If I were a statistics major I’d know that it takes a sample size of at least 30 to be able to make any kind of conclusive statement. In other words we’d need to stay here 30 days to really know if there is such thing as a bad day in Queenstown. Due to budget and time constraints, I’ve decided to make my decision after 5 days. Every day is an incredible day in Queenstown, New Zealand. There it is. Definitive, and although not entirely reliable statistically speaking, I believe it must surely be true.
We spent the majority of the morning winding through the mountains from town to town, stopping occasionally for the odd spectacular photo, or dropping in on a family run vineyard for a little wine tasting. Driver and co-pilot Sharron and Lindsay again showed us parts of the region we never would have seen on our own. White Rock, BC native, and 1/4 of the Stampede defensive unit Mike Sommers also came along for some ‘tourist in your own town’ activity. In the small world saga that has been our trip, it turns out Mike was a teacher assistant in the school hockey academy at Earl Marriott Secondary school in White Rock that I now instruct. Mike is working here, playing for the Southern Stampede, and putting in a ton of very welcomed hours with the local youth teams. It was great to have Mike along with us to chat about hockey, coaching, and life as a Canadian in Queenstown.
We all agreed that the highlight of the day came when we arrived at Gibbston Valley Winery, where Michigander-cum-Kiwi, and Stampede starting goalie Matt is one of the key wine makers of the operation, and his wife Ashling manages the restaurant. Mike gave us an incredibly hands-on tour of the operations and took great care of us. We were very impressed with his knowledge and passion for wine, as well as his generosity and ability to give a complete tour, including tasting every stage of the wine’s creation, all under 20 minutes so that our lunch of wild rice risotto and lamb was just being plated as we made our way back to our table. We want to thank Ashling and Mike, all all the staff at the winery for an fantastic and personal experience.
We are here to coach of course, so we made it back to the rink in time for our ‘social night’ with the local adult players where we ran a clinic and some chalk talk. Just like any rec league in the world, a few more nights working on outside edges, puck skills, and change of direction edge control may really pump the level of the Queenstown Jurassic league to a level not yet seen in this small kiwi resort town. We look forward to seeing many of them on the ice this weekend when we assist with the adult instructional weekend. When in Rome, eat pasta and drink espresso. When at the Jurassic League, hit up Fergburger for a ‘Little Lamby’ on your way home. Day 5: success.
