New Zealand is known for its friendly people and stunning vistas, including magnificent snow-capped mountain peaks. Snow and ice can be found all year round in New Zealand, as many of those snow-capped mountains are glaciers, which provide a constant beauty. So what should you do when you’re there? Here are the three best ways to experience New Zealand’s snow and ice.
Glacier walk
The Fox glacier is a year round ice spectacular and one of the must do when visiting the South Island of New Zealand. Snow falls at the very top of the glacier all year round, which feeds the river of ice we know as the glacier. So even in summer you are able to experience this frozen beauty.
Fox Glacier Guidingoffers a variety of different experiences including a guided ice walk for a half or full day, a heli-hike which will take you even further up the glacier for the blue ice experience, or for the more adventurous – how about trying a day of ice climbing!
Skiing and snowboarding
The New Zealand ski season runs from late June to early October, with springtime skiing (warm weather and soft snow) generally starting around mid September. The most popular region to ski in New Zealand is the Southern Lakes area, which includes the towns of Wanaka and Queenstown. If you base yourself from one of these towns you can access six commercial ski fields in the nearby area.
As well as skiing at the commercial ski resorts you might even like to give heli-skiing a go. New Zealand has some of the best heli-skiing terrain in the world and to top that off the views are even better.
Dog sledding
Ever thought about driving your own snow dog sled team? Fleur and Curt from UnderDog NZ have been in love with dogs since they got their first Alaskan malamute in the late 199os. Apparently one lead to five and all of sudden they were racing dog sled teams. You can experience a snowy New Zealand from the basket of at the back of one of these teams, drive the team yourself, or why not even try an overnight adventure. This is a truly unique way to experience the snow in New Zealand.
