The weather forecast for the weekend look’s great for skiing in Whakaapa, the ski area 3 hours south of Auckland. So I book accommodation for Sunday and Monday nights.

On Sunday we get up at 06.00 and are out of the house by 06.30 for the journey down to Whakapapa ski field at Mount Ruapheu, a dormant volcano. With a stop for breakfast somewhere north of Waitomo we were there by 11.30. We checked in to ‘Howard’s Lodge’, a backpackers in National Park village (strange choice of name for a village if you ask me) where we have booked ‘the suite’ – a ensuite room with 5 beds and a television.

After hiring skis and boots we drove the 10km to Whakapapa. Blue sky weather and far reaching views greet us. We drop-off Meg for a ski lesson and head-up the mountain for a wonderful day’s skiing.

On Monday we make ourselves breakfast in the backpackers’ communal kitchen before driving up to Whakapapa. Meg again has a group ski lesson by the end of which she is able turn and stop at will and is able to join us and, for the first time as a family, we are able to ski together down the mountain. A very middle-class life milestone achieved !

It’s another spectacular blue sky day and from the top of the mountain you can see for miles – as far as Taranaki in the west where Mount Egmont is visible. It’s warm enough to ski in a t-shirt and we even spot one man skiing in shorts!

Tuesday is our last morning of skiing so we are up early to pack, have breakfast and get up to the ski field to make the most of the morning. It’s t-shirt weather again and Meg has a final lesson. We notice as she goes passed on a chair lift that she is deep in conversation with her 25 yr old Austrian instructor. I wonder what she’s talking about. Fingers-crossed she is sticking to the story that she is four years old and not 5 as we’ve avoided paying for a lift pass by saying she still 4!

After the lesson we have a couple of runs down the mountain as a family and then head for a spot of lunch before jumping  into the car, dropping the skis and boots off at the hire shop and driving the 200 miles back to Auckland.

Tired, exhilarated and a little sunburnt – what a great few days.