end of the season!
So 6.20 am on saturday morning Dan gently woke Emma.....Emma obviously not impressed managed to peel herself from the warmth of the bed to get into action! Packing the car, breakfast, shower etc etc! Not necessarily in that order! It was a pretty impressive Andrews Family acheivment to leave on schedule and we were on the road by 7.30am! A VERY windy trip down through the heart of the south island! Our plan...to hit Cardrona Ski Field by lunch! Which we were well on shedule for! HOWEVER 140km winds meant it was shut! So you are in Central Otago......plans have changed...what should you do??? Hmmmm I don't know.......wine tasting maybe?! So we re-visited a number of the vineyards from our trip down south at Christmas!! V good use of time!

It was great to arrive in Queenstown and to see familiar faces and very loved friends!

We had tea and tim tams on the deck and caught up on happenings! The most major was the tale of Frans accident, where he broke his Femur. It had only been a week since he got back home after being held up in Invercargill Hospital recovering from surgery! And may we say he was looking mighty fine when we caught up with him and it was great to see him pootling about on his crutches! Praise God he had only come away with a broken and now pinned leg. Check out the photos on his blog, and poss the vid too, link to the right or above in the text!

So we started off our adventure into all things Queenstown with a trip to the Chocolate shop Patagonia to sample the mighty fine hot chocolate followed by a lakeside wander back to the ranch. The scenery in Queenstown is simply breathtaking. It is set in the most amazing location, just awesome! I think we could have sat and looked for AGES!

It is fair old walk up hill back to the ranch but considering the hot chocolate and the view it was well worth it!

We just loved spending time catching up and just being with Jen and Fran, great friends and we really valued the time. It was quite an active time though but at the same time it felt totally relaxed! Well balanced maybe! Sunday morning was a bit of a shock though, lets just say it was a bit tough and felt a bit awkward being English in NZ! I don't think I need to say anymore about that!

Now, skiing! We ventured out to Cardrona Alpine Resort on Sunday morning and managed to get a good half day in! It was AWESOME! They had had 30 cm of fresh snow in the 2 days previous and the snow was nothing like anything we had skied on before! It was packed fresh snow with powder! Awesome! Considering my last experience I have to confess I was a little nervous, by run 2 I was WELL into it! It was FAB and I can't wait til next season! The views were amazing I mean they were so amazing you had to double take to realise they were real! And the weather too, perfect, such a great day!

And we must just mention tea.....Fergburger, it may be competition for Burger Fuel! If you are in Queenstown this is a "must visit"! Yummmmmmmmm!!

Monday started with the most amazing Fresh Fruit, Bacon and Maple Syrup Pancakes! Home made! Yummmm! And to justify the indulgence we took ourselves of for a mighty fine walk up behind where Jen and Fran live. It tooks us up in to the mountains and the views were again...amazing! It was so lovely to be out, chatting adn catching up, it had been a while since we had had time with no agenda or schedule! We just walked and talked and ate and walked and talked and sat!! Soon enough though we were back and ready to partake in the next coffee, squeeze in a bit of log chopping.....and then tea! Boy we ate well! Good job we were keeping active!