A Weekend Away: Skiing in the Southern Hemisphere

By Imogen Lewis, University of Otago, New Zealand

Of all the things I wanted to do while being in New Zealand, skiing was certainly not the top of my list. But I knew I couldn’t fly all the way here and not do it at least once! Dunedin is only a 3.5-hour drive from Queenstown, so one Friday morning my flat and I packed up the car and set off. We stayed at a hostel called Black Sheep Backpackers, which was 50NZD (£21) per night and even had a hot tub, cold plunge and sauna!

On the Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early in time to get the coach 1.5 hours all the way to Cardrona. I spent the whole journey up trying not to doze off so I could see the amazing views, but the 6am start got to me, and I slept almost the whole way.

I’m not a beginner skier but I’m far from advanced, so Cardrona was perfect for my level. There were lots of blue and red slopes and I honestly spent the whole time trying to get my head around the fact I was skiing in August!

It was VERY different to skiing in Europe. There were no trees and some of the slopes weren’t marked very clearly (off piste is common here), so if you’re not confident, check the map before you head down a run. There was only one café on the slopes so you could bring a packed lunch or go to one of the restaurants at the bottom. There is also a good area for beginner skiers, and you can book lessons.

It was pretty simple to book online, and we booked everything less than a week before, so you can be quite last minute about it. The ski pass with a student discount was 129NZD (£55). Also, we rented equipment from the University of Otago Unipol on the Friday we left for 80NZD (£34), but the ski boots were not very comfortable at all, so it might be worth renting them from elsewhere. What’s good is you can also rent the gear on the mountain, so you don’t have to bring it all the way from Dunedin. If you don’t have a car, the uni also runs ski trips, which could be a good option.

I really didn’t think that skiing would be a highlight for me, but I had the best time, and it is still one of my favourite weekends! If you’re on exchange in Dunedin, it’s an easy trip and definitely worth doing even if you’re a beginner or not a big skier.

My advice: make the most of your weekends and go and explore!