The ski season was great and I'm so pleased that we got the jobs there, we met some great people and had such a laugh. Steve was working in the ski hire department and I was part of the waitressing/housekeeping team, I really enjoyed the job as there was no pressure and you forget about work once you finish and of course the chance to snowboard most days is such a great bonus.

We had some great fancy dress nights where all the staff let their hair down, with the occasional warning being given out the next day if you were late for the breakfast shift which for some started at 6am!! Ouch. Surprisingly though once in the routine the early mornings wasn't that difficult.

In terms of the snow in Oz, it was a pretty poor season with the snow not arriving properly until almost half way through so we spent about 4 weeks just using the front valley as the rest of the mountain couldn't open which did get annoying still enjoyable.

We were told that our contract would be for 12 weeks so booked our flights home and also a holiday with Mike and Casey, our friends we met in Vietnam. I can hear you say holiday!?!? Yes, we went on holiday for a week to Turkey which was a bloody good idea and we're pleased we did it, kind of easing back into things but very gently!

Our snowboarding has come on really well and we're spending a lot less time on our arses which is good because that was really starting to grate on me. Steve is a speed demon which had worried me because he wasn't wearing a helmet and you hear of lots of snowboarders who catch an edge when going at speed, even when not going at speed and end up with whiplash and sometimes unconscious. I must admit he is better than me, well not as cautious anyway, I think he likes to push it.

We told the manager of the hotel that we would love to come back for the next season but due to Steve being too old now at 31 he can no longer go to Oz to work unless he gets sponsorship, which as it happens Ski Rider are trying to do so who knows we may be off for the next winter season in Oz, which would mean 3 consecutive winters!!! We may have to stop off in Thailand at some point just to see the sun again.