Overview

Escape the summer heat and head Down Under for the ultimate New Zealand skiing vacation – a roadtrip through the South Island's three best ski regions and seven best resorts. Enjoy expert instruction, untracked powder, unforgettable heli and cat-skiing, world-class terrain parks and stylish accommodation while touring the very best of  Middle Earth's'spectacular scenery.

This is the ideal trip for those who want a good overview of the New Zeeland’s mountains, scenery and culture. The trip is freeride focused but also allows for extensive freestyle opportunities. You can choose to focus solely on freeriding, or you can work on developing your freestyle and freeride skills. There will be plenty of opportunities for both. Beginners, intermediates and advanced are welcome.

Beginners

Our ski trips are open to skiers of all abilities, including beginners who want to learn how to ski. If you've never skied before you might want to try it out for a few days before you join us on our trip. But once you've decided that the sport is for you, we'd love to have you join us. We offer systematic ski lessons for beginners to ensure that you learn how to ski correctly from the beginning (or to ensure that we correct any bad habits that you might have developed before). Skiing is a sport that requires specific techniques and it is easy to pick up bad habits if you do not receive proper instruction from the start. Our instructors are experienced in teaching beginner ski lessons and love introducing new people to the sport. They will teach you at your own pace, in a relaxed and non-intimidating way. After two weeks of ski lessons from our expert instructors, you will not only be amazed by how much you progress, but also by how hooked you'll become on skiing.

Intermediate

Our intermediates program is designed to ensure that intermediate skiers optimize their technique, develop their style, and challenge their performance. At the beginning of the trip we'll assess your particular development needs and then work with you to achieve your goals by providing you with ski tips, advice and instruction. To increase your confidence, speed and technique you will be taught to exercise more control of your skis by developing your carving tec, skiins switch, doing 360 slides, power slides, and tail and nose slides, and skiing steeper terrain. We will also check to ensure that you ski using the optimal technique and body positioning. For intermediates who are interested in freestyle, we will be emphasis on different turning techniques, such as carving, as well as simply skiing more confidently and aggressively. You will also be encouraged to test your skiing by taking advantage of natural hits and bumps. In addition, we will teach you the correct technique for skiing powder. In the evening there will be video coaching to further illustrate the ski tips and instruction we provide you during the day. There will also be informal evening workshops on such topics as backcountry safety and waxing and tuning. To minimize your chance of in injury, we will start each day with a warm-up session targeted specifically to skiers.

Advanced

Our advanced program is for freestyle and freeride skiers who are very proficient skiers and who would like to improve certain freestyle tricks or freeride techniques, or who are looking to push their overall riding by skiing with world-class athletes. You will be accompanied by a professional or former professional skier who can help you with whichever skills you wish to develop. These coaches will provide you with all the ski tips you need to develop your skiing long after the trip is over. We will also film you during the day and analyze the footage with you in the evening to provide you with additional feedback and ski tips. There will also be Informal evening workshops on such topics as backcountry safety and proper ski care.

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Terrain

Because our trip is suited to skiers of all disciplines, we'll visit up to seven New Zealand ski areas in the regions described below:

Ski Resorts in the Queenstown Region : The undisputed adventure capital of New Zealand, the Queenstown region provides access to four of the best know ski areas, offers incredible slopes and is home to one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world. A wealth of easily accessible backcountry terrain and several excellent parks makes this region ideal for all-round skiing.

Ski Resorts in the Wanaka Region : Also home to some of the best New Zealand ski areas, Wanaka draws ski enthusiast from all over the world thanks to its proximity to one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most famous ski resorts, recently voted the 3rd best resort in the world, and to it's accessibility to several first-rate freestyle parks, including te world's first freestyle-only ski resort.

Cat Skiing in the Land of the Rings : Our final days will be spent in a remote region of the Southern Mountains, which few people ever access. This ski area boasts the highest annual snowfalls in New-Zealand and offers unforgettable freestyle terrain. We'll take a short heli-ride to our mountain base and from here our group will enjoy a full day of snowcat runs through pristine powder. Those who don't opt for additional snowcat days will also visit the nearby resort of Mt Hutt which offers a variety of freestyle terrain.

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Accommodations

The goal of our ski holidays is to give you the most memorable experience possible and this extends to our choice of accommodation. In fact, we've selected the coolest, funkiest, most comfortable accommodations we could find. Aside from two memorable nights in a remote mountain lodge, all our accommodations are modern, spacious and attractive, with unbelievable views and cool locations. They have all amenities you'll need, including TVs, VCRs and stereos, and are in walking distance of the main town centers we visit during our ski holidays.

Our first home is Provençal-syle apartments just a two-minute walk away form the main restaurants and bars of Queenstown. In Wanaka, our second base, we'll stay in modern homes with stunning lake and mountain views. These are spacious, architecturally designed homes with large living areas, open fires, and stylish decor. The final home of our ski holidays is more rustic, bur very memorable – a cozy mountain lodge set deep in the mountains. This lodge is set in dramatic scenery wher large sections of the Lords of the Rings were filmed.

More, if you want to know some awesome people and enjoy some memorable nights out, there are always plenty of willing participants and plenty of things to do. Every night, we'll book a restaurant for those who want to eat as a group. Wanaka and Queenstown have a ton of excellent, reasonably priced restaurants with food for every taste: from Japanese, Indian and Thai to Italian and Fish & Chips (budget around US$12 – US$20 per day for lunch and dinner). After dinner the choice is yours, you can hit the bars, watch a movie, head to a café, or just chill at home. As far as nightlife is concerned, Wanaka and Queenstown offer a multitude of bars and clubs – more than you could ever hope to discover during the period of our trip.

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Agenda / Itinerary

Day 1
Welcome to New Zealand's incredible South Island – the home of Middle Earth! Our skiing vacation starts in Queenstown, New Zealand's most famous resort town, set beside a stunning lake and surrounded by the jagged peaks of the Southern Mountains. After settling into our accommodation – stylish villas that are an easy walk to the town center, you'll be free to explore the many shops and cafes of this vibrant town. We'll meet in the evening for dinner at one of our favourite restaurants.

Day 2
The skiing begins! There are four world-class resorts within easy access of Queenstown and we'll explore them all. Today, will be a warm-up day and a chance for our coach to find out what your goals and development needs are. If conditions are right, we'll head to the Remarkables Resort to enjoy the varied runs, wide bowls and backcountry steeps that characterize this resort. In the evening we'll meet for dinner in Queenstown and then you'll be free to check out the nightlife, Queenstown is famous for.

Day 3 & 4
During days 3 & 4, we'll continue to explore the resorts around Queenstown choosing whichever resort offers the best conditions on the day. We can visit Coronet Peak, the nearest resort to Queenstown, head back to The Remarkables, or take a short drive over a spectacular mountain pass to two more quality resorts. Your instructor will accompany you throughout the day providing you with tips and encouraging you to challenge your skiing. In the evening there'll be video coaching to help you further develop your technique.

Day 5
Today will be an optional activity day – choose from bungee jumping, jetboating or paragliding. Or, hit the slopes for another day of awesome skiing. In the evening we'll take a short drive to our next destination: the laid-back resort town of Wanaka. Set beside yet another spectacular lake, Wanaka is a small but lively town that offers a good selection of cafes, restaurants and bars. We'll be staying in luxury houses with spacious living areas and kitchens, breathtaking views, and modern decor.

Day 6, 7 & 8
The three resorts surrounding Wanaka offer some of the best freestyle and freeride on the planet. Treble Cone was recently voted the 3rd best resort in the World thanks to incredible backcountry terrain. Cardona, New Zealand's most popular resort, offers wide slopes, some challenging steeps, and an extensive terrain park. Snow Park is the world's only freestyle-exclusive resort and is a Mecca for those who are interested in freestyling skiing. We'll explore each of these resorts during our five days in Wanaka. In the evenings we'll enjoy some of Wanaka's excellent restaurants, we'll visit New Zealand's most famous pub, we'll soak in some luxury hot springs, and we'll check out Cinema Paradiso, on ot the coolest movie theatres on the planet.

Day 9
Heli-day! Enjoy a full-day of long powder runs in the mighty Southern Mountains (we will fly whichever day offers the best conditions). Heli-skiing is the ultimate for any powder lover, and if you're going to do it, it pays to go in New Zealand where prices are lower than in most other countries. Those who do not opt for the heli day will enjoy another day of awesome skiing in the Wanaka region.

Day 10
Today is a rest day. We'll take a spectacular four hour drive past emerald lake, wild tussock lands and Mt Cook (the highest peak) to arrive at our vase for the remainder of the trip: a hidden region where large sections of the «  Lord of the Rings » movies were filmed. Here we’ll stay in a remote mountain lodge.

Day 11
Jump in a helicopter for a short ride to New Zealand's highest snowfall mountain. We'll have the entire mountain to ourselves and will spend an unforgettable day accessing deep, untracked powder using snowcat transportation. Prepare for the best powder skiing of your life! Those who do not opt for the snowcat day will spend day 11 checking out the excellent freeride and freestyle terrain at Mt Hut Resort. In the evening we'll enjoy delicious food, video coaching, pool and drinks back at the lodge.


Day 12
Our New Zealand skiing vacation ends in Christchurch or Queenstown, depending where your flight departs from.

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Ski Road Trip / New Zealand (12 days)

Dates: August-September

Number of people:

Min. 4 peoples. max. 20 peoples

Prices : 2930 USD

Registration deadline: 3 months before

Included:
- Airport pick up
- All accommodations
- All breakfasts, 3 dinners
- Full days of ski coaching
- Unforgettable heli & snowcat day
- Tour New Zealand’s best resorts & scenery

Not included:
- the flight from your origin country
- other optional heliskiing day
- the travel & accident personal insurances

The schedule can be subject to modification, dependent of your flights and the weather forecast.
For more information: info@kosta5.ch