Mount Hutt and Rakaia Gorge

Anzac day gave us an extra long weekend so we did a little bit more exploring after all the chores were done! With Nana, we took the ferry from Lyttleton over to Diamond Harbour. Once there we climbed the hill up to the Godley Hotel and had some light refreshments (jug of beer for 2!!!!) and a hot chocolate for Sarah. Joe and Ben made friends and played in the hotel garden climbing over logs and making dens. Ben managed the walk both up and down the hill by himself - little Mister Independent!

On Sunday we took a drive out to Mount Hutt and climbed up towards the ski fields. We couldn't get all the way as the gate was closed but got up to 1740metres (according to the altimeter in the truck). Needless to say it was quite chilly and blowing pretty hard. There was still some snow lying in patches from last weeks fall, so we managed to get in a snowball fight. Both boys are crack shots! After a short walk and a windswept picnic the weather started to obscure the view and we beat a retreat onto the plains.
We stopped at Rakaia Gorge and decided to treat ourselves to a jet boat trip! It was pretty amazing - the sun came out so we could take in the beautiful scenery and the ride was thrilling. Joe yelled with excitement and Ben smiled for the whole trip, his hair blown back off his face for the first time ever! Our guide spun the boat round 360 degrees and we got a little wet. Joe couldn't wipe the grin off his face for hours! After the trip we spent an hour or so by the river skimming stones and the boys tried to alter the course of the river with as many stones as they could splosh.