In the weekend, as I was packing a mid-winter picnic for my son and his father for their tobogganing/tubing trip in the mountains, one of those moments just jumped out and grabbed me.
As a child my family's regular form of recreation in the winter was ice skating. This isn't such a big thing in itself, if you live in an area that has ice and cold, but we lived by the coast. The nearest rink was 25 miles away. This wasn't the best rink though, as it was susceptible to early melting. The best rink was at Tekapo. Tekapo is a beautiful mountain lake amongst our southern alps. Here is an ice skating rink, tucked under the mountain, amongst the fir trees, on the lake shore.
Ice skating was very popular in those days and it wasn't unusual to see bus loads up for the day. As the youngest in the family, where by there was a 15 year gap between the oldest and youngest, I was introduced to this regular Sunday family pastime, at a very early age. I was on skids at about the same time as I was just walking. It was actually quite amazing that they kept up this tradition, even when most of the family had left home - bar me, for I was very prone to car sickness; always at the top of Burkes Pass.
I remember the trips, as if it was yesterday. We would always stop at the bottom of Burkes Pass to feed the pet Deer kept in the paddock next to the pub. I use to sit in the front, in the middle between Mum and Dad, in the MKII Zephyr. It still didn't stop the sickness. As we came over the last rise, coming into Tekapo, we would always have a competition, for who would see the lake first.
We would usually arrive at 11.30am. This would mean that us kids, could get in about an hours skating before a late lunch, and the crowds. I can never remember my parents skating, but my mother would come and help me with my skates, when I was little and sit by a fire in a drum and watch. When I was older I was allowed to just look after myself.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Sue Murray's New Zealand topic, please visit the Discussions page.