Winter playground for skiers

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 29

Winter playground for skiers

Wanaka is perhaps New Zealand’s fastest-growing ski centre.

Well-known to summer holiday-makers for many years, the town’s winter attractions are a more recent development, based on two commercial ski fields and a heli-ski-ing operation all within easy travelling distance.

Treble Cone is the long-est-established ski field and as the highest in the Southern Lakes region offers fine ski-ing conditions over a relatively long season. The field is particularly suited to experienced skiers who find plenty of challenging runs and a variety of snow types. Treble Cone also has a helicopter pad and is the take-off point for about 30 heli-ski runs, each the size of a normal ski field. The Cardrona field is fast gaining in popularity among intermediate and learner skiers and offers wide, gentle slopes with thick, soft snow. The field has plenty of scope for the more proficient skier, too, and this is

one of the few New Zealand centres for cross-country ski-ing. Both Cardrona and Treble Cone have installed new Doppelmayr chairlifts for the 1983 season and this has greatly extended the skiable terrain offered. While ski-ing is the main attraction in winter, Wanaka has a good deal more to offer visitors than just a bed for the night. The region is one of the most spectacular in the country, with high snowcovered peaks contrasting with the deep blue of the lake. Wanaka is blessed with one of the highest sunshine ratings in New Zealand, making dull winter skies the exception rather than the rule. Such weather makes scenic flying a popular pasttime for visitors. A new airport several kilometres from the township is the base for a small aviation company that specialises in showing visitors the dramatic local scenery from the air.

For people driving through the area there are plenty of day and half-day trips "to places of scenic or historic interest. The Cardrona Valley was the site of large-scale gold diggings last century and today retains the unique flavour of the gold rush days. Thick native bush and mighty rivers are within a short distance of Wanaka, either up the Matukituki Valley or towards the Haast Pass at Makarora. The lake itself is accessible from many points and there are a variety of lakeside camping grounds and picnic spots. For people of a more energetic nature, walking tracks up two of the local peaks, Mount Iron and Mount Roy, give panoramic views of the surrounding country.

Within the Wanaka township new shopping complexes and tourist attractions have sprung up in walking distance of hotels and accommodation houses, and the Wanaka Golf course on the outskirts of the town is known throughout the world for its picturesque setting. Freshwater anglers find The Wanaka area attractive at any time of year. The fishing season in the surrounding rivers finishes in May, but in Lakes Hawea and Wanaka the plump brown and rainbow trout may be caught right through until the end of July. Expert assistance is offered to would-be anglers in the form of professional fishing guides who provide tackle, transport and a good knowledge of where the fish are to be found.