Snowventure spectacular

Devansh’s ski symphony: Notes of thrill, rhythm of the slopes and a crescendo of winter joy.

Ten-year-old Devansh Ladha shares his snowy wonderland trip — a journey filled with surprises and fun, and a whimsical Carrot Adventure Park.

2023 had some awesome highlights for me. My poem about Matariki won a prize at the HB Williams Memorial Library. And guess what? My mum and dad gave me the coolest gift of the year — a trip to Mt Ruapehu.

One fine morning, we started our trip to the snowy wonderland. The roads were still under repair as they were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, so Dad drove slowly and carefully. We kept taking breaks, at Wairoa, Napier and Taupo, but I had no interest in any of those places. I was just waiting to get to the snow.

Finally, by late afternoon when we reached Ruapehu, we could see the snow — and we were super lucky. The roads closed just an hour after we got there. Phew! We were quite tired so we decided to rest at our Airbnb accommodation and save our energy for snow fun the next day.

We woke up very early the next morning, even before the sun said hello. We got ready and left for Whakapapa ski field, but we didn’t have four-wheel drive so we stopped at the i-Site to take a shuttle. It was like a race against time, and I felt like a snow explorer on a mission.

Now, picture this: Tonnes of snow everywhere! It was like a giant ice cream cone but a gazillion times better. I was so amazed with so much snow all around. We walked to the Happy Valley area and rented the skiing gear. Finally, we put on the skiing boots, gloves, etc and we were ready to zooooom. We slipped, we skiied and we had loads of fun. I nailed it in one go. That was extremely tiring but I still wanted more.

Next we hopped on a gondola for a ride with amazing views. As soon as we got out of the gondola we enjoyed having a snowball fight. And guess what else? We made our own snowman.

After a day filled with fun and excitement, it was time to get back to our accommodation and enjoy the jacuzzi there.

Next morning, snow fun was now over and we packed our bags to return home. But wait, here’s the wild part. On our way back home, we found a place called Carrot Adventure Park. Seriously. A giant 7.5 metres tall carrot with vege friends like Crimson King the Swede and Sir Lancelot the Brussels sprout. There was even a carrot Mazda car and a carrot space rocket. Can you believe it? It was really creative and unique.

The whole trip was a great adventure with surprises around every corner, and loads of fun.