This past weekend was one of my favorites so far in New Zealand because I got to do something I absolutely love – snowboarding!

If you haven’t figured it out yet I love snowboarding. I started going when I was 18 and I’ve been going once or twice a year since then.

I will admit that I’m not the best at it. I’m not fast and never speed down the mountain. I’m not good at tricks and generally avoid anything besides small jumps. But I just love the act of snowboarding down a mountain – or a fake mountain as it was during this past snowboarding trip.

We went to Snowplanet on Saturday for several hours of snowboarding fun. We are planning a trip to an actual mountain in a few months once winter rolls in so it was a good chance for me to refresh since it’s been a few years since I went snowboarding.

Snowplanet is a nice indoor snow facility in Auckland, New Zealand that has a slope with a couple different options and a beginners area. They have over 8,000 m2 of real snow and even have a terrain park inside for people to work on tricks and such. So cool! You also have options like tubing and just playing in the snow if you choose to go visit Snowplanet.

 

I was obviously there just for the snowboarding aspect! It was my first time trying to snowboard inside. We started off on the bunny hill for newbies to get used to the hill and then we graduated to the bigger area where most people were snowboarding.

I loved almost everything about Snowplanet from the easy slope to the music they played. However, I hated the lifts. They are the kind you have to hold on to via rope while it pulls you up the way to the top of the hill. I tried using my arms but that didn’t work out  for me, so I ended up using both my legs and arms which tired me out! It was so much work to get up to the top that I ended up not snowboarding as much as I wanted. I probably could have gone 6 more hours at Snowplanet if the lift they use wasn’t so tiring to me. I much prefer chair lifts at actual mountains where I can sit and enjoy the ride for a couple minutes.

Like I said, I’m not super fast or really good at snowboarding. It’s just something I enjoy. It is so nice to know that I have the option in New Zealand to go by this place that is just a short drive away from where I am in Auckland.

All in all it was a really fun experience doing one my favorite hobby that I don’t get to indulge in nearly enough. Maybe now that I live a lot closer to both an indoor facility and an actual mountains I’ll get to go more often.

Update: I went snowboarding in New Zealand on a real mountain!