Sensational South Island New Zealand Road Trip | Part 2

It’s day 4, we hit highway 8 / the Inland Scenic Route for a 425km cruise to drop off some Van Deer skis to shops in Wānaka and Queenstown.  Taking in the rural landscapes, quaint towns, tussock covered hills and the spectacular Mt Cook made for an easy drive on our well-earned lay day.  

Highlights of the drive was an amazing Pork Belly & Apple Sauce pie (yep you read right) from Fairlie Bakehouse and it even had crackling on top.  And yes, it was as good as it sounds.  And of course, I washed it down with a can of L&P (NZ’s superior version of Solo).  Lunch was only beat by beef brisket nachos and monkfish & chips for dinner at the historic 160 year old Gantley’s Tavern in Arthur’s Point on the outskirts of Queenstown – the first and best après joint when exiting Coronet Peak.  Of the 26 beers on tap my go to was the Cassels Milk Stout – a pint of pure creamy deliciousness.

“Every bloke should own a pub before he dies,” publican Euan ‘Urb’ Paterson tells me, “after 21 years of doing ski rentals in Queenstown, I finally got here.”  

Urb’s ski racing career ended in 1987 he got into coaching & ski servicing, attained all his certs and ended up being one of Zali Steggall’s 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic coaches under head coach Robert Zallmann from the Czech Republic “Zali performed very, very well until 2 gates from the end; at which time she fell.  But she was having an awesome run in very difficult conditions.  We had a couple of good years working with Zali, we worked really hard and left no stone unturned.”

A few years after returning to NZ, Urb got the call from Team Canada, “I was a ski serviceman for the Canadian women’s speed team – downhill and super G,” Urb explained, “and that finished after the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.  I then headed back here permanently.”

“We’re just a wee pub,” said Urb, “we’re family friendly, dog friendly and just want people to have a good time.”  Which both Jace and I did.  Thanks Urb.

Day 5: Cardrona

6:30am Jace knocks on my door: “Change of plan, TCs closed, let’s do Cardrona today and TC tomorrow – looks like they’ve had some pretty good snow.”  And that’s how roadies evolve – wake up early; check reports; what looks good?; let’s hit it.

I was wrapped, having only skied Cardrona twice before way back in 2009 and 2011.  I loved it then; and love it now.

What a difference a bit of snow makes.  Cardrona turned it on big time.  15-20cm of fresh covered everything and as a light sprinkle continued in the morning chains were put on for the first and only time this trip.  The promising day saw the top car park quickly fill with anticipation of a bit of a pow day.  A quick warm up down Cooper’s and All Nations to the Whitestar Express (love the padded seats) quickly shot us to the top.  “Let’s go over to Captains,” said Jace, “they’ll have heaps of fresh in Tulips.”  

So across we dashed and enjoyed lap after lap smashing fresh lines through Tulips via Secret Bowl.  The boot deep was cold, light and loads of fun.  Cardrona is really massive and popping on and off piste all day is what I love to do most.  Mixing it up is so easy here.  And they have a huge beginner’s area and a huge world class park & pipe set up for the hoodie / baggy pant crew.  Which will be attracting FIS level athletes in preparation for the Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Jace put me on a pair of Van Deer Freeride 98s – a soft tip for floatation, 98 under foot for stability and solid tail for speed – a really nicely balanced ski to rip both the front and back side.

As previously reported, at 1,520 acres Cardrona is NZ’s biggest ski resort, and the opening of the brand spanking new Soho Basin 6-seater high-speed chairlift in 2025 accesses an additional 370 acres of top fun through 380 metres of vertical.

“Soho is something we’ve been anticipating and excited to deliver for quite a few years now,” Garett Shore, Head of Sport, tells me, “now that we’ve got the lift in there it’s been amazing.  The terrain’s epic.  We’ve had great feedback.  It’s a bit more of an advanced step up in terrain for Cardrona.  So it’s appealing to the harder core skiers and snowboarders that we have.”

“We’ve got a pretty strong growth strategy for Cardrona and Treble Cone as we see lots of potential in snow sports with demand from the Australian and Chinese markets,” said Garett, “there’s the big investment in the Soho express six, the T-bar, the new base building and restaurant, one of the best snow sport shops in the country, and there’s more to come.  We’re not done yet.  As we like to say around here – ‘bigger is better’”.

Which really bodes well for skiers and boarders alike from beginners through to advanced and experts.

Cardrona turned it on for us and we took full advantage chasing each other on & off until our aching thighs were well and truly burnt – time for a beer.

Day 6: Treble Cone, Wānaka

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Treble Cone.  I’ve skied 105 areas across 5 continents and TC is in my top 5 worldwide.

Local legend Chris Riley summed it up nicely – “Terrain, terrain, terrain.”  Which is an understatement given that 60% of it is classified Advanced & Expert.  “I came here for a week’s skiing,” Chris explains, “that was in 1983.  So many season-passes later and I’m still here.  The mountain loves the weather from the west and it’s looking as good as it’s been all season.  The chutes are superb – they’re over the back – double black diamond territory – they’re really good.”

Jace also reminisced the four years of instructing at TC during the nineties, “I love this place. I used to know it like the back of my hand.  Let’s hit the Saddle and find some fresh”.

Fresh was ordered and fresh was delivered.  20cm of silky goodness was absolutely everywhere.  And “everywhere” in these parts mean every square inch of the mountain – which is the reason you ski TC.  The groomers are steep, fast & fun – but that’s not what TC is about – despite having the South Island’s longest at 4km.  TC is all about the massive off-piste playground with one of the best views in the world.

It’s a true skiers / boarders mountain and that’s apparent from how they rip it up, the gear they ride, the hiking they do and the languages they speak – from Spanish, French & German to Japanese, Mandorin & American – the most I overheard on any NZ lifts.  I looked and tried to ski the part on the Van Deer Freeride 108s – a lovely pair of pow beasts – which certainly did the job – but probably would’ve gone better in 30-40+ cm I reckon.

TC is a destination within a destination – Wānaka – within a destination – the South Island.  I’ve been longing to come back and am so grateful to be here with my buddy Jace skiing such amazing conditions.

I’m sure the locals and frequent visitor have their favourites.  But for mine, the whole place is my favourite.  It’s simply all good.  And as the sign at the bottom of the Saddle Chair (aka DJ Booth) states – “TC is where cool people ride”.  I certainly felt pretty cool skiing her chutes, bowls, and natural half pipes in shin deep on a solid base.  The groomers where fun too – especially South Ridge.  As the day progressed the pow got tracked out – but that didn’t mean an end to the fun – it just meant skiing awesomeness on chopped up fresh – for something different.  

The snow Gods smiled on us this week and gave us a fitting finale to our epic NZ roadie.  

And what about that view of Lake Wānaka and the surrounding range?  Truly mesmerising.  The 7km winding drive down the hill through 8 or 9 switchbacks is spectacular.

5 resorts, 6 days, 1,892km travelled, so much vertical, brilliant beers, fabulous food and wonderful company – exactly what I needed – thanks Jace, you da man.

Check out all things New Zealand here and why we love it so much.  Until next time – see you later cuz.