Kids4Free in Methven

I booked the Mt Hutt Ski Bus online the night before, easy-peasy and yes, one of the children’s seats was automatically zero charged.

Before climbing aboard the bus we went to the Mt Hutt Office based with the Methven i-SITE to find out about lift passes and within five minutes had two credit card sized passes for the boys.

As we waited outside the Methven Travel Office, a driver pulled up in a small bus. He said “We maybe taking you up in this one, as the other bus is filling up fast; we are just waiting to see how many passengers are getting on at the Resort.” I was very impressed with this ‘thinking ahead and being prepared approach’. It certainly saved us trying to squeeze onto the larger bus and having to split up, not great when the kids are so young or alternatively waiting for another driver and bus to be called out.

After just a few ‘Are we there yet’s?’ we arrived at Mt Hutt Ski Area, it was a perfectly calm and sunny day and it looked very busy. We had decided to hire our skis and boots up at Mt Hutt having already successfully tried out the hire shops in Methven in previous years. Paying at Guest Services for our gear, (by the way, Mt Hutt ski gear hire is not included in the Kids4Free programme. However it as Big Al's, Jaces Ski Hutt and Alpine Sports), we strolled over to the fitting area to get our skis and boots. Then we hired a storage bin for our shoes and bags. It was quick, easy and the staff members were awesome with the kids.

The boys couldn’t wait to get onto the Magic Carpet, having been the previous season with school, they needed just a couple of runs to get their confidence and they were away. The ski school was in full swing, it was the middle of the school holidays and it was really busy but the queues of people just seemed to keep flowing through.

As the sun started to fall behind the mountain and a chill settled into the air, it was time to return our skis and find the bus home. We fell asleep on the ride back to Methven, all that fresh air and exercise! We had just enough time to get home to change and it was off to the Bavarian Restaurant at the Forest Lodge. This is a great family restaurant, with a separate area for the kids to hang out after dinner so the parents can chill over a glass or two of their favourite beverage.

I thoroughly enjoyed my succulent Black Forest Chicken and the kids gobbled down their Bratwurst sausage and chips and one of the kid’s meals was free. Despite the boys being dog tired and running on fumes, I had to drag them out of there to take them home to bed.

For what could potentially have been a very expensive and stressful exercise with two young boys, was not. The savings and service were amazing, we had a fabulous day out and I would be happy to do it again.

For more information on Kids4Free visit www.kids4free.co.nz

The above article appeared in Issue 24 (Thursday 19th July 2012)
of the Snowfed, Methven's Community Newspaper
www.snowfed.co.nz