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After a recent skiing holiday I've come to the conclusion I want to do a lot more skiing. I also want to visit New Zealand, so combining the two seems an obvious choice.
Has anyone been there and ski'd a reasonable amount? Would it be worth a few weeks?
where are you coming from? if its the UK knock 4 days off for getting there and back 🙂
It's not as big or shiny as Europe, there is not the volume of piste or the infrastructure compared to somewhere like France. However, what there is is a really good vide and some great fun to be had. Base yourself somewhere like Wanaka or Queenstown and work from there, the latter has 3 ski areas within an hours drive. Also, and I accept this may just have been bad luck on my part, but the weather was bleak, it felt like skiing in Scotland does, I.e. cold, windy but with occasional dumpings of snow and even more occasional blue skies.
Ditto about it being a hellofa long way to come for some rather mediocre skiing! And once you're there there's bu@@er all else to do because its the middle of winter (obviously).
Better to enjoy the skiing in Europe or the US (which honestly, is better), and come to NZ in the summer when you can enjoy the MTBing (which [i]is[/i] world class) and enjoy all the other touristy things (and there are many) in the warm and dry!
and check the exchange rate!!
Yup I know someone who was out there for a while and said it was pretty much like Scottish skiing. Bet you could do some good ski touring/ski mountaineering though.
There are far better long haul ski destinations.
There are far better things to do in NZ than skiing.
Personally I would choose summer to visit.
And ski somewhere else.
Ok thanks. Kind of what I expected / feared. Shame as it could have been ideal.
But skiing in Oz can be just as bad..... This year seemed good but again like Scotland without the cheap drink. If you want a few months out during UK summer try Queensland for bikes
Chile gets a good write up for southern hemisphere skiing.
I'm from Queenstown, and have worked seasons on a couple of other big NZ fields- Hutt and Whakapapa.
There's no comparison with Scottish skiing- the main commercial fields are far larger, both in terms of lift capacities and piste/off piste, and the seasons are longer and pretty much 100% reliable.
Oz is more like Scotland imo. 🙂
If you're thinking of doing a season it'll probably be bloody good fun if you pick the right area, and do your skiing no end of good, but there are a few pitfalls.
If you're only going to NZ for a few weeks, then it's not worthwhile spending time and money for field skiing- my rationale is pretty much along the lines of if it's not worth getting a season pass, it's not worth doing.
Having said that, the heliskiing is world class from Queenstown and Methven/Hutt, albeit bloody expensive now with the exchange rate.
If it were me I would however spend the money on skiing the Tasman Glacier- cheaper than a days heliskiing and one of the most memorable days on skis I've ever had.
I moved here originally to ski, worked at Hutt for a couple of years.
Firstly the skiing is not like European or us type skiing, almost exclusively you do not stay on the mountain. S travel is involved. The good point is that there is a lot of it and if you a a decent skier you have options that will be quite fun. The cluster of resorts around queenstown and Wanaka are the main commercial fields - remarks and coronet nr queenstown, cardona and treble cone near wanaka. There are also a shed load of different options and club fields, which are probably a bit more like your Scottish experience except a little less refined ! I have had awesome skiing at mt Olympus, craigieburn and broken river. I didn't see any of these mentioned in previous posts. Dobson is ok as we'll. I think fox peak is shut now ? Like all skiing it will be snow specific but scenic and beautiful.
The are loads of other things to do in winter, wtf makes you think you can't bike in the winter around here ? There are plenty of good rides below the snow line even in qt and wanaka. North island you have Ruaepehu which has two fields, again they can be a bit variable but quite large infrastructure wise.
I wouldn't write it off, treat it as a holidaywithsome skiing and some adventures. Oh and heli skiing is excellent. I have done Harris mtns twice and cook area as well - all 3 were great trips.