Travel Diary » Photo Friday: Snow Day
Photo Friday: Snow Day
This week Noah's long awaited snow day finally came. At 300m above sea level, it only snows in Queenstown itself a couple of times a year. When we first moved here for the winter we'd promised Noah he would have at least one day with a backyard full of snow. He's been holding us to that and waiting, waiting, waiting for that snow day. We've had ice cream cones in our pantry for months after he convinced me to buy a packet so he could make his own 'snow cones' when the long awaited day came.
And finally, when we'd decided the masses of flowers in our garden must mean winter was over ... snow! It started coming down as we dropped the kids off to school. By lunch time there was a lovely 10cm coating the ground and it was still coming down.
Queenstown isn't really designed to cope with snow. A lot of people don't bother to carry chains because it so rarely happens. It takes a while to clear the roads and traffic tends to get down to a crawl along the one main road as people try to figure out how to deal with the snow ... even if it's just 10cm!
School was open but they were allowing parents to come get their children if they were worried about having to drive in the snow later that afternoon. At 1pm I decided there was no way the kids should be stuck inside at school on their one snow day of the year. I grabbed all their snow gear, and the ice cream cones and walked over to school. From the time I picked them up it took us over an hour to walk home, a grand distance of about 600m!
Who can hurry when there's snow to play in!!!
Just outside school is a large park with a big slope leading down into the lake. We've been eyeing it off all winter as a great hill to slide down on cardboard once things warm up. Turns out it's also good for sliding and rolling down in the snow, and great for rolling snow balls down to make even bigger snow balls.
We slided and rolled. We made snow man and watched a crazy guy ride his snowboard across the park and down the hill. I hope it was an old board! We even found a group of young guys filming each other ride boards down the rails of a staircase. They'd built ramps and jumps to get up enough speed. Colin went back to watch later. Apparently as the snow started to thin out from their activities and they lost speed they used a water-skiing rope to pull themselves back and essentially sling shot themselves down the stairs.
Crazy!
After warming up inside after our long walk home we headed back outside with Dad to make the most of the snow. Good thing we did - even though we ended up with about 15cm on the ground it had all melted by the next spring afternoon. We made a snowman and a fortress, threw a lot of snowballs and generally had a great time.
And yes, we made a lot of snow cones!
Isn't it wonderful how such a simple thing as an unexpected snow day can bring so much happiness! According to Noah, the afternoon of snowy fun beat any museum and theme park we've visited! A backyard full of snow is something we never experienced growing up in Australia. Just another great thing our kids are getting to experience by living in different countries!
This post is part of Delicious Baby's Photo Friday series and the weekly Friday Dreamin roundup at RWeThereYet. So many great stories and photos being shared from all around the world. Sorry for the lack of non-photo friday updates lately. We'll have more updates over the next few weeks as we start preparing for our NZ road trip and more adventures.
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17/09/2012 1:03pm (8 months ago)
I think I have forgotten what seasons are like after spending a year in Penang. It's great that the school was flexible about letting kids leave early. Austin Texas where I'm from rarely gets snow. There was a mid-morning snowfall one day a couple years before we left. The school didn't dismiss anyone, but they did let the kids out for an extended recess when it was coming down. I'm so glad your kids had a chance to enjoy it.
17/09/2012 2:10pm (8 months ago)
Penang is definitely lacking in seasons! That's great that your kids old school let all the children out for an extended recess. Our kids school had them all inside out of the snow ... I was expecting to get down there to kids running around in the snow and they were all inside. I was so glad I went to get them so they could play in it.
18/09/2012 4:33pm (8 months ago)
I was caught off guard with all your snow pictures as we're battling extreme heat here in Southern CA. This looks so fun for the kids and how wonderful for them to experience all the wonders of snow and winter. We usually have to travel a couple of hours up to the mountains to get some decent snow for our version of winter in San Diego. Adorable snowman picture!
19/09/2012 9:04am (8 months ago)
Thanks, we had fun making that snowman. Our snowman have certainly gotten better since our first attempt in Europe over Christmas. Growing up in Australia Mary we had the same as you - one place 4hrs from our house would get occasional snow. Maybe a few centimeters every two years. My parents always talked about driving to see it but we never did. It probably would have melted by the time we got there. The nearest snow field was over 14hrs drive away. Needless to say we didn't get there very often!
26/09/2012 4:15am (8 months ago)
I love this article, what a great resource for parents traveling with kids! Can't wait to read more!
-Amy
03/10/2012 6:55pm (8 months ago)
What gorgeous snow covered scenery. One of the things I've missed not living in Canada for 7 years are the lovely winters. Many try to escape them but when you've been gone as long as I have you certainly do miss them.
05/10/2012 11:52am (8 months ago)
Sure looks like a lot of fun! Cant believe its for only one day :)
We have promised our boys to do a snow season down in NSW (past Canberra) but so far havent made it that way.
Hope to next winter.
I have heard New Zealand is pretty - sure looks it.
Those kids sounded crazy!