Winter wonders

Winter LIFESTYLE wonders

YOUR TRAVEL GUIDE

Our Winter Playground

Mt Olympus Ski Area

Mt Olympus aka the “Playground of the Gods” is a club field located in the Craigieburn Range in the South Island. Run by the Windwhistle Winter Sports Club (WWSC), it’s one of those ski areas with an impressive reputation. Home to big mountain skiing, south-facing slopes that trap lots of powder, no crowds and a relaxed attitude, the ski area is serviced by three successive nutcracker rope-tows as well as a learner’s tow in the beginners’ area. The terrain is amazing, the access road is an adventure, the atmosphere is great, and it also boasts the highest hot tub in NZ.

KINCO PIG SKIN GLOVES $39.60 AVAILABLE IN STORE OR ONLINE FROM RURALCO

Staveley Ice Rinks

Just off State Highway 72, the Staveley ice skating and curling rinks was built by a group of local Mid Canterbury farmers back in 1949 and is one of the few natural ice-skating locations left in New Zealand. Made up of three rinks with the upper used only for curling, there is also an open fire, perfect for BYO marshmallows and biscuits after a day or night on the ice. Due to the increasingly warm winters that have been occurring, the rink does not always open because it not continuously cold enough for a thick enough sheet of ice to freeze. Check out their Facebook page for up-to-date details of its opening.

Naseby Ice Rink, Luge & Snowpark

The Naseby Ice Rink, Luge & Snowpark has been providing winter (June to August) fun and entertainment for all ages since opening in 1991. Whether you enjoy skating, curling, hurtling down the ice luge or playing in the snow, you can have a great time doing it all at the Naseby Ice Rink, Luge & Snowpark. Check out their website for more info.

PHOTO CREDIT: BLAI R W I L K I N S O N

Fox Peak Ski Area

Fox Peak Ski Area is run by the Fox Peak Ski Club (Inc.) – a nonprofit organisation whose ski field is located on Fox Peak. The Ski Area sits beneath Fox Peak – the highest point on the giant Two Thumb Range just 40km from Fairlie, South Canterbury. The uncrowded slopes and friendly atmosphere, coupled with amazing terrain make it one of the true gems of the South Island’s club ski fields. The team at Fox Peak rely on the hard work of loyal and passionate club members to make this a true ski and snowboarding paradise to be enjoyed by all.

Drinking it in

Smarten up you home bar game with our new range of delightful glassware that will be sure to add a touch of class to your winter entertaining. Check out some of the cocktail recipes we’re loving at the moment featuring refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.

Classic Gin Gimlet

LIME SYRUP PLUS • 2 limes • Ice • Zest of 2 limes • 50ml Gin or • 200g white or caster non-alcoholic subsitute sugar • Lime slice to garnish First make your lime sugar syrup. Place your lime zest and juice into a saucepan and add water. You’ll want 60% lime juice and 40% water. Add cater sugar and heat gently without boiling on a medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Use a cocktail shaker or jar and fill with ice Add sugar lime syrup and gin to the ice and stir, wait for the shaker to cool then pour into a child martini glass.

Mojito

• 45ml white rum or non-alcoholic subsitute • 30ml lime juice • 90ml sparkling water • 2 teaspoons Chelsea Caster Sugar • 2 mint sprigs • Fresh ice cubes In a tall glass, add two teaspoons of sugar, the juice of half a lime, two mint sprigs and two parts of sparkling water. Muddle gently and then add one part of white rum, then the ice cubes.

Kombucha Mocktail

ALCOHOL FREE

• Juice of 1 lime • 1 sprig of rosemary • Flavoured kombucha of your choice, ginger and lemonade work well • 1 cup ice • Slice of lime to garnish Place ice in a chilled gin glass, add your sprig of rosemary pour over lime juice and top with kombucha.

Luigi Bormioli

MARTINI GLASSES - 4 $53.30 HIGH BALL GLASSES - 6 $57.00 GIN GLASSES - 4 $60.40 AVAILABLE FROM RURALCO

Entranceway Style

Your entranceway is the window to your home. Style it up with a statement piece and dress it to create ambience when guests enter your home. A console table or bench seat is a great way to make an empty space seem more homely and attractive when you walk in the door. Dress a table with dried floral arrangement and candles and hang a mirror or an artwork above. A bench seat is another great feature for this space. Add cushions or throws for a cosy look.

Coffee table books

Coffee table books are an inexpensive way to add pops of colour to a room. They are an accessory that requires little but keep on giving. They can add style to every corner of your home from your coffee table, kitchen island to your bookshelves or entryway console.

THE CREATIVE HOME $40.30 SCANDINAVIAN MODERN $35.90 #SHELFIE $35.90

AVAILABLE FROM RURALCO

WE LOVE

John John Bench from The Ned Collections.

$521.80 AVAILABLE FROM RURALCO

Indoor Plants

Indoor plants are trending heavily online, sparking a global craze with home decorators collecting peace lilies, snake plants, monstera, fiddle leaf fig, rubber plants and cacti to name a few. But why is this aesthetic becoming more and more popular? Plants bring life to any space, especially in the colder months more dreary months, plants can breathe life into your home while having other benefits like keeping the air clean. You can fill any space in your home with a plant, pair it with a fun pot to make a beautiful statement in your home. Or perhaps you want to get the look without worrying about care and maintenance of a living thing. Our new collection of pots and faux plants can add greenery to your space.

Roasted Vegetable Medley

With Natt Taufa, Ruralco

RED ONIONS KUMARA CARROTS PUMPKIN COURGETTE MUSHROOMS WHOLE PEELED GARLIC CLOVES FETA SPINACH OLIVE OIL PINCH OF CUMIN SALT N PEPPER ROSEMARY SPRIG DRIZZLE OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Chop all your vegetables into evenly sized cubes. Mix oil, vinegar, cumin, salt n pepper together and coat the vegetables. Place your vegetable in a roasting dish in a single layer, adding the sprig of rosemary and roast to perfection When ready to serve crumble Feta over and scatter spinach throughout also. Maxwell & Williams Epicurious Range

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What’s on at the movies

With David Favel, Regent Cinema

Dream Horse Opens 3rd June

The true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely racehorse bred by small-town bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their meagre earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the racing elites. Their investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks and becomes a beacon of hope for their struggling community.

Fast & Furious 9 Opens 17th June

After the events of The Fate of the Furious (2017), Dominic Toretto and his family must face Dominic’s younger brother Jakob, a deadly assassin, who is working with their old enemy Cipher, and who holds a personal vendetta against Dominic.

FASHION

Cover up in style with Swanndri

Winter means it’s time to rug up when you’re out and about. The new Swanndri winter range has you covered with cosy casual wear to get you through the season. Perhaps you’re heading away on a winter break or cheering on the kids at the rugby field. With great options for both men and women, this collection will take you through many winters to come.

A. SWANNDRI MEN’S CARISBROOK SIDELINE JACKET $310.50 B. SWANNDRI WOMEN’S RYDAL HALF ZIP HOODIE $115.40 C. SWANNDRI MEN’S HORIZON CREW FLEECE $97.60

AVAILABLE IN STORE OR ONLINE FROM RURALCO

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A. MAXWELL & WILLIAMS EPICURIOUS CASSEROLE DISH 2.6LT ROUND $63.90 B. MAXWELL & WILLIAMS EPICURIOUS LASAGNE DISH 36 X 24.5CM $53.10 C. MAXWELL & WILLIAMS EPICURIOUS SQUARE BAKER 19 X 7CM $22.90 A B C

Winter reads

With Norma Geddes, Ashburton Paper Plus

Cosy up your reading corner

Farm for Life

BY TANGAROA WALKER The awesomely inspiring true story of how Tangaroa Walker turned his life around through farming - and how what he learned can help anyone succeed. Tangaroa Walker’s early years were pretty rough. Adopted twice, he went to six different schools by the time he was six. He never read a book in his life and lived to play rugby. But he had a dream, and he knew how to do the mahi. Today, T is a true community and industry leader running a successful 500-cow dairy farm and reaching millions as the much-loved face of Farm4Life with his practical, inspiring, crack-up videos on everything from farming to fishing, finance to whanau, management to mental health. This is the story of how he did it—the good and the bad times—and all the lessons learned along the way.

Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail

BY DANIELLE HAWKINS Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail is the funny, illuminating diary of a year in the life of a New Zealand farm vet. With a husband and two children, 1200 sheep and 400 cattle, farm dogs and pet lambs, pigs bent on excavation and a goat bent on escape, country life is never dull. From calving cows to constipated dogs, weddings to weaning lambs, daffodils to ducklings to droughts, each season brings new challenges and delights. Sometimes it’s exhausting but it’s almost always a lot of fun - anyway, it’s all part and parcel of the life of a Kiwi mother, farmer’s wife and vet.

Legacy of War

BY WILBUR SMITH & DAVID CHURCHILL The action-packed new book in the Courtney Series and the sequel to Courtney’s War. The war is over, Hitler is dead—and yet his evil legacy lives on. Saffron Courtney and her beloved husband Gerhard only just survived the brutal conflict, but Gerhard’s Nazisupporting brother, Konrad, is still free and determined to regain power. As a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse develops, a plot against the couple begins to stir. One that will have ramifications throughout Europe. Further afield in Kenya, the last outcrop of the colonial empire is feeling the stirrings of rebellion. As the situation becomes violent, and the Courtney family home is under threat, Leon Courtney finds himself caught between two powerful sides—and a battle for the freedom of a country. Legacy of War is a nail-biting story of courage, bravery, rebellion and war from the master of adventure fiction.

OWL BOOK ENDS, SET OF 2 $162.50 MT SOMER’S LAMBSWOOL THROW IN SOFT GREY $199.00 MAXWELL & WILLIAMS PERSONALISED LETTERETTES COFFEE MUG $12.90 LE FORGE VELVET CUSHIONS $51.80

AVAILABLE FROM RURALCO