Surfing and Skiing on the Same Day — Winter in New Zealand

Surfing and Skiing all in the Same Day — Winter in New Zealand

 

I stand at the end of a windswept quay where a river of fresh water runs off the mountains to rejoin the salty sea. It’s a cold day, and despite possum fur gloves, my hands are going numb as I fumble with the settings on my camera. Yet, a few intrepid (or possibly insane) surfers dressed head to toe in black neoprene are riding the waves these stiff winds gifted them.

It’s cold and unpleasant weather, but the view makes it all worth it. I’m looking across the ocean at the snow-covered mountains of the Southern Alps, a mountain range equally impressive and nearly as tall as my beloved Colorado mountains. Mt. Cook (Aoraki), the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 12,218 feet, is visible in the distance along with all of its white hat-wearing siblings. I marveled at how I could stand at the ocean and gaze at such impressive snow-capped summits.

I commented on this to a native kiwi friend, “It’s amazing you can stand in the ocean and view snow capped mountains. I don’t thing there are many places where you can do that in the world.”

“I suppose you can do that from about anywhere here,” he replied, unimpressed.

 

That is the problem with New Zealand; there is so much natural beauty and fantastic scenery that you are always in danger of becoming blasé about it. In just a few days, we will leave our coastal home, where the temperature rarely dips below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and in a few hours, we will be in the ski fields of the Lakes District. That is the constant whiplash of New Zealand geography, ocean, and tropical ferns one minute, and just an hour later, you’re in alpine winter. It reminds me of Twain’s quip that if you don’t like the weather, just wait it will change. Well, here on the South Island, if you get bored with the scenery, just drive for one hour and it will be like entering an entirely new world.

I think our drive to Arrowtown in the heart of some of the largest ski fields in New Zealand was as impressive as were the high mountains when we got there. We drove down the coast through lush green forests with periodic glimpses of the deep blue Tasman Sea on our right and the snow-covered Southern Alps on our left. In the meantime, we had to gaze at waterfalls and cross impossibly turquoise rivers filled with meltwater from the Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers. It’s amazing we ever get anywhere because there seems to be something to stop and marvel at around every turn. And there are a lot of turns. New Zealand may have no snakes, but the serpentine roads make up for the lack of actual serpents..^⁠1 The posted speed limit along the coast is 100km/hr (62mph), but you would be lucky to find more than a few brief stretches where you can safely maintain that speed.    

 

We don’t stop at every turn, partly because there are so many, but also because we have three teens who are not as easily impressed as their parents. Each time we stop, our car becomes a nest of little birdlings, all chirping. 

“Oh,no.”  

“Not again.”

“Ive already seen the ocean/mountian/river/glacier.”

“My phone doesn’t have any signal.”

“Can we go now?”

Ah, the joys of parenting.   You can lead your teens to the most impressive sights in the world, but you can’t make them look up from their phones. Well, Heidi and I enjoyed the scenery.

The last town on the coast road is Haast. The one thing it has to recommend it is that it is the last town on the western coast. The highway turns inland at Haast because the Fiordland begins south of here. Yes, New Zealand has fiords. Oceans, mountains, fiords, glaciers, volcanos, high alpine lakes, geothermal pools, and the most otherworldly looking trees. It’s just like these trees were taken out of The Lord of the Rings movies. Oh, wait, these are the trees used in filming LOTR movies. That has happened a lot in New Zealand since Peter Jackson filmed all over these islands.

 

I love Colorado, but for roughly the same amount of real estate, you get a lot more bang for your buck in natural wonder in New Zealand. Colorado does have fantastic mountain vistas, but you can’t stand on a Colorado mountain summit and see the ocean off in the distance. I hope that doesn’t mean I need new glasses.

We needed to stand up for our favorite state, so we were on a mission to find out how skiing in New Zealand compares to Colorado. We brought our skies from the northern hemisphere and were anxious to try them out in the southern hemisphere snow. Besides, think of the fun it will be to brag about skiing in July.

The first slop we hit up was The Remarkables outside Queenstown. Be warned, one big difference is that when you take the turnoff from the highway to these ski fields, you still have a long drive ahead of you. Once we completed that drive, we found ourselves in a windswept, snowy, totally exposed location. Even with all our ski gear, it was cold from the wind, and the blowing snow made visibility a problem. But we had come all this way, so we soldiered on.  

One big difference is that where the Colorado slopes are tree lined to the point that we see several ski injuries a year from people hitting trees, the New Zealand slopes we visited were bare. Some car-to-truck-sized rocks sticking up made it clear where to ski and, more importantly, where not to. But there were no trees, which was a problem because it meant there was no break from the wind that blew straight up the face of the runs with such force that it could bring a downhill skier to a standstill. Add to that all the snow the wind carried, reducing visibility to just a dozen feet, and that skiing got a lot more exciting given those rocks I mentioned earlier.  

 

We had come all this way and refused to give up easily. We completed several slow, cautious, cold, and nearly blind runs, but the fun just wasn’t in it. Unlike the much larger resorts in Colorado where you might be able to find better conditions on the backside of the mountain, there wasn’t that option here. We retired to the lodge packed beyond capacity by less intrepid skiers who had given in sooner than we had. We hoped for an improvement in conditions, but when that didn’t occur, we decided to pack it in and headed back to Arrowtown. 

Arrowtown is a quiet community not far from the more boisterous “adventure capital” of Queenstown. We found a charming main street area with shops and restaurants waiting to greet us. The most exciting find was a combination cafe and wine shop that uniquely offered wine tasting. The shop is partitioned by wine varieties forming multiple smaller spaces, all featuring warm wooden tables, comfortable lounging chairs, and cheerful little fires burning in stone fireplaces. But the most memorable part of the place was how we sampled the wine. An aproned Englishman with a charming accent, and rakish beard, gave us each a tasting glass and a credit card like plastic card. We then inserted the card into dispensing machines that would deliver a taste, small, regular, or generous pour based on your request. The card recorded your activity, and then you paid in the end.  

So while our children warmed up with a hot chocolate and a little quality time with their phones, Heidi and I sampled a few vintages and selected a bottle to enjoy with our next meal. I could see the two of us frittering away a pleasant evening in this place with friends, wine, some overstuffed chairs, and a cozy fire. However, we were there with three teens, so we had to keep our revelry brief this time.

 

Our next stop was the beautiful city of Wanaka, located on the shores of the mountain-enclosed lake by the same name. This was our second trip to this place, and I know we will be back. A big reason for our return is tacos. New Zealand offers an amazing variety of things, but Mexican food is not one of them. So when we found a restaurant selling tacos, our lunch plans were set. And the tacos did not disappoint. These were not just Taco John’s tacos; these were tacos done like art. You could order from a dozen different styles, including fish, bar-b-que, vegetarian options, coconut prawns, and all the usual options. The southwestern atmosphere and furnishings of the place made us feel like we were back in Durango. It was a hit with my family on more levels than one.

The view across Lake Wanaka is as memorable as the tacos, but we were here to ski, so we headed up to Cardrona. Again it was a surprisingly long drive on a narrow, twisty, and snowy mountain road that felt a little precarious, given there were no guard rails and long drop-offs. People stopped in turnouts to put chains on their car tires because you can’t buy snow tires in New Zealand. We didn’t have any chains, but we did have four wheels drive and years of experience driving in conditions like this so we did okay.

Not only did we have a good time on the slopes, but we also found out via social media that the kiwi actor Karl Urban from LOTR, The Boys, Star Trek, and most importantly an uncredited role in one of the Star Wars franchises as a Storm Trooper, had just recently spent the day on the same slopes we were now enjoying. The skiing was good and the view astonishing, but compared to Purgatory, where we ski most often, the lift lines were long, and the runs were short. Cardona is also deficient in trees, but it was a lot less windy and snowy, which gave us the ski day we had hoped for on the same slopes as our new “besty” Karl Urban.

 

We ended our ski day with a bite at the Cardrona Hotel, possibly the oldest hotel in New Zealand. It looks like the wild-west hotel you would expect to see in a Clint Eastwood western. Inside it was warm and inviting with exposed wood beams in the ceiling, a friendly fire, and cold beer. We found a table and ordered drinks and small plates from the bar. This is often the way it’s done in New Zealand, you seat yourselves and then order and pay at the bar when you are ready. It probably dovetails with the fact that tipping your server is just not done down here. Mainly for two reasons; one, people are paid a living wage, so they don’t rely on tips to make up for a meager hourly wage. Two, there is a more egalitarian view and being dependent on tips has the distasteful feel of making some people beholden to others.  

We watched more intrepid souls decked out in their ski gear through the window, drinking and dinning around an outdoor bonfire in the extensive beer garden. And the place was comfortable and warm. Although it may be old and retains its rustic charm, it’s also clean, modern and would be a very comfortable place to stay close to the ski field. 

 

So how did the skiing compare to mountain resorts like Purgatory and Telluride? The lack of trees can make the conditions less tenable on a windy day, but they also make it possible to see the entire ski field from about anywhere. The lack of trees also makes for some spectacular, unobstructed views. I can think of a few places with superb views at Purgatory and Telluride, but everywhere at The Remarkables and Cardrona offered a fantastic panoramic view of snow-covered mountains stretching off into the distance. 

In general, this makes a good destination for the intermediate skier but be warned, the smaller size does make it feel crowded as there is less space for everyone to spread out. We may have gotten a skewed view as we were there over a school break with many other families, so we probably saw more people learning to ski and acting as obstacles than you might witness at another time. Nonetheless, all of us enjoyed it. Even Allen who has stayed away from skiing for the last few years, had fun, and you would have never known he hadn’t been on skis for a couple of years if you had seen him.

 

Besides the exciting skiing, beautiful views, and tacos, Wanaka has a lot to offer. It is rapidly becoming one of our favorite destinations on the South Island. One fun, new and interesting thing we discovered was the movie theater. Rather than the typical movie theater seats, this theater is filled with missmatched couches and comfortable chairs complete with pillows arranged on a set of tiers. It’s like relaxing on the sofa in your living room while watching on a big screen. And if that isn’t enough, there are even a couple of old cars with the tops cut off so you can enjoy your experience like you’re in a convertible at a drive-in theater.

Not impressed yet? Then wait till you get to intermission because when you buy your movie ticket, you put in your cookie order. Then, at the break, you return to the lobby and collect one warm, gooey, freshly baked cookie to enjoy along with the film’s second half. Combined with the friendly nature of the proprietor, this whole experience felt like having a movie night at your friends’ house. I can’t recall what film we watched, but the movie wasn’t the essential part of this experience.

 

The more time we spend in the Lakes District, the more we find to love about it. Queenstown is the region’s most prominent and best-known destination, with the well-deserved title of the “adventure capital of the world.” Still, many quieter destinations in this region are equally appealing in their own right. We will be back again, I’m sure.

 

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