MTV Snow Jam Countdown

Terrace Downs Resort. Image Supplied.

If I was to throw around names like Lil Jon, Fat Joe, Baby Bash and P-Money you’d know I was talking about Hip Hop right? These guys are flying in to Christchurch in just over two weeks to perform along side Donavon Frankenreiter, The Grates, The Potbelleez, Cut Off Your Hands, PNC, David Dallas and local boys Opshop – and if you’re all wondering what this has to do with the gorgeous photograph I’ve posted here, that’s where they’ll be performing! MTV Snow Jam 2008 is being staged at Terrace Downs Resort (above), near Mt Hutt on Saturday, August 16th and if the music doesn’t knock your socks off the landscape surely will. Even better, it’s a free event being produced by MTV Australia and New Zealand and this year it will be broadcast in 30 countries. Dream event (if you’re a hip hop fan) and a dream location!

Adrenalin Fix

Rakaia River. 2008. Ajr

Nothing gets my adrenalin pumping faster than a helicopter! And this little jaunt with Mt Hutt Helicopters was no exception. Even better that the whole business started with a racy trip up the Rakaia River with the Terrace Downs Discovery Jet. If you’ve got eagle-eye vision, you might just spot the jet far below in the river. The dramatic landscapes around this area – around 45 minutes from Christchurch – are well worth exploring; and if you’re a skier, you can be whisked from Terrace Downs High Country Resort to the Mt Hutt Ski Area in a matter of minutes. www.terracedowns.co.nz

Meet the People - 3

Charlotte Berry & Barney, 2008 Ajr

More in the series Meet the People – Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing interesting things - Charlotte Berry, 28, has been riding horses since she was three. They’re a passion and a lifestyle that she combines in running a successful horse trekking business, Terrace Downs Equestrian just out of Christchurch. It’s the perfect lifestyle – looking after ten horses – including her favourite, Bundabank (Barney), her own competitive show-jumping horses (which only she gets to ride) and the first horse she ever owned, her 28-year-old pony, Bob who’s there for the kids. “I moved out here because I love the outdoors and it seemed like a quiet place to study for my business studies degree. Now I’ve also become a mad-keen skier.” With Mt Olympus and Craigieburn skifields only a sneeze away, Charlotte is living the dream. www.terracedowns/activities.

Flying High

It was the perfect day for it – 26-degrees, brilliant blue skies and one of the most gorgeous Canterbury landscapes you’ll find – and that’s before we even get to the jet boat and helicopter! Terrace Downs High Country Resort is a heaven-on-earth location roughly an hour inland from Christchurch. Perched high above the Rakaia Gorge it comes complete with classy villas and chalets, one of New Zealand’s top18-hole golf courses and a location that will take your breath away. Given that I’m mad about both jet boats and helicopters, I felt very spoilt today in being able to do both at the launch of the Terrace Downs Discovery Jet on Rakaia River. After being raced upstream on water unbelievably turquoise, through landscapes unbelievably pristine, we were picked up by Mt Hutt Helicopters and whisked back to Terrace Downs for lunch and, in my case, rather manic attempts to get a hole-in-one in a light-hearted putting contest. I have to say it was one of the loveliest little jaunts I’ve had in ages and I hope everyone is going to make a beeline for this fabulous location. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have it so close to Christchurch. www.terracedowns.co.nz