Crispyhouse

Life in Wanaka has begun to settle in. I have settled into my house and we have filled it with roomates not only to keep the rent down but also to keep the house warm. The current tally puts us at five. There is the American contingent of Dave, Amy, and myself having come down here together. Then there is Kenny from Belgium that drives the supply truck for Cardrona and Katarin from Bavaria that also instructs skiing. It should be a fun house, we had a party the other night and combining all the friends we have made here was great, I met people from all over the world that have come here for the same reasons as I have. The entire town of Wanaka is an international mixture of people coming purely for the winter. Hardly anyone lives here in the summer but come winter time it is a mecca of the southern hemisphere skiing scene. I have never been so closely involved in such a hotspot and it has an entirely different crowd of people than I met in Montana.

The town of Wanaka itself is incredible as it sits on the southern tip of a lake surrounded by sharp mountains. If anything the views are startling and a constant reminder of how remote this country of New Zealand really is. Even as it has grown into an international destination, especially for adventure sports there is still a very small town mentality my nearest equation is to think of America pre-Wal-Mart and that is where everyone is at. Internet is not widespread, only at pay cafes and a single grocery store feeds the entire town. The irony is that the winter crew fills it with a modern vibe and people here come with the focus to ski and of course party. Looking like a good winter so far. Hopefully it snows soon and the Mtns. will open.

Pat has hit the south island. i just finished three days of training at Cardrona ski area and now we are waiting for just one more snowfall to get the season underway. this picture was taken on top of a mountain overlooking Lake Tekapo, a stop on our way to Wanaka. now i have moved into my house and discovered a few things. NZ has no idea what central heat and insulation is. this place is freezing. also things are expensive here. food and even internet are out of control so it looks like mtn diet again and most likely internet once a week. otherwise i am looking forward to the adventure of working at this place. there are loads of fun people and as i settle in there are going to be endless adventures to undertake. i hope everyone in the states is having fun basking in the summer sunshine and getting nice tans. cause truly, its frickin freezing down here mr bigglesworth!

big news! i have a mailing address again. yeah. it is
patrick gannon
148 Aubrey rd
Wanaka, NZ

don't worry about postal codes this place is that small

This is the beautiful land of fiji. the yasawa islands off the east coast. we travelled up and down the entire chain. It was an amazing experience to be on an island where you could walk around the entire thing in under ten mins.

so i have made it to the island country of New Zealand. After spending five days in the islands of Fiji I am back into winter mode. My body is totally confused as to what season i am supposed to be in. Right now we are all in Christchurch trying to buy a car to drive to wanaka and use for the winter as soon as that happens i will be off to the mtns for the beginning of work on the 18th. it has been an incredible adventure so far. once i get internet on my own computer i will put up some pictures of the gorgeous islands and my first of New Zealand. for now i am safe and happy working on getting this life started. cheers