Archive | July, 2011

Minus 5 Ice Bar

20 Jul

It is cold outside, it is cold inside. On my day off we stepped into an icy world to enjoy a delicious cocktail served in a ice glass. Minus 5 Ice Bar in Queenstown is completely made up of ice, so obviously it is pretty cold, actually minus 8 degrees! We could sit on ice furniture and enjoy all the ice sculptures around us. It was a fun experience. I was a little disappointed that the room was not bigger, but I guess it can be quite difficult maintaining a bar made of ice. I know I have mentioned the word ice too many times, but it is the only way to explain it.

 

UPDATE

10 Jul

Someone must have done the snow-dance perfect because it has been snowing for days now. Some of the ski-mountains even had to close, due to ‘the snow-storm’. That did not matter too much to me thought as I have been working all week, and after work I have been so tired that I just fallen asleep anywhere! Hopefully, I will get into this routine soon, and be able to stay awake after 8 pm without taping my eyes open. Meanwhile, John has been looking for some snow chains (did not even know that they existed), but had no luck so far. So not much new to report; we have both been working all week, and we are now trying to save some money again, so that we can start planning our future travels (ohh I am looking forward to lying on a beach and snorkeling in clear blue water).

I will get some more photos when it stops snowing, if it ever will.

Working Away

5 Jul

This is where I work…

Yes, what a beautiful place! I was finally lucky enough to get a job at Mercure Resort Queenstown. I am looking forward to get into some sort of routine again. My sleep patterns have been all over the place, since all the travelling and time differences. But, it is not all work and no play, I will be hitting the ski slopes on my days off. That is the beauty about living so close to the slopes.

Fun Times

3 Jul

This week has just flown by, I have done so much so think it is about time to give you all an update. The Winterfestival is now finished, but all the different activities and entertainments will definitely not be forgotten too soon. The images above show some of these things. We went to watch Ice Hockey for the first time ever. The teams were Southern Stampede vs Dunedin Thunder, brilliant names! It was really fun, but a bit painful to watch at times as they were pushing, banging into each other and fighting.

We also watched Stars on Ice on the Ice Ring which is located outside in the middle of town. Furthermore, we watched a street parade at night, called the Mardi Gras, where people made their own masks and lanterns to enter the parade. Then afterwards there was a concert by the harbour, with lots of bands and great music. In the daytime we went to the Arts & Craft Market, seeing some great local handicrafts and artworks. My favourite is definitely Mouse Illustration , it is a bit different to what I would normally like, but that is what I love about her jewelry, it is different, pretty and so much fun!

Another day, we headed up to Coronet Peak (one of the mountains) to watch Speight’s Dog Derby. This is a race for dogs and their owners, running and sliding down the slopes. It was hilarious, but also very confusing and very loud (barking and shouting). Afterwards, we went to watch a Dog Barking Competition, extremely funny again. The dog that barked the loudest won, however, if the owner could not get their dog to bark they would have to get on all four and bark themselves, so funny! Click here to watch some of it!

Then, guess what?! Snow, snow and snow! So guess what we did…skiing of cause!

Hopefully it will snow more so that we can get more of this: