SUMMER VACATION IN NEWZEALAND
Want to escape the humidity and heat of another Asian summer? There’s no better destination to do it at this time of year than New Zealand
With the heat turned up in Asia, the idea of carving through empty fields of perfect powder snow with cold, clean mountain air pumping through your lungs is fairly idyllic. Add to this image some spectacular views of distant valleys and shimmering lakes, fine, dry snow that cuts like cke board pistes, narrow chutes and mogul faces, and awesome 450 m vertical drops and you ‘ve got a good idea of what Newzealand has to offer skiers.
If You’ve skied in japan or Europe, you will notice one major difference in the ski culture of New Zealand there’s virtually no action on the slopes after dark. This is because there’s very limited on-slope accommodation — you have to stay down below the snow line and travel up each day. However, the night life in the towns is lively. And if you want to take a day off from skiing, these towns offer a wide range of day-time activities — everything from tennis and golf to river rafting, hiking (referred to as ,tramping’ by locals) and mountainbiking.
There are twelve commercial ski areas in the country, clustered in four areas: Canterbury, Wanaka and Queenstown on the South Island; and Mount Ruapehu on the North Island. Count on spending approximately NZ$35-55 (US$24-37) for adult day tickets. In general you only need to purchase one ticket per mountain and there’s increasing interchangeability of lift passes between different resorts. This is particularly true of the South Island ski fields of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mt Hutt.
All twelve commercial ski areas in New Zealand have some excellent ski slopes catering to all levels. There are also 12 club fields open to the public, one Nordic cross-country area and a mix of seasoned helicopter and glacier skiing operators. Snowboarding is also serious stuff in New Zealand: most of the ski areas cater to snowboarders, or at least allow them on their slopes.
Overall, the skiing conditions in New Zealand are awesome and the infrastructure as good as anywhere in the world. Below we’ve focused on four of the best snowfields in the country: Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mt Hutt in the south, and Whakapapa in the north.
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