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Snowboarding
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September is a good time to avoid New Zealand travel– unless you ski or snowboard. I leave my home near a ski resort in the Cascade Mountains and visit New Zealand in their summer season because I don’t want to shovel snow, fall on my butt in the ice, or crawl under my car to pry off a chain wrapped around the axle. But, if you’d like to take a holiday now and get your nose burned on a snow field instead of the beach, hop on a jet to New Zealand.
New Zealand ski season is June to November. New Zealand is a volcanic area constantly moving and belching and Kiwis take their skiing seriously. When Mt Ruapehu in the North Island burped out hot lava, skiers weren’t surprised, only determined they weren’t going to lose a ski season. Kiwis let the mountain go about its business throwing fiery boulders into the air. Then, they slipped down one side of the mountain on skis while lava slipped down the other. There are three main ski areas in the North Island and many in the colder South Island. If you’re a beginner or professional, you can find a New Zealand ski area and price that suits your experience level and your credit card balance. While all New Zealand ski areas cater to snowboarding, Wanaka in the South Island is the snowboarding capital. Ohau Lodge another snowboarding area in the Southern Alps is famous for its parties.
Mt Ruapehu
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If you still believe the world is flat, try some heli-sking in the Southern Alps. You better know a little more than how to carry a pair of skis and party with the crowd. Heli-ski companies will transport you up the mountain and you figure out how to get yourself down.
Most of the vans I’ve seen around Queenstown have ski racks– you might ask before you rent if you don’t want to sleep with wet skis. Kilometers on rental vehicles are usually unlimited although some roads are off limits, including one near Wanaca– which you probably couldn’t pass over even if you wanted to in their winter season. GST is very high, so if you're comparing rental RV rates, ask if the GST is included.
Pros & Kiwis
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Why not call in sick and disappear for a few days? Apollo Motorhomes is one of the New Zealand campervan companies offering relocation specials– $1 per day. Just dig around their site. The day I checked, I didn’t find anything available for New Zealand, but found $1 per day specials in Australia, United States, and Canada. Privately owned, Apollo Motorhomes recently bought into the US RV rental market. They have branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. If you live near one of these cities, contact them for more information. In August, Apollo partnered with CanaDream. I’m not familiar with the Canadian market, but if you’re looking for a relocation special in Canada, check their site and follow the link.
If you’d like to spend the last days of summer slipping down a frozen mountain or sitting around a fire in a remote alpine lodge, consider a New Zealand vacation in snow country. If you can’t make it this year, at least dream a little. Turn on your air conditioning and watch a New
Zealand ski video.
Lyn Harris
RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand
9 comments:
This is such a good blog. I just wish you'd post more. If you can make a lady with two knee replacements want to snowboard in New Zealand, you could probably sell refrigerators to Eskimos.
Alice in Arizona
I remember buyback information on cars here at one time. Where was it? I remember emailing you. Maybe it was there and I lost it.
Fran S.
You might try this:
http://new-zealand-rental-cars.com/buyback.htm
I've never used the company and know nothing about them, but it's a Kiwi owned company. All the Kiwis I've meet have been kind and honest.
Lyn
I liked the video and thanks for the helpful information. I'll be in NZ Feb Mar so no snow for me, but I'm learning about where to go and save a few bucks.
Kyle
Great post. Took me into dreaming mode. Maybe it is worth planning. Am definitely thinking about it now.
Awesome pictures..Great post..Thanks for hsaring such a valuable information with us..
scotland cottage
Absolutely phenomenal, and yes excellent pictures here.
trually amazing place for queenstown snowboarding..superb post i love.......this
nice post....sharing information related to Queenstown
Queenstown Snowboarding
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