Winter

Winter’s first heavy snowfall has blanketed Queenstown overnight, just in time for the start of the Queenstown Winter Festival.

Matariki will be observed throughout New Zealand this year with home-style and high-profile events bringing families together to celebrate new beginnings.

A pre-dawn gathering on a New Zealand East Coast beach will be first to witness Matariki rising and the dawning of Māori New Year - at the same location that’s famously first in the world to see the sun.

The first New Zealand ski field of the season is set to open tomorrow morning (5.06.2010) – just in time for the long Queen’s Birthday weekend.

A cold blast over New Zealand’s South Island is bringing snow to low levels and dumping snow on key resorts, just days before the first ski field opens.

The 2010 ski season’s first snow dump has landed in New Zealand – at the peak of the popular Canterbury ski area at Mt Hutt.

Tourists and professional whale watchers on New Zealand whale watching safaris have been treated to some recent rare sightings as the winter whale season swings into action.

As winter snow time approaches, New Zealand’s ski areas are already busy preparing for the 2010 ski season with many new developments designed to enhance the Kiwi ski holiday experience.

New Zealand is preparing for the southern hemisphere’s biggest winter party – the 36th Queenstown Winter Festival – an iconic alpine event with a reputation for fun and frivolity.

New Zealand's focus is turning to cooler times as the country’s top skiers ready for the Winter Olympics and the ski industry begins its early-bird marketing campaign.