Oz/NZ 2025

Patrick said:
Can you send me the cliff notes?
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I agree; it takes almost as long to read that novella-length transcript as to watch the video. Still (and we've discussed this before), it's much more efficient to read the content of a documentary-style clip than to sit through it. We've used former admin's Grand Adventure travel series as Exhibit A -- they're really well done and he puts a ton of work into them but I'm not going to spend 45-60 minutes watching the whole thing. I prefer an article with photos and a short youtube clip.

In any case, the b-roll of the ski areas showed me that they're more expansive/interesting than I'd presumed. If only there weren't so many dealbreakers -- the high cost of lift tickets, national park fees, lodging, and flights, along with at least 1.5 days of travel time and the risk of underwhelming snow -- I'd consider going there.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Isn't ChrisC the one who expressed skepticism about isolated volcanic peaks with chronic wind, rime icing and lift shutdowns? Ruapehu is Exhibit A of all of those. Like Bachelor, I think those places are best skied in spring. But the Ruapehu areas don't get as much snow, and my understanding is that neither has opened yet this season.
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Would it be a better decision to forgo the North Island of New Zealand and the Mount Ruapehu ski areas, since they shut down so often, and instead go to Melbourne (lots of reasonable direct flights from Queenstown to Melbourne) and ski the (somewhat?) nearby ski areas such as Mount Hotham and Mount Buller? Note: I have visited Sydney before for multiple days, but not Melbourne.

While conditions may be less desirable, those resorts are more likely to remain open and be impacted by fewer storms. Although I have read online that the mountains of NSW are better than those in Victoria, as they are higher in elevation.

Given all the hidden fees, high lodging costs, and large distances, I see no reason to commit the time & money to ski all of the Australian resorts.
 
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I stand by my original view that you need another reason to be in Australia July-Sept. in order to add on some skiing. I was really close (Canberra) in 1997 so I couldn't resist. If you are in tropical Australia as we were in 2019 and expect to be in 2028, there's still a considerable distance factor involved to get to any skiing. If you have to fly extra anyway, I'd go to Christchurch though sbooker keeps telling us that's more expensive. Perhaps not as part of a complex international itinerary.

ChrisC said:
Would it be a better decision to forgo the North Island of New Zealand and the Mount Ruapehu ski areas, since they shut down so often
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I'm surprised to see wipeout seasons with marginal coverage at Ruapehu. I would think average snowfall would be higher (brochure quotes say so) as they are not shadowed by mountains farther west (like nearly all on South Island) and latitude is still 39, a touch more than Melbourne.

With adequate snow coverage you could plan a flexible week on North Island (lots of interesting places), and go for the skiing when you see a calm weather forecast.
 
Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear...

A (return) visit to Queenstown would be a must-do:
  • The ski areas seem the most concentrated and interesting
  • Treble Cone often gets
  • Lots of activities for any down days - Shotover, Bungee, etc
  • Never made it to Milford Sound, so that trip would be of interest

But instead of flying to the North Island/Auckland, go to Australia instead:
  • Auckland - 2 hr flight
  • Melbourne - 3.5 hr flight

It's really no extra effort. You are essentially in the neighborhood. Imagine Melbourne is more interesting than Auckland, but similar.



It appears that there are many down days at Mount Ruapehu, but more snow.

https://www.whakapapa.com/report or https://www.pureturoa.nz/snow-report

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