Diagnosis: Oz ski season fully sick.
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 9:05 PM by Lonely Planet
New Zealand ski season somewhat lame. Or is it? You can judge for yourself with comparative reports from Australian and New Zealand snow fields...
But perception counts more than measurements in my book and with Australia going virtually snow-less last year, many Aussies (myself included) decided early this year to cross the Tasman chasing the pow-pow we so rudely missed out on in 2006.
Then what happens? The heavens open up over Australia depositing the white stuff in masses - of course. I develop selective hearing when word starts trickling in from our eighth state that there is no snow this season - of course.
And of course, those who had decided to stay behind were very, very happy with themselves indeed.
So while they were playing in the snow at Hotham, I was playing Frisbee golf in the rain in Queenstown. Which wasn't altogether too bad - with an activity for every possible climactic condition, I know I'd much rather get caught out in Queenstown than Hotham on a warm, wet day.
Australia might squeeze all of September into its official season this year, while NZ could struggle to make theirs stretch through October (which they normally do). Anyone got some tips to get the most out of what's left?
Labels: Asia and Pacific, skiing, snow
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3 Comments:
Totally agree. I was so excited about getting some NZ ski action this season and was sorely disappointed. Visibility was just terrible - but at least it meant I couldn't see how little snow there was!
Why would anyone drive up that dirt road (Queenstown, NZ) when you can ski tree protected lines in Oz?
Beats me.
You were on the wrong island mate. Just got back from a fantastic week on the N Island, skiing Turoa and in particular Whakapapa. Some of the best skiing I've ever had in the Southern Hemisphere. And still almost 2m of snow left. Aus resorts have been good, but are looking decidedly sad now in comparison.
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