Two weeks Queenstown/Wanaka

[Kiz]

Hi everyone! I was hoping to get some suggestions and advice in planning next years winter adventures.

After missing our trip to Perisher this year, we thought we might go for 10 days skiing with a couple of extra days on the side.

At this stage we’re thinking of flying into Queenstown, getting a car and spending a week each around Queenstown and Wanaka. Then taking a couple of days driving back to Christchurch.

We thought we would ski Monday to Friday each of the two weeks and spend the weekend days sightseeing/relaxing.

We’ve got two kids who will be 5 and 6. The 6yo was skiing independently last year but the 5yo is very much a beginner… so we want them in ski school for the 10 days.

Should we try and do a couple of days at each of the resorts or pick two and do a 5 day stint at each?

I noticed with the Ski Super Pass kids under 7 ski free which is appealing but then we would miss Cardrona and Treble Cone.

Hubby is a boarder, the kids and I ski. We generally stick to the groomers and are strong intermediates.

Any advice on where we should spend our time on the slopes would be awesome.

Thanks so much!

Cheers, Kiz

 

[Legs Akimbo]

My vast experience of one child a couple of decades ago suggests that kids like getting to know one place. It becomes "their" place. I would stick to 2 resorts max.

 

[Kletterer]

^^^^ This

 

[silva]

At least for the first week I would try and get the kids in to a multi day program such as:

4 Day Kids' Ski & Snowboard Programmes | Cardrona NZ

Cardrona’s Kids’ Multi-Day Programmes are the ultimate way for your kids to learn to ski & snowboard, or develop their skills, in a fun & safe environment.

www.cardrona.com

(Monday - Thursday at Cardrona). Having the same instructor and group for 4 days will give them a great start. You could then do a day at TC before a few days rest/other activities and off to Queenstown. The Remarkables have a great beginner area but I dont think they do a multi day program for kids.

 

[Peanut]

I’ve been over to NZ for three consecutive years in the July school holidays prior to COVID. We stuck with going to The Remarkables (Remarks) for several reasons, namely that we relied on buses for the first two trips and wanted to minimise the time spent on buses on the way to the mountain. My younger kid needed access to adaptive instructors, and NZ Ski run their adaptive program out of Remarks. The advantage to buying lift passes through NZ Ski is that you have access to both Remarks and Coronet Peak, if you feel the need to change things up.

We (I) hired a car for the last trip, and I felt it made a world of difference in how relaxed the kids were of a morning when we got up the mountain. I hired a 2WD because I was trying to do it on the cheap and prove to hubby that driving > bus. I did most of the driving myself, but hubby was convinced about the advantages of driving by the second day. The disadvantage to having a 2WD is that if there’s been a lot of snowfall, the NZ Ski staff will prompt you to either fit chains (not as hard as it sounds) or park in a lower car park and catch the shuttle bus up the rest of the way. We had locked in a AWD for 2020, but that trip didn’t go ahead for obvious reasons.

As far as ski school goes, if you book the kids in for group lessons, it’s very much a case of ‘turn up 10-15 minutes before start time and we’ll organise the groups then’ kind of deal. My older kid did quite well in the group lessons, and enjoyed eating lunch in the special ski school area. He also enjoyed when they got to go in for hot chocolates.

If your kids are at a similar level skill wise and you want them to have the continuity of the same instructor, you’ll need to pony up for private lessons. My younger kid has autism, and does not cope well with the change of instructors on a daily basis. He wanted to snowboard for the first two seasons we went over, then decided to swap to skiing in 2019. We skied for 4 days on our last trip, and booked a fantastic adaptive instructor for him for 3 hours in the morning for each of those days. We found that 3 hours was the absolute limit of his attention span. The instructor would work with him in the mornings with me tagging along to help out with the behavioural stuff, then hubby would take over on the beginners slope in the afternoon. By the last day our younger son was riding chair lifts and able to ski down green runs. It was great to see our older son helping him out for the first run or two of the afternoon, and how the younger one‘s confidence increased so much over the 4 days.

 

[Kiz]

Thanks everyone!! That’s all been really helpful! Our plans are now starting to come together nicely!!

 

[GlenH]

At this stage we’re thinking of flying into Queenstown, getting a car and spending a week each around Queenstown and Wanaka. Then taking a couple of days driving back to Christchurch.

I agree with the other feedback.

If you have time on the way back we recommend Roundhill near Lake Tekapo, about half way back to Christchurch.

 

[Froff Life]

I agree with the other feedback.

If you have time on the way back we recommend Roundhill near Lake Tekapo, about half way back to Christchurch.

Roundhill and the T-bar lifts might be too much for the beginner kid skiers though. Mt Dobson would be a better choice IMO if heading back to Christchurch, great beginner runs on (slow) chairlifts.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Roundhill and the T-bar lifts might be too much for the beginner kid skiers though. Mt Dobson would be a better choice IMO if heading back to Christchurch, great beginner runs on (slow) chairlifts.

Round Hill is pretty mellow (Epic rope tow excluded)

 

[GlenH]

Just keep in mind the road to Mt Dobson is a lot more "character building" than the cruise up to Roundhill.