I just got back to Craftsbury after spending about a month and a half in New Zealand. Its going to be hard to summarize it all in one blog post without it turning into an epic, but I’m going to try, and then I might give more in-depth accounts in future posts. So with no further ado:
I lived down in the valley by Lake Hawea (shown below) with Nils, his brother Ben, and Zoë Acher. It was a 5-minute walk to the lake, which was probably the prettiest lake I’ve ever seen, and it was surrounded by excellent skipping stones.
![IMG_3550__small Lake Hawea](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_3550__small.jpg)
Lake Hawea
We worked teaching ski lessons at the Snowfarm, a nordic ski area (as far as I know the only one in NZ), which was located at the top of a high rolling ridge. A crazy switchbacked guardrail-less dirt road brought us up to work each day. The trails were all carved into the hillsides. When it was sunny and well-groomed, I went on some of the best skis I’ve ever been on. When it was in a cloud, ungroomed and windy I went on some of the most miserable skis ever.
![IMG_3584_small At the Snowfarm](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_3584_small1.jpg)
At the Snowfarm
When we weren’t up at the Snowfarm working, we went on lots of adventures–mountain biking, trail running, hiking, wallaby hunting, beach running, you name it:
- Sheep on the way to Mt. Aspiring National Park for a run/hike.
![IMG_3687_small A marsh we biked past near Dingle Burn (on our bike along lake Hawea)](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_3687_small.jpg)
A marsh we biked past near Dingle Burn (on a bike ride along lake Hawea)
![DSCN9505_small Running along the beach with the southern alps in the background.](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSCN9505_small.jpg)
Running along the beach with the southern alps in the background. Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand, is on the right.
![P9140196_small The huge magical hedge that you could walk on! It was at a family friend's of the Koons' in Warrington, which is on the east coast.](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/P9140196_small.jpg)
The huge magical hedge that you could walk on! It was at a family friend's of the Koons' in Warrington, which is on the east coast.
![DSCN9523__small Some typical scenery from the sheep farm where we hunted wallabies.](http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSCN9523__small.jpg)
Some typical scenery from the sheep farm where we hunted wallabies.
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- Wallabies were accidentally imported to a small area of New Zealand, where they are a pest to farmers, one of whom we were “helping out” by hunting on his land. Nonetheless, it was sort of sad when I actually shot one.
I had a terrible time picking out which pictures and adventures to include here, so I guess I’ll just have to write more soon!
If you want to see lots more pictures, I’m working on a Picasa album, which you can find with the following link. eventually i’ll get it organized and put in a few captions and things.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hdreissigacker/NewZealand?authkey=Gv1sRgCLuPwKueidLnEQ&feat=directlink
![](https://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/09/FasterSkier-logo-sq-320x320.png)