December

28/12/2004

We hope you all had as good Christmas as we had , with the weather just turning fine after what turned out to be a wet November and December .  The garden is looking absolute fantastic with flowers out in full bloom. On the home improvement front we have relined the lounge with new walls and colors and are sorting out colors for the kitchen /dining.

 

November

17/11/2004

Warm days are here and bouldering is on the must-do list, with Castle Hill only 27km away why not come and stay at smylies to relax after a hard day conquering the rocks .

for those of you sick of the busy city hostels this is the place to be with spacious rooms and a great garden to escape into

 

August

30/08/2004

It has been a couple of months which we won't forget in a hurry with heaps of closure dates due to too much snow and the big avalanche that came down porters, skiing has been great with conditions we haven't seen since 1996.   Our new bus has been put into service last weekend and improves our travel times to Porters  by 10min, being 4wd it cuts down on the snow chain fitting  and dirty hands. With the weather improving and getting a little bit warmer ,now is the time to book the ski break you deserve ,so don't hesitate as spaces are filling up fast.

 

June

22/06/2004

Well the ski season is under way with Mt Hutt opening last week as the first in NZ ,the temperature is coming down after some funny weather in the last few months. Porters had a good dump of 15cm at the bottom and with luck should be on target to open by the school holidays. On the local front ,painting is just about done and this week we'll concentrate on tuning ski's and boards, look forwards to seeing you all soon.

 

May

5/05/2004

Well we have had it all ,from snow on the ground in April to hot days. renovations are going on schedule and for this winter you will find an upgraded rental building and an extra shower in the hostel and the paintbrush has been busy as well with new colours added here and there, the old piano also has been replaced with an even older pianola but this one stays in tune.

 

March

11/03/2004

After some very hot months the rains have come back to make the grass grow and make everything look a bit brighter. some renovations are going to take place in march to improve facilities so booking in advance is an advantage to ensure the bed you want.

There are also the warm days in between for bouldering at Castle hill so the choices are unlimited ,walking backcountry is recommended for the foothills or lower mountains ,ask for the Oxford Forrest maps at the counter for some good walks.