In 2009 the snow conditions were awesome. All the resorts had continual cover well over a meter in depth and the season started early and finished late. There was still good snow cover in October when red dust from Australian dust storms blew right accross the tasman Sea to stain the mountain tops with red. Skiing and snowboarding conditions wetre absolutely fantastic. Queenstown and Wanaka both have plenty of excellent accommodation and are within easy reach of the snowfields. Shuttle bus services run to each resort.

You can fly in direct to Queenstown from either brisbane, Sydney or melbourne which makes skiing in New Zealand so easy from Australia. other ski fields are available from Christchurch, where you can ski at Mt Hutt, Hanmer Springs or porter heights. On the North Island, Mt Ruapehu is the place to go with both the turoa and Whakapapa skifields providing a sensational skiing or snowboarding experience.