# Top spots in New Zealand?



## Guest

Hey there

Just throwing out the question to New Zealand locals or any regulars to NZ, Whats the top spot in New Zealand to board? I'm thinking of organizing a trip there in June-July next year and I didn't realize there are so many different places to go. Its kinda bad, how are you meant to decide when there are so many. 

Its like if you have 5 kids and your in a life a death situation, which one would you save if you could only save one hahaha. maybe a not so good analogy hahaha


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## BurtonAvenger

The southern Islands are where a majority of my friends go. Specifically the Wanaka or Queenstown area. Go in Mid to late July or August thats when the snows better.


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## Guest

Cardrona was my favorite spot. If you stay in Queenstown about 5 resorts are immidiately reachable so you can choose. Best powder ever.


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## PaoloSmythe

*anton *- you skanky bitch!

you better had name dropped me when registering!

rahhh!


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## Guest

Definitely south island. The bigger resorts are around Queenstown and Wanaka. When I was there they had some epic storms and the smaller club fields around the canterbury region were all closed. Too much snow. Man I was pissed off. Never got a chance to use my nutcracker. Had to drink my way back down to Wanaka.  Treble Cone managed to avalanche some guests the day before we went there. Snow was incredible though. Like a foot of cream cheese on a totally smooth base.

Make sure you check out the wineries while you're there.


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## Guest

I might be going to new zealand next summer! I can't wait to get my tour itinerary to see where I can go. this thread is great. thanks for all the great suggestions.


Peter Morales


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## Guest

theres a website, "onthesnow.com" that can help you narrow them down. It lists all the basic features of the mountain, has links to their sites and has a region overview feature where you can see all the places in the area with reviews on a graph. It's really helpful. 

I was thinking about going down there this summer, but the plane ticket scared me off. Someday though! the pictures look sick.


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## Guest

NZ rocks as a summer option for you Northern Hemispherians. They have some reallly good mountains, mostly on the South Island - Treble Cone for the serious rider, Snow Park for the park rats, and a whole bunch of in mountains in between. It would also be incredibly cheap for Europeans or even North Americans as the conversion rates are so low. Hire a car and hit as many spots as possible making sure that you include the "club fields" which are smaller resorts with sick terrain and incredibly low numbers of people


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## Guest

Yeah I'm going to have to go with NZ and more specifically Southern Lakes region.

It's just an amazing place! There's great boarding, lots of chilled people, and heaps of other stuff to do (including the best nightlife). If your down in Queenstown your pretty much guaranteed to have a good time, snow or no snow.

I'll do a bit of an overview, this is just my (biased) opinion though. There's 5 resorts down there. Coronet Peak, Remarkables, Cardrona, Treble Cone, Snowpark.

Coronet and Remarks are run through NZSki.com Home - NZ's premiere Ski, Snowboard and Mountain Biking Website (along with Mt Hutt) and they're a great combo. Coronet Peak has got lots of varied terrain, and are upgrading the whole base facility and snow guns this season. They also have night riding. Remarkables has been really stepping up their park with the addition of "The Stash" this coming season and the big terrain park last season also when there's snow they have some challenging runs.

Cardrona is "naturally better". Its got a big field with a lot of freestyle options when they get it up and running. I almost didn't visit this one and I'm glad i did, there's lots of fun natural or man made lines and I imagine it would be fun in powder. This is a good all-round field. www.cardrona.com/

Treble Cone is probably the most renowned for powder and they have some good runs (be prepared to hike a lot for the really good stuff). They also have a really nice long beginner/intermediate run. But parts of it can be challenging if theres not much snow. New Zealand Skiing, Treble Cone, Wanaka - New Zealand's Largest South Island Ski Resort

Snowpark is unmissable if freestyle is your thing, but sometimes the crowds get pretty big. Snowpark NZ - ABOUT. Watch the "Method Episode 12" for some sick riding and what they have planned for 08!

In my opinion you can't really beat Southern Lakes, for the best riding, best vibes and stunning scenery!

The only negatives is being such a small town accomodation can be pretty tight and sometimes expensive. If your on a reasonable budget smaller towns (like Arrowtown, Frankton and Lake Hayes) are worth looking into. If your looking for backpacker accomodation Pinewood lodge is a good one (but probably full this year). And we dont have trees, but i think we make up for it with everything else.

If you are looking for a more chilled out type of holiday..

Further north (Canterbury region) also has some great club fields that are more low key (T-bars, rope tows). If there is a good base or the powder hits there is some great riding to be had and not many crowds (License to Chill. Multi Mountain Pass.), but if the snow is thin then Mt Hutt is the biggest field up this way. Its got 3 chairlifts, good snow making and some good off piste stuff (But again, be prepared to hike) but it is a smaller field (compared to down south) and can get boring after a long time with minimal snow. But it is still fun, don't get me wrong.

In regards to snow and crowds, we can have some long seasons (06 at Hutt was early June to late October with 2.5 m). And its worth looking up when the school holidays are if you want to avoid the crowds and more accomodation problems (try to miss the main 2 week school break, it gets really busy around that time).

PEAK - (Jul 5 - Sept 5)

OFF PEAK - (Jun 20-Jul 4) & (Sept 6 - Oct 4)

Hope this helped . Wherever you end up going have an awesome time!


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## Guest

Queenstown has to be the best place to ski. There are two ski fields in Queenstown, the remarkables and coronet peak. The Remarkables is perfect for families and beginners and is considered the best place to learn to ski both for adults and children.


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## Guest

*Cardrona for intermediates?*

I just joined and found this thread, really helpful info. I'm going out to NZ in July for 6 weeks, so will be getting a seson pass for one of the resorts in the South Island. Cardrona is a lot cheaper than the others, and it sounds like it gets some good snow, more natural hits and less people, which appeals to me. I'm an intermediate boarder and looking to find some fun/interesting and/or challenging stuff to ride and just wondering if Cardrona has much to offer in terms of terrain in comparison to some of the others? I don't know yet where I'll be staying, but I don't have a lot of cash to play with otherwise I'd probably go with a season pass for Treble Cone. How does Cardrona compare with Remarks and Coronet Peak for intermediate riders? Any advice greatly appreciated.


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## litebrite

i loved cardrona! i think mainly because of the conditions. when i went in july last yr coronet and remarks were icy as heck. cardrona had soft pack conditions. 

there's an awesome basin in cardrona where you pretty much have free rein where you wanna go. i'd say i'm an intermediate and i had a great time. you weren't just limited to certain runs. the blue runs were nice wide open runs. not super steep but still fun. 

remarks has the burton stash park however. although the cardrona park seemed to have some nice features.


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## Guest

thanks litebrite that's really helpful. I think I'm gonna go with Cardrona. I hate ice and I'm not so big on crowds either! Wide runs with freedom to be creative sounds great, I don't think I need it to be too gnarly! By the sounds of it if you really want gnarly there's a lot of off piste to be found if you're prepared to hike a bit for it. And they're adding a new trail this year I think in Arcadia Basin. Should be fun to watch the Burton Snowboard Open too! I hear they've made improvements to the park too...Awesome.


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## litebrite

you won't regret cardrona!! i had originally planned to only do a 1 day trip there, but i had such an awesome time i went back the 2nd day.


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## Frankhead

New Zealand has some great snow, pity you can't stay on the mountain to enjoy it, building night time kickers and the such.

If you're doing a season, go to Aus - better pay, live on mountain, more lifts, bigger resorts.

If you're going for a holiday - NZ, Queenstown for parties, Wanaka for sophistication.


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## Frankhead

The Cardrona Park Rocks, awesome features, but they're maintenance is dismal. 

The crowds were worse than anything I've seen in Canada or Australia for years.


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## nzboardlife

Frankhead said:


> New Zealand has some great snow, pity you can't stay on the mountain to enjoy it, building night time kickers and the such.
> 
> If you're doing a season, go to Aus - better pay, live on mountain, more lifts, bigger resorts.


no.

If i was gonna work at a mountain i would never pick australia, your obviously not doing it for the money so why would that really factor in.






Frankhead said:


> The crowds were worse than anything I've seen in Canada or Australia for years.


What time of year? bet you hit the school holidays


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## Reede

Aussie school holidays are in July so August is much better for crowds.

I think NZ is the same.


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## Guest

Te Aroha is one of the best place in New Zealand situated in the Thames Valley. The name 'Te Aroha' comes from the Maori word Aroha, where legend has it that Rahiri climbed the mountain and saw his homeland in the distance and felt a sense of love (aroha) for it. The name is often rendered in English as 'place of love'. This place is also popular for Te Aroha Hot Pools


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