bloggery deux: mt. bully bully pt II....

So, we're back. And done with friday. But i should probably recount the last few days so that you can see what else this continent has to offer besides plants that will kill you and trillions of square feet of dirt. 82,697,593,651,200 sq ft. if you're counting.

TB and i left for the mountain on tuesday afternoon. It started out sunny, but late into our drive it became wet and very windy. Probably not the best conditions for driving to an unknown place. Tina's been to buller but not me. I can hamfist my way around an area if i have a general sense of the surroundings. If i know which way is north, no prob. But here it was dark and raining and in an area that had limited cell reception. We would have to wing it.

Once underway, we had a little time so we'd spend the next few hours listening to the radio. Australians, despite being extremely proud of all things Australian, love two things: American classic rock and Pink. Not sure in which order, but turn on the radio and you will know each intimately. (if you weren't already)

We had some good fun laughing at road signs along the way.

After a few hours we made it to a little township called Mansfield where we met Marianne; a friend of our hosts Michael & Amy. The resort at Mt. Buller is a pretty small village. It has a ski resort and lots of places to stay, but because of the resort's size private vehicles aren't allowed at the top during the winter. Vistors park in lots all over the mountain and then catch resort shuttles the rest of the way up. These are generally a clusterfuck to deal with so we parked in another small township just at the base of the mountain called Merrijig. Being further from the mountain would allow us to get back on the road a little easier when we left. [That and the storm had gotten pretty crappy so we would've had to stop to put chains on the car. There was also a rather large tree in the middle of the road just inside the gate to the mountain. -t]

Marianne's husband, Pike, was going to pick us up in Merrijig to take us the rest of the way to the resort. We killed some time at the Hunt Club hotel. We drank a few pots (not pints) and generally shot the shit. The power went out twice. Once Pike arrived it was time to continue up the highway.

We finally made it to the house Michael, Amy, Pike and Marianne were renting. Apparently it belongs to some Aussie pro skier/snowboarder chick named steph hickey. Piece of work this girl as the walls were covered with pictures of herself and medals. The house was situated pretty close to the lifts though - about 100 feet! Gotta give it to steph.

The weather wasn't the greatest the first day but i did manage to get some time on the slopes.

The few days we spent on the mountain were awesome. We shared the house with two families and their kids and no one got on each others nerves. Amazing!

Although Matt apparently had some bugs that Tina was all too happy to pick out [ah, that 'bug' was gum. -t]