Written by Jamie on November 15th, 2011.
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Dear friends,
Don’t forget – go on-line now www.queenstowntrail.co.nz and enter the only annual community fund raiser for The Queenstown Trail this Friday night 6pm – only $20. We need your support for our 90km+ Queenstown Trail – five bridges, one underpass, through private and public land throughout the Wakatipu Basin.
Send this to all your friends and colleagues and help us make the trail a reality. See you Friday night.
ON THE HOME STRAIGHT TO FUND TARGET
The $5m Queenstown Trail needs all our support over the next 12 months to raise the final $500,000.
The trail provides access for the first time over private land to spectacular areas of outstanding natural landscape. The Government grant of $1.8m combined with the $1m individual grants from the Community Trust of Southland and Central Lakes Trust, together with Queenstown-Lakes District Council has created a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a world-class trail linking Queenstown, Arrowtown and Gibbston.
Written by Court on October 26th, 2011.
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My Canyon Swing Experience
Now before you watch the video please keep in mind I am EXTREMELY TERRIFIED OF HEIGHTS! And when I say extremely I mean eyes closed on rollercoaster (if I get dragged on them that is!), hold on for dear life while riding chair lifts, and get nervous walking on stairs with gaps between the steps. The day started with meeting at the Canyon Swing office where we filled in some paperwork and got weighed in (which was scarier then the swing). From there we jumped into the van and made our way to the Shotover Canyons. We watched a video on the way explaining some different jump styles to get us all prepared and pumped up for when we got there. The staffs were great getting us all psyched up for the jump! As I stood there watching several people jump before me I thought to myself “I can do this…everyone is having so much fun and wanting to go again…I can do this!” They called me in, put a harness on me, and before I knew it I was up! I had decided my jumping style would be an “Elvis Cutaway” , because I saw that you got to sit then be released and I knew there was no way I would be able to stand close to the edge of the platform. As I walked out on the platform the two Jump Masters where picking on for being Canadian and tried to get me riled up for the jump, all I wanted to do was sit. As I clenched on to the rail the guys got me hooked up and told me I could finally sit down. I couldn’t do it and burst into tears, they guys gave me hugs and encouraged me to get out there. Before I knew it I was hanging by rope praying it would all be over soon. As they cut the rope I felt my heart drop into my stomach and off I went. I cried the whole way down and the whole way back up. To be completely honest I hated every second of the swing, but I know I will never have an experience like that again in my life and will never get to see (what I could see through the tears) the canyon from that view again. Overall I would recommend it to anyone who is thrill seeking and wanting an amazing experience well here in Queenstown, however be warned if you are afraid of heights you may leave some skid stains in undies!!!!
Written by Jamie on September 28th, 2011.
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Checkout our new partner Bike Queenstown for all your Bike hire Needs and local track information. They also do great packages! Eric and Mitchey will help you with all your requirements.
We thought it would be a good time for a refreshed look in our Reception area. We have stripped the interior of the reception area and will be repainting and moving our computer area so we can fit in a nice comfty couch and chairs for all our lovely guests. Here is a clip of the reception area with the walls stripped and reception desk shortened.
Discover Milford Sound with Mitre Peak Cruises for an unforgettable New Zealand experience. Described by Rudyard Kipling as the eighth Wonder of the World – and more recently voted the number one spot in the “101 must-do’s for Kiwis”* – Milford Sound’s deep icy waters, sheer rock faces, glacial hanging valleys, thick native forest and local wildlife are best seen by boat.
Special Price for Pinewood guests of $139 per person. Normally $175 per person.
Needs to Be booked with our lovely reception team or you can add it on when making a booking online.
Mitre Peak Cruises provides a small, luxury coach excursion from Queenstown and Te Anau to Milford and return. With a knowledgeable driver, we provide an interesting, informative commentary on the journey through to Milford Sound. Stop at all the fabulous points of interest along the way before enjoying a fantastic two hour cruise aboard one of Mitre Peak Cruises specifically designed small boats.
On your cruise out to the Tasman Sea and back you will see towering peaks, sheer cliffs, stunning waterfalls, lush rainforest and local wildlife such as seals and dolphins. You can also enjoy free tea or coffee for the duration of the cruise.
During the return journey we will stop in Te Anau where you will have time for a short stroll through this lovely town. Then sit back, relax and enjoy a locally made movie on the in-coach DVD system.
A Picnic Lunch is available on board the cruise however this is a pre order option. You may elect to bring your own lunch.
Our Kitchen got delivered yesterday from Portacom, Christchurch. Very exciting Day. Here are some clips and showing the kitchen arriving and being lowered into place. The Slide show has pictures of the interior of the Kitchen and Restaurant here at Pinewood.
We are currently in the process of renovating our TV room into Queenstowns newest group restaurant. We will now be able to offer what many groups have been asking for, cost effective Dinner and breakfasts options without the hassles of cooking and cleaning after a hard day up the slopes or biking around Queenstown.Watch the progress here of our New Restaurant "The Hub".
Joaquin "Argie" stripping the inside of the walls to be re-stained. Doing a magical job.
Builders getting the foundation layout ready for the Kitchen.
Sixteen days, 38 events, 22 sports, 1,000 athletes, over 30 nations and an audience of millions -- welcome to 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games. The word's top snow and ice sports athletes from all corners of the globe will descend upon New Zealand's Southern Alps and take on the best in ski racing to curling, snowboarding to skating as well as adaptive snow sports.
100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games is the ultimate testing ground where elite athletes can experiment and explore performance limits against world-class competition. The programme includes World Cup and Continental Cup level events and will act for many as the starting point on their journey to the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The 16-day long Games also includes a full off-snow festival programme featuring an Adventure Film Festival, live music and entertainment and Adventure Expo, as well as bringing the mountain downtown in a series of big air and rail jam extravaganzas in Queenstown, Lake Wanaka, Dunedin and Methven.
Staying in Christchurch soon? Haka Lodge is Christchurch’s newest backpackers, opening in early June 2011. Its 10 bedrooms offer a clean and modern interior for travellers wanting high quality on a low budget.
Located just outside Christchurch’s CBD, the lodge benefits from being close to Sumner’s beaches, Ferrymead’s shops and restaurants, whilst only taking 10 minutes to drive into the city centre.
The lodge offers dorm accommodation, private twins and doubles, and a two bedroom self-contained apartment on the ground floor. Continental breakfast is included with dorm and private room bookings, introducing a new standard of “backpacker bed and breakfast” and raising the game with competing hostels. Also included is a comfortable Sky TV lounge, two smaller chill out areas, dining room, and free internet (via wifi and computer station).
Haka Lodge is home to New Zealand adventure tour operator Haka Tours.
Pinewood Lodge are now taking reservations for Queenstown’s 37th annual Winter Festival!
The Winter Festival is a fun-filled 10 day celebration of Queenstown's unique culture and community taking place from 24th June - 3rd of July.
It’s a great time of the year to visit Queenstown with the ski-fields open and the town buzzing with live music, street parties, comedy acts, a Mardi Gras, food and craft markets and an Invitational Slopestyle event. It all kicks off with a spectacular firework display on Friday 24th June.
A major Australian website ranks the Queenstown Winter festival higher than the likes of New Orleans’ Jazz Festival, Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls, Oktoberfest, and the Sydney and Melbourne festivals as the fourth best festival in the world!!
Click the link below for a full programme http://www.winterfestival.co.nz/home/programme/friday-24th-june/
Don’t miss out, book your accommodation now and join us for the party of the year!
Written by Jamie on September 8th, 2010.
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Pinewood Lodge has been placed in the top ten for New Zealand based on customer reviews on Hostelworld.com for August 2010.
This award is something that our staff are very proud of.
Receiving this certificate will also stand Pinewood in good stead to be in with a fantastic chance of receiving one of the most sought after awards in the industry a HOSCAR. The HOSCAR honors the top 10 worldwide hostels for the year, as well as the top 3 for each continent and country and is presented at a red carpet event in Dublin every January.
Written by Jon Ward on August 25th, 2010.
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To all those following the prosecution of Daniel Schiavini following his hacking of the Pinewood network here’s the part of the story that is missing from the full article.
In summary, he broke into our encrypted wireless network, downloaded 80Gb of ‘data’, and a copy of the our database for further study. He then decided to tell us assuming that by telling us that all would be made good.
So to use a simple analogy, he broke through the locked front door, copied all the files in our storage cabinet, used our internet for 2 1/2 days which was then choked back to dial up speed for 4 days, and then wrote a note on the wall to say he’d been in.
Training in Queenstown as basis for top performances
Swiss skiing stars stay in Pinewood Lodge for a week
The Swiss Alpine ski team is among the best in the world: in the 2009/10 season, seven Swiss women racing skiers garnered ten World Cup winners’ podium places and, by the end of the season, were third in the nation rankings. For each of these successes, the Swiss team lays the foundations in summer during snow training, which takes place mainly on Switzerland’s glaciers and in New Zealand. Pinewood Lodge, in Queenstown, will play host to the Swiss team. This will be the third time for the Swiss-Ski women’s team staying in this ideally situated resort.
For the third time, in mid-August, all three World Cup groups, consisting of 30 athletes and support team members, will fly from Switzerland to New Zealand, 22 hours away by air, in order to train there in the three skiing regions of Round Hill, Cornet Peak and Mt. Hutt. The three-week stay in New Zealand is a central pillar of the team’s preparatory stage. The prevailing winter snow conditions guarantee an optimum training environment, which, in all disciplines but particularly downhill, allows for intensive snow training. The aims of the trip are to test the new equipment and improve the fine-tuning and to work on the technique of each individual athlete. As, compared to our local skiing regions, many more training runs can be completed on the lower-lying training slopes in New Zealand, these aims are more achievable overseas. “Conditions on New Zealand’s South Island are brilliant, including off the training pistes,” enthuses three-times World Cup winner Dominique Gisin. “It’s very important for us to be able to train on World Cup-standard pistes already, when preparing for the season.”
In Queenstown the Swiss ladies train from 25th to 31st August in the Cornet Peak skiing region, which is 20 minutes away. During this time, Pinewood Lodge will be home to the team for the third time now. The twelve athletes and their support team each occupy two houses. They deal with all the cooking, heating and cleaning themselves! “We feel very much at home at Pinewood Lodge,” says Nadia Styger, who came third in the Super G World Cup last year. “Queenstown is a beautiful place and the Lodge provides everything we need, besides the pistes, for an optimum preparation period.”
