Trip to the Mountains

So the first few days have gone well, done the boring organisation stuff, and spent (too much!) money on stuff like mountaineering boots! I decided I should drive out for my first close-up view of the mountains. Hamish and Paddy, a couple who live with Vera also, said I could borrow their car whilst they were away for a few days, so I had a test drive to the supermarket. It took me a while to figure that the reason the car was making a horiffic noise and not going far was because the hand brake was on! But after that it was a smooth ride (I could get used to an automatic!). So the next day I put on my walking boots and got in the car. Arthurs pass is about 2hours away and the drive was incredible. The snow-covered mountaions looked beautiful, so enticing! If you know me at all you'll know its just not good for me to be that distracted whilst driving! But hey, got there in one piece. The NZ roads are so emptey and clear, there is just not that much stuff to crash into. Perfect for a scatterbrain like me ;-)

Once in Arthurs Pass the weather turned from clear to grey and rainy. Typical mountain weather. But what a great excuse to eat cake and drink coffee in the "Wobbly Kea" cafe. Well, need to break the new boots in gently!!

On the way back I stopped at Castle Hill. This is a hillside covered with hundreds of boulders, a climber and boulderers paradise! Literally thousands of bouldering problems, and over 300 bolted climbs. I can't wait to get going!

And best of all, I had a response to my internet plea for a climbing partner, a girl called Sarah, so off out to the hills this weekend. No major mountaineering routes, as avalanche risk is high so its just too dangerous :-( But the mountains will wait, plenty of hills to be going on with.....