Ski-Snowboard Queenstown, NZ

Skiing-snowboarding in Queenstown, New Zealand is worth the trip.

Apr 17, 2007

A ski-snowboard vacation to Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island that included four ski areas continues with myriad off-snow activities.

The grand skiing and snowboarding vacation in Queenstown, New Zealand, last summer under the auspices of U.S.-based Holidaze Ski Tours and the guiding of Queenstown-based Ski Express, included more off-snow activity options than we could possibly do in a week.

Queenstown, of course, is an internationally renowned destination for skiing, snowboarding, bungy jumping, and adventure of all kinds.

Arriving

Even when approaching Queenstown from 30,000 feet in the air at the start of a ski or snowboarding vacation, it’s clear that there’s something special down there.

Sitting on the plane’s left side, the ocean-only view gradually drifts to reveal shoreline and then some hills. Suddenly those hills become seemingly innumerable snow-capped mountain peaks.

They just stand there beneath you like a bunch of hard-frozen cones gleaming in the sun, divided by dark gray glaciers and frozen rivers. Mt. Cook. Mt. Hutt. Who can tell which is which? There are too many peaks.

The plane turns dramatically, and its wings seem to be almost touching the hills, passing Coronet Peak Ski Area closely enough that you can see tiny skiers/riders waggling down the hill. Descending further into a valley, the mountains now rising around you, the aircraft drifts slowly down to the runway.

Disembark and the Remarkables Mountains are behind you, Coronet Peak to your right. Awesome.

Just the Beginning

But, that’s just the beginning. In a day, you’re not only ascending those hills and sliding in those ski fields. You’re undertaking—if you will—thrills in the air, on the water, in the woods, and elsewhere on the ground.

But, perhaps it’s the non-skiing and snowboarding activities that make this destination so unique.

Non-Ski/Snowboard Activities Abound

It seems, for example, that any trip to Queenstown with a bungy jump is incomplete. Or, one must at least be a spectator at a jump.

You can jump just above downtown Queenstown with A.J. Hackett Bungy, but why not stop at the site where commercial bungy got its start? The Kawarau Bridge Bungy.

The one-lane, antique bridge is a national historic landmark. Hakcet has turned it into a major jumping center, complete with gift shop and, for those who’d rather not jump, a behind the scenes tour.

The amazing thing is not that people will dive off a bridge set in a canyon 43 meters above a river. The amazing thing is that these guys have turned bungy into a multi-million dollar, international business. Some 60,000-plus people of all ages (yes, as young as 5 or 6 years old) come to this one site here annually and pay nearly NZ$200 to jump.

And, everyone jumps—nobody is ever pushed, we are told. It’s up to you to decide to go for it. Only one percent of would-be jumpers back out.

What’s more amazing is this: of all the people who come to this spot, only ten percent actually jump. That means some 600,000 people come to watch, buy souvenirs or pay NZ$20 to experience the "Secrets of Bungy" backstage tour.

An intro film is shown to Secrets participants that reviews the history of bungy jumping (it derives from a Pacific island fertility rite), and how A.J. Hacket’s jump from the Eiffel Tower gave it international recognition. Afterwards, much detail is offered about safety precautions, how the bungy chords are made, and how they decide which bungy you’ll use (there are four kinds based on weight).

The challenge, we are assured, is in the head, not the body. Jumpers experience the full range of emotions from nervousness to fear to exhilaration.

Shotover Jet

Here’s another landmark New Zealand/Queenstown tourist attraction and, like bungy, it’s just silly.

Shotover Jet runs speed boats that cost a quarter-million dollars each, carrying up to 14 people and running in less than 10 centimeters of water, along the Shotover River through spectacular scenery—a narrow canyon, mountains in the background—whilst the pilot steers as erratically as possible, turns 360s whenever possible and brings the boat seemingly precariously close to the rocks whenever possible, all the while trying to get everyone wet.

There’s no real danger. And, as invigorating as it is, somehow it seems a waste of beautiful scenery. Said one satisfied customer afterwards "I’d like to go back through there now in a canoe so I could really take in the beauty."

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is about 100 kilometers from Queenstown as the crow flies. As the bus drives, it’s 300-km and a four-hour ride.

You have to ask yourself this: no matter how spectacular the scenery, is it worth an eight-plus hour, round-trip bus riding day?

But, the scenery is incredible as you go through Fiordlands National Park. A snaking roadway cuts through sheer basalt cliffs and climbs to a narrow, rough-cut tunnel, then descends into a temperate rain forest.

Milford is an isolated place where there are no phone lines and everything must come in and out of town by barge-boat. The population numbers about 100, with only two kids in residence. But, in the summer, it hops with 100-plus busses and innumerable private cars and camper vans arriving daily with tourists.

Of the en-route stops, the one called The Chasm clearly stands out. Here, a paved path leads into the rain forest leading eventually to a rushing stream that has polished the rocks smooth and cut bizarre holes and shapes into them. A newly constructed boardwalk leads to a boardwalk bridge overlooking the scene.

The cruise with Real Journeys proved pleasant, but it poured rain and, while the mist makes for some dramatic shadowy vistas, it’s not the pristine spectacular view you see in photos. Such is the fate of the ski season visitor—it rains about eighty percent of the time in winter.

Still, the mountains coming to the sea are just plain spectacular, with myriad waterfalls, most of which are rain-generated and temporary, cascading huge distances and blowing spray into the wind. The hills approach 4,000 or 5,000 feet high, and submerge to equal depths.

The bottom line question about this day trip is just that—the bottom line. The cost runs $195/pp, plus $27 if you buy the unspectacular hot buffet. The total of nearly nine hours in the bus pushes the limit of acceptability. Better to overnight somewhere if one can. And one can afford it.

Queenstown

As a place that prides itself on being the adventure capital of the earth, you’d expect a lot to be happening in Queenstown.

More than 120 licensed establishments, ranging from pretty rank and basic to sophisticated; uncountable restaurants—fast food, slow food, chains; and lodging from five-star to hostels.

Or, you can overnight at a place like the new Spire Hotel, a most sumptuous place in the heart of things and home to a marvelous restaurant and bar with live jazz, for some NZ$885/night.

Given its approachable size (you can walk to almost anything), its alternative activity choices (hiking, rock climbing, bungy jumping, golf, parasailing, a marvelous city park, dinner cruises on the lake, the Kiwi Birdlife Park ice skating, in-line skating, frisbee golf, cycling—all in town), Queenstown may be the ultimate ski town.

The copyright of the article Ski-Snowboard Queenstown, NZ in Winter Sports is owned by Mitch Kaplan. Permission to republish Ski-Snowboard Queenstown, NZ in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.