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Picture yourself skiing in New Zealand; a fine winter’s day, breathtaking scenery and a mountain of fresh virgin snow. Is there anything more captivating? If you’re a skier, probably not. New Zealand has developed a deserved reputation as an international skiing destination. The season runs from June to October, the landscapes and scenery are out of this world, gear is easy to hire, and the queues are comparatively short. New Zealand ski fields are uncrowded with plenty of wide-open bowls and gentle slopes for first-time skiers and off-piste skiing and heli-skiing for the more adventurous.
Within easy reach of geothermal wonderlands Lake Taupo and Rotorua, Mount Ruapehu rises dramatically out of the landscape and features two commercial ski fields. The country’s largest ski area, Whakapapa, is well-known for big basins and wide runs. Turoa, only an hour’s drive away, hosts wide open bowls and a dedicated terrain park.
High above the Canterbury Plains, 1.5 hours from Christchurch, is the Mt Hutt ski area; known for its consistently good conditions and family-friendly facilities. If boutique ski areas are your thing, venture south to the Mackenzie region. Ohau, Roundhill and Mt Dobson combine supreme conditions with some of the most spectacular alpine scenery in New Zealand.
It’s here that skiing in New Zealand comes into its own, with a large choice of fields, spectacular mountain scenery and a rich après-ski scene. Thousands of skiers descend every season to the ‘adventure capital’ of Queenstown and nearby Wanaka for the four resorts within a short distance of each other: The Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Cardrona and Treble Cone.
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