THE JOY OF A WINTER’S TALE

For never-resting time leads summer on

To hideous winter and confounds him there;

Sap cheque’d with frost and lusty leaves quite gone,

Beauty o’ersnow’d and bareness every where

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 5

It is -6 in Turangi today, trees start no lose their leaves, days are shorter, wind is colder, everyone is wearing beanies, frost covers cars and ground alike and the air is chilled. Winter is here in all its icy glory, but rather than the end of summer and all the fun that goes with summer’s warmth, winter should be seen as a discourteous Uncle who arrives uninvited but who arrives with arms full of gifts; the water cools, the rain turns to snow, the lakes start to freeze. Many outdoor participants hibernate but some flourish, those that react positively to the cool of winter can enjoy these winter months just as much as summer – if not more.

This time every year we encourage readers to embrace winter – not just rugby and netball but to get on the mountain and ski, snowboard, snowshoe, toboggan - even tramping in the snow has a whole new feel to it. Every year we get a letter or two from those who have thrown off the mantle of ‘here’s winter so I won’t do anything’ but who have taken the chilly leap of faith and embraced a cold activity and loved it. If you are not a winter lover - just choose one weekend when the weather is looking good, sunny - not too much wind - and get up the mountain early. There is nothing more exciting than those fresh clean clear mornings, you’ll be hooked.

In this issue of Adventure we give you a full run down on the central North Island - Mt Ruapehu, National Park and Taupo. We are blessed that in the middle of our island, just randomly, there is a volcano high enough to have snow on it and steep enough to be challenging, it so easily could have just been a flat plain. The accommodation, the nightlife and activities that have grown up around the base of the ski area has made it very simple for anyone in the North Island to access the snow. So often we are dragged south or off shore but as we have shown in this issue - Ruapehu has a lot to offer. You will also see in this issue we have continued to expand the events aspect of the magazine – it has proven to be really popular – all those that sent in the survey from the last issue thinks that feedback is vital.

Enjoy every moment that winter offers and feel free to tell us about your chilly adventure - put it on our Facebook page – key word ‘Adventure magazine’.