[01:14.46]Hi everyone, welcome to the Snow Centre.
[01:17.84]My name's Annie.
[01:19.87]I hope you enjoyed the bus trip from the airport -we've certainly got plenty of snow today!
[01:25.49]Well, you’ve come to New Zealand’s premier snow and ski centre, and we’ve a whole load of activities for you during your week here.
[01:33.61]Most visitors come here for the cross-country skiing, where you're on fairly flat ground for most of the time, rather than going down steep mountainsides.
[01:43.33]There are marked trails, but you can also leave these and go off on your own and that’s an experience not to be missed.
[01:50.98]You can go at your own speed-it's great aerobic exercise if you really push yourself, or if you prefer you can just glide gently along and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
[02:03.84]This afternoon, you'll be going on a dog-sled trip.
[02:07.92]You may have seen our dogs on TV recently racing in the winter sled festival.
[02:13.26]If you want, you can have your own team for the afternoon and learn how to drive them, following behind our leader on the trail.
[02:21.35]Or if you'd prefer, you can just sit back in the sled and enjoy the ride as a passenger.
[02:26.70]At the weekend, we have the team relay event, and you're all welcome to join in.
[02:32.45]We have a local school coming along, and a lot of the teachers are taking part too.
[02:37.94]Participation rather than winning is the main focus, and there’s a medal for everyone who takes part.
[02:44.71]Participants are in teams of two to four, and each team must complete four laps of the course.
[02:51.51]For your final expedition, you' ll head off to Mount Frenner wearing a pair of special snow shoes which allow you to walk on top of the snow.
[03:00.44]This is an area where miners once searched for gold, though there are very few traces of their work left now.
[03:07.66]When the snow melts in summer, the mountain slopes are carpeted in flowers and plants.
[03:13.08]It's a long ascent, though not too steep, and walkers generally take a couple of days to get to the summit and return.
[03:21.32]You’ll spend the night in our hut half-way up the mountain.
[03:24.57]That’s included in your package for the stay.
[03:27.21]It's got cooking facilities, firewood and water for drinking.
[03:31.42]For washing, we recommend you use melted snow, though, to conserve supplies.
[03:36.91]We can take your luggage up on our snowmobile for you for just ten dollars a person.
[03:42.59]The hut has cooking facilities so you can make a hot meal in the evening and morning, but you need to take your own food.
[03:49.69]The weather on Mount Frenner can be very stormy.
[03:53.27]In that case, stay in the hut-generally the storms don' t last long.
[03:57.65]Don’t stress about getting back here to the centre in time to catch the airport bus-they’ll probably not be running anyway.
[04:04.93]We do have an emergency locator beacon in the hut but only use that if it's a real emergency, like if someone’s ill or injured.
[04:49.13]Now, let me tell you something about the different ski trails you can follow during your stay here.
[04:55.99]Highland trail's directly accessible from where we are now.
[05:00.32]This trail’s been designed to give first-timers an experience they’ll enjoy regardless of their age or skill but it's also ideal for experts to practise their technique.
[05:10.80]Then there’s Pine Trail… if you're nervous about skiing, leave this one to the experts.
[05:17.42]You follow a steep valley looking right down on the river below-scary!
[05:22.12]But if you’ve fully mastered the techniques needed for hills, it's great fun.
[05:26.52]Stony trail's a good choice once you've got a general idea of the basics.
[05:32.33]There are one or two tricky sections, but nothing too challenging.
[05:36.32]There’s a shelter half-way where you can sit and take a break and enjoy the aftermoon sunshine.
[05:42.42]And finally, Losers Trail.
[05:45.75]This starts off following a gentle river valley but the last part is quite exposed so the snow conditions can be challenging -
[05:53.73]if it's snowing or windy, check with us before you set out to make sure the trail's open that day.
[06:00.07]Right, so now if you'd like to follow me, we'll get started...
