the key word for today folks is snow! we checked out of the hostel this morning and started walking to the bus pickup point and noticed that the remarkables were covered in snow. i thought it rained last night because it was wet outside. no, it snowed. now the mountains are truly remarkable. when they are bare, you wonder why they are named the remarkables and wish you could see them with snow. well we got to see them with snow and i am grateful.

yesterday no snow

today snow

snow up on the gondola

as we left queenstown, i didn't see snow in the town itself, but i did notice it on some cars that were parked. so i wasn't sure if it did snow in town or if the cars came from areas that snowed. not far from the center of town, just on the outskirts, the land was covered in snow. i saw a rugby field covered in snow and that looked pretty cool. when we got to the lindis pass, the driver stopped so we could experience the snow. i've been around man-made snow but i think the only time i was in real snow was when i was too small to remember. i have a very vague memory of helping to build a snowman and not being very interested in it.

i can't remember the last time i held real snow

we got off the bus in twizel so that we could take a connecting bus to mt. cook village for a better look at mt. cook. mt. cook is the highest mountain in new zealand. some photos of it look really cool but it has changed since then as 10m off the top were lost in an avalanche. still, since we're here, might as well take this opportunity and get a closer look at mt. cook.

well, here is were i really dropped the ball. i spent a lot of time planning our north island trip but not so much the south island trip. i didn't plan mt. cook at all. it was a recent addition. when i called the kiwi experience office to let them know i wanted to be dropped off in twizel, i swear the lady i talked to said she'd arrange for a bus to take me to mt. cook. i thought i wouldn't have to worry about accommodation and kept delaying to book a hostel. when we got off in twizel, the driver said that the kiwi experience does not book other buses to get to mt. cook. great! it is sunday. the info center of twizel is closed. it's a small place and i walked around and could not find anyone open that would know about such things. i searched for flyers advertising a bus or something but found nothing. i was starting to think about renting a car, if it was possible. then i saw a flyer for a shuttle, called, and was able to book us on a shuttle that would leave in about 1 hour. then it was a matter of securing accommodation. i had the yha hostel number with me. unfortunately they are completely full tonight. they are the only hostel in town--i did not know that! the lady mentioned some places 5km or 10km out of town. i don't have a car! she gave me the number of the hotel in town. *gulp* afraid of how much it will cost but i have no other choice. it's just for one night anyway.

lake pukaki

we ride the shuttle and we're the only ones on it. the driver points out where the battle of pelennor fields takes place just outside of twizel. stops so that we can take pictures of lake pukaki, another glacier fed lake. the color is a gorgeous hue of blue. it is that way because of the crap the glacier puts in it. it pounds away the rocks, creating a fine dust, "rock flour", and that is what causes the difference in color. i love it. it's more spectacular in person. perhaps that is the one thing more spectacular in person over here.

our room at the chalet, aren't you jealous?

we arrive in mt. cook village and the driver does a quick loop around town and tells us how small the population is. it swells up to 300 residents in summer and this year there are 13 children in school. we arrive at the hermitage hotel and check in. it's actually a 3 part complex. there is the hotel (most expensive), the motel (slightly less), and the chalet (cheapest). we have a room in a chalet. the chalets are self-contained units. perfect for us. i had no idea it would be this nice. they have everything we could possibly want, except a bathtub and robes. there are towels, towel warming rack, tv with sky tv (cable), a heater, electric blankets, soap, shampoo/conditioner, a kitchenette, fridge, microwave, dishes, utensils, dishwashing stuff, burners, shower, 3 beds, couch, table, chairs, coffee table, lots of lights, great views from the window, etc. it's just perfect--exactly what we needed, a bit of pampering. also included is continental breakfast tomorrow up at one of the restaurants in the hotel and a $20 voucher for use at the restaurants, cafe, or gift shop. not to mention that you can order room service or request porter service, which we will tomorrow. of course, the restaurants are terribly expensive so we won't eat dinner there but it's still nice to read the menu and let the mouth water.

the view walking back during our walk

there's a few walking paths in town so we decided to do the one closest to our room. we didn't walk the entire thing because it's just too damn cold and it doesn't provide that great of a view. after that we went to the visitor center run by doc and checked out the hotel gift shop. at doc, i saw a little photo book on the moeraki boulders. damn, they look cool. too bad i didn't know about it earlier. it's too late for me to add it to the itinerary as they are north of dunedin. it's too far from christchurch for me to rent a car and go down there. and i'm afraid they won't be as spectacular in person so it's not worth it to try anyway. and just in case i come back to new zealand again, it's good to have some things on the itinerary. i'd definitely go back to dunedin and explore it some more.

for dinner we went to a place not owned by the hotel and had a veggie burger. it was still pretty expensive but definitely cheaper than hotel food. we hurried back to our before it got dark and truly learned the meaning of cold.

the pride of nz, sir edmund hillary

cool hotel sculpture/fountain