We finally made it up to Rainbow ski field last weekend, and jolly glad we did before the season finishes. Rainbow is about 100km from Nelson, 2hrs drive. It’s a small ski field with 5 or 6 pistes and lift access to quite a bit of off piste for those with a bit of skill.
We basically went up to just have a look around and see what the deal is for next season – do a bit of sledging with B Dog, throw some snowballs etc.
You can drive right up to the slope if you have a 4x4 so we ventured on up the dirt track, ignoring all signs to fit snow chains, and got up just fine in the family wagon. The worst thing was me having my shorts and sandals on (it was 70 degrees in Nelson) and having to slide around to the hire shop looking like a total tourist. Ah well.
We ended up having a brilliant day – it was really relaxed and unpretentious, very Kiwi, with everyone wearing whatever they had and making doo. The snow was great, 4 meters deep, the sky was blue and we had some great sledging fun.
2 hrs after leaving we were down by the beach in Nelson basking in glorious hot sunshine – can’t be bad.
