 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi - I'm thinking of heading down to Australia/NZ this September to see friends but would also like to do as much skiing as possible. Wondered if anyone could recommend the best resorts to go to in this relatively short amount of time. I'm guessing NZ is best for skiing but wouldn't mind sampling the Australian skiing scene too.
Also, what's September generally like out there for skiing? Still pretty reliable? Presumably the earlier in September the better?
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks.
N Neige
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Neil Neige, how much of the two weeks do you want to spend skiing and how much meeting friends and doing other things down under (visiting Sydney, Melbourne elsewhere)?
You're talking about a huge area (Australia and NZ) so travel times will count.
It should be good spring skiing in September. I'd have suggested a week in south Island flying into Queenstown from Sydney to keep it simple. But depends what sort of skiing you are after.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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September is usually great for all of New Zealand ski areas but even if it is a poor season Mt Hutt in the South Island and Ruapehu in the North Island have a good record for late September and into October. On and average or better year everywhere is good to the end of September. Come on down and have a great time.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for these responses - encouraging and useful stuff - and apologies for the vagueness of my original question. I get infuriated when people ask questions like 'what are the best resorts in the Alps?'!
In response to the above, I would envisage spending most of the two weeks skiing. I'm guessing NZ is generally a lot better for skiing than Australia (?) but I would quite enjoy the cultural experience of Australian skiing. Maybe I should do something like 8 or 9 days in NZ and 5 or 6 in Oz? My friend lives in Melbourne so anywhere on that side of the country would be handy. Anyone ever skied in Tasmania?
I probably won't have a car at my disposal so places that are accessibly by public transport would be great. Finally, I tend to prefer more unusual/scenic/adventurous ski areas than those that have the most runs and lifts although the two types can obviously overlap.
Cheers.
NN
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I'm Tasmanian but haven't skied there (or Australia/NZ for that matter). There's two ski areas, Mt Mawson and Ben Lomond. Ben Lomond is the more developed of the two, there's some reasonably detailed info here: http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Mt_Mawson and http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Ben_Lomond. You should probably think English ski club rather than actual resort though. So they're certainly not open every weekend, and I don't think Mt Mawson opens at all during the week.
If you wanted to do some fairly serious hiking/backcountry you could consider Cradle Mountain: http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Cradle_Mountain - but you'd probably have to be well prepared, slightly mad, and somehow find a guide.
eg. from the wiki
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Cradle Mountain offers some of the most accessible and impressive skiing in Tassie. The hike in from Dove Lake is only about 4 hours...
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So if you just wanted to have a bit of a ski I wouldn't really recommend Tassie. Probably the best option would be a couple of days midweek at Mt Buller (about 3 hours from Melbourne), then heading to NZ.
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NZ or Portillo. No snow here at present. 
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NZ:- North Island - Taupo, South Island - Queenstown
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