The Book of Ashes

A road trip to Ohakune for skiing with the Aussies... 9:57AM

Ok so I didn't get to go skiing tomorrow as previously written up. Kate came out to Palmy and picked me up and I went back to her place to watch the rugby with Kates family and the Aussie gang. Yeah baby! NZ won! Not that they cared so much about rugby but they would have if they had won. Most of us crashed in the lounge, all ready for a 6am start the next morning.

Next morning I didn't wake up till 8ish. Kates parents were up and about and her father cooked us all the best bacon, eggs & tomatoes on toast. It rocked. Meads who was coming with us and had the other car had had a big night and was a little hung over but the weather was bad so no skiing that day. So we lounged about and got ready and finally Meads turned up (thats her last name by the way). After Kiwi Kate dismantled her passenger door to fix the window which was off its rail we were off. I ended up in the car with Dale, Anna & Meads. Now let me tell you car trips rock. I am happy thinking to myself for 8 hours on a car trip but with good company they are even better. Meads was definitly a car trip person and I learnt lots about my fellow trippers...

Ellen Loraine Meads (Meads), female aged 20, two sibblings, one younger bro 17, one younger sis 16. Favourite colour blue. Favourite number 16. Favourite fruit the kiwi fruit. Currently a single student in Palmy studying photography. Climbed up on the roof one night for a D&M; with a friend, got trashed and fell off trying to get back down. Her other story I can't repeat here...

Anna ? (Anna), female aged 18, three older sisters aged 21, 23 & 25. Flating with the second youngest. Favourite colour orange but long time favourite blue. Favourite number 2. Favourite fruit the mango. Is a student from Brisbane studying to be a mining engineer. Currently with a partner of one & a half months which is going well. No stories I can remember.

Dale something Riggs (Dale, Riggs), male aged 20. One brother called Glenn. Favourite colour grey. Favourite number 12. Favourite fruit Lychees. Is also a student from Brisbane studying engineering in space and something else. Is in a good relationship with an American chick and they had their four monthiversary while on holiday. Has a birth mark on his right butt cheek from climbing up something and falling down and getting caught on a hook when about 5. Had to call for his mum to get him down.

Road trips rock. I learnt so much about these guys just cause Meads decided to make a game of it. It was heaps of fun. The above stuff I write from memory and I know a lot more as well. There was also two other Aussies and Kate on the trip but they were in the other car so I can't repeat so much about them, altho I have some good stories about Kate. Anyway how freaky is it that she and her four Aussie friends are all studying to be engineers of some type? I gotta say I was impressed when Kate took the car door apart and fixed the window. Not many chicks can do that.

So anyway time passed quickly in the car and before we knew it we all knew each other intimately and had arrived in Ohakune. A first time visit for me

Sunday night in Ohakune. 10:30AM

Our place of residence in Ohakune was called Matai. A cool kind of YHA place with good faucilities and only $20 per night. We unpacked and checked the place out. There weren't too many people there at the time which was cool. We decided to go to the super market for some food and booze. After settling up the food we played pool and had a few drinks. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn interesting and I do believe the girls got just a tad pissed as did we all.

Now there was a rule on skiing holiday which was whats learnt in Ohakune stays in Ohakune so I can't repeat all the juicy goss that passed my ears but I might just be able to say a few things. Some how the conversation turned to nipple size and so the girls decided that a comparison was in order so they hooned off to the bathroom to compare. Now I can't say who was what but I think it must have turned them on or something because the next thing you know they were holding each other down and giving each other hickies. Of course girls being girls they couldn't just disfigure themselves so they gathered in a group and began to do girly whispers and the fear came upon us men as we remembered this being a sure sign of a make over by girls. Not long later all seven of us had shocking looking hickies. I think Dale got it worst. Hickies are terrible looking things and let me tell you, going round in groups where everyone has hickies is just embarrassing. Still pretty funny tho. Hmmm... I kept forgetting that I was with people 5 or 6 (or 8 after my birthday) years younger than me. How much imature fun must you have at that age? Well I guess I experienced some of it. A good thing for my 26th birthday...

So later on that night we headed off to bed. The next day we were to rise nice and early at 6:30 to go skiing, weather permitting. Thennnnn... just as the midnight hour rolled up and my birthday was approaching we heard a knock on our window. It was Adriene telling us that it was snowing outside. Some of the Aussie guys had never seen snow before so they rushed outside to play in it. Now it was an awesome snow. Huge big white fluffy snowflakes, softly floating down all around us. It quickly settled and eventually covered Ohakune in 10cm of snow. Dale played in the snow in his boxers (as his friends had told him he must) and Meads convinced Kate to do a topless run to the other side of the street and back. We got told off for the frission noise we made and a Japanese dude decided (after watching Kate & Meads) he had to do the topless thing as well. It was cool. I love snow so much and its kinda weird but it has snowed on my birthday quite often before. Anyway after the excitement had died down we all drifted off to a happy contented kind of sleep

Ashes 26th birthday. 10:45AM

Monday morning I awoke nice and early to my alarm and my 26th birthday. Having been conditioned by my parents to get straight out of bed for an early start to a tramp I straight up and at it. Outside the snow glistened and the temperature was cold as we prepared a massive hang over breakfast of sausages and eggs on toast. The hostel owner came in with the ski report around 7:30 and we discovered that everything was closed. Our next plan was to visit Rotorua to see thermal activity and the luge. Next thing you know we were in the car and on another road trip.

That morning I received about 5 or 6 txt msgs from friends wishing me a happy birthday and one from vodafone reminding me that I hadn't paid my last bill and still owed $41.65. Thanks for those who txted me, I wish everyone could have been there. Thanks vodafone, you guys rock sooooo much.

The morning was amazing. After about an hour or so of driving the clouds began to clear and we caught glimpses of the mountain. It was covered in so much snow, I mean even the road we were driving on had snow all along the edges and as the sun came out and started to melt it, it glistened, a beautiful white blanket, insulting the country side. Now I must stop here. I've been snow boarding today and skiing yesterday (more of that later) and require rest. I am happily worn so for now I sleep..