 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jackus, I believe hang11 is an NZ native. Drop him a PM, he may be able to answer your questions.
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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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jackus, Queenstown is a pretty good place to go for casual bar work and ski bumming etc etc. Sounds like you might be prepared to put up with some slightly unsatisfactory accommodation arrangements in exchange for some skiing. It's a resort town with the same employment dynamic as any European resort although perhaps a little bit less intense. By NZ standards the job/accommodation market is considered tough. There are two ski areas here - the Remarkables and Coronet peak. Both are about 45 mins by bus from the town.
Wanaka (about an hour's drive away) is much cooler (this would be my first choice to stay however Queenstown is definitely party central if that's what you're after) but I would say the job market is even tougher as it's a smaller town. There are two ski fields there - Cardrona and Teble Cone. Treble Cone is kind of the NZ equivalent of Verbier in terrain terms. It's a generally steep mountain with a bit of a "hard" reputation. I worked on the mountain there quite a few years back (great, great times) but I don't see how the general situation would have changed re jobs and employment.
There's also a serious pipe and park venue near Cardrona - I'm not familiar with it.
Mate and I also camped in a garage for a six week season in Q'town. If you don't already know, in NZ resorts you live in the valleys and commute to the skiing by car or bus service - so that can be an added cost. NZ dollar is currently only approx. two to the pound. I saw recently that a sort of "All South Island ski resort" pass for their next season was NZ$900 and something. The Q'town two ski area pass was a few hundred (I think) dollars cheaper. NZ ski areas are called ski fields and are tiny by European standards - the backcountry however, is a whole other story.
There's this to consider http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/4772323/Ski-industry-optimistic-season-will-take-off
Still, Kiwis are generally speaking, a helpful and optimistic bunch and like someone who's prepared to do anything - although in resorts employers most likely won't always be locals. They do have this thing out there called "sunshine wages" where you accept a low pay situation in return for a great convenient outdoor lifestyle.
I'd say "go" but I would say that, wouldn't I?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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How much work are you looking to do? How much skiing. I might have an arrangement for you in Wanaka but I dont think its really a job. Place is full on weekends but not much to do in the week, clearly youd be expected to help out. but you are pretty much a free agent weekdays. Im quite private about details, PM me if you want more info.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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nixmap, You're such a wag. (Or is it your more evil, twin brother's place).
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| jzBun wrote: |
| nixmap, You're such a wag. (Or is it your more evil, twin brother's place). |
officially Im a Kiwi not a wag.
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nixmap, What's the difference?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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jzBun, plenty!!!!
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 15-03-11 22:26; edited 1 time in total
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nixmap, I actually read it as a joke. Now I'm afraid you're serious.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As I said, the OP can contact me privately if he or she wants, I dont want to appear unforthcoming but previous proposals, however benevolent, have not been well recieved in open forum
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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nixmap, I must admit that when I first looked at this thread I sort of skim read all the posts, not really paying attention to the poster - more to the answer. I skimmed your post without looking at the poster and thought....that sounds familiar. I looked across and saw your name and laughed. Posted without pausing.
Also, is there such a thing as a "wag" in NZ. What/who is it? Here, a wag is an old fashioned term for a joker, PG Wodehouse era.
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No worries, jzBun, I know you meant well.
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You know it makes sense.
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Been out all evening, but overwhelmed with the response! Looks very promising, but will have a look at everything properly tomorrow and let you know what more I think, thanks a lot.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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In old Kiwispeak - Wag is a joker but then so is a Dag (which is also the word for the hardened beads of wool and sh@t that gather round a sheep's unshorn back bottom (bit like a crusty's dreads) hence the expression "rattle your dags" when you want someone to hurry up). Corse a dag and/or a wag is likely to be a hard case too. I'm sure it will all come clear once on site, jackus.
Actually, Brazilian Portuguese might be handier in Q'town as they seem to have chosen it as a gathering place for some reason.
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Poster: A snowHead
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You've got a couple of options, Queenstown/Wanaka for a bit of life and more commercial hills, with more convenient access, and Canterbury/Mackenzie for the real NZ but a bit of a hassle in terms of access and lifts.
On the money front, you should be able to cover living costs easily enough with a seasonal job.
It's worth getting in quick (within the next two weeks) to get an early bird season pass, much cheaper than day rates or full season pass prices.
In terms of snow, Queenstown is basically snow sure, due to artificial snow at Concrete Peak, which is great fun, but can get busy. It can be marginal elsewhere if huey doesn't deliver the goods, but can be epic if huey does.
If you fancy the Canterbury/Mackenzie option, you would need a car, preferably 4wd, and a chillout pass.
PM me if you can do hospitality/restaurant/hotel work, may be able to help you out - in Canterbury.
Where you go depends on what you want. If it's a party, definitely head to Queenstown, if it's about the mountains and earning some turns without the crowds, then Canterbury. Wanaka is cool, but work can be a hassle and you're locked into one mountain on each pass there.
Have a look at www.nzski.com www.snow.co.nz and www.chillout.co.nz
Having lived in Queenstown for a couple of years, I'm damn glad I left  More amped about the coming season than I have been for years, and stoked to be back to having some decent local hills.
As a bonus, we get earthquakes all the time as well. It's worth renting a single storey house if you can.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One other point. Make sure you are legal to work here. There is some competition for winter season work so if you don't have the permit nobody will be interested in you. As hang11, said look at www.nzski.com as the have quite a list of staff wanted right now.
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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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| Big Paua wrote: |
jackus, Queenstown is a pretty good place to go for casual bar work and ski bumming etc etc. Sounds like you might be prepared to put up with some slightly unsatisfactory accommodation arrangements in exchange for some skiing. It's a resort town with the same employment dynamic as any European resort although perhaps a little bit less intense. By NZ standards the job/accommodation market is considered tough. There are two ski areas here - the Remarkables and Coronet peak. Both are about 45 mins by bus from the town.
Wanaka (about an hour's drive away) is much cooler (this would be my first choice to stay however Queenstown is definitely party central if that's what you're after) but I would say the job market is even tougher as it's a smaller town. There are two ski fields there - Cardrona and Teble Cone. Treble Cone is kind of the NZ equivalent of Verbier in terrain terms. It's a generally steep mountain with a bit of a "hard" reputation. I worked on the mountain there quite a few years back (great, great times) but I don't see how the general situation would have changed re jobs and employment.
There's also a serious pipe and park venue near Cardrona - I'm not familiar with it.
Mate and I also camped in a garage for a six week season in Q'town. If you don't already know, in NZ resorts you live in the valleys and commute to the skiing by car or bus service - so that can be an added cost. NZ dollar is currently only approx. two to the pound. I saw recently that a sort of "All South Island ski resort" pass for their next season was NZ$900 and something. The Q'town two ski area pass was a few hundred (I think) dollars cheaper. NZ ski areas are called ski fields and are tiny by European standards - the backcountry however, is a whole other story.
There's this to consider http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/4772323/Ski-industry-optimistic-season-will-take-off
Still, Kiwis are generally speaking, a helpful and optimistic bunch and like someone who's prepared to do anything - although in resorts employers most likely won't always be locals. They do have this thing out there called "sunshine wages" where you accept a low pay situation in return for a great convenient outdoor lifestyle.
I'd say "go" but I would say that, wouldn't I? |
Getting a job is the most important thing for me, as without one I know I won't be able to do this, so perhaps Queenstown is the best bet for finding something.. simply because it's the biggest town. Ideally I can find somewhere to live and work in Queenstown, but get hold of a car in order to make some of the other fields in the south accessible if I'm willing to drive too: it sounds like at least the fields near Wanaka would be within distance for that. You're right about putting up with unsatisfactory accommodation for some skiing - I'm not fussed about where I stay, or what work I do really: hopefully that should help me find something available.
Reading your response and some of the others here too I'm very inclined to say "go" to myself too, but it's very easy to get excited about an idea! Need to work out if it's affordable with flights, working visa, season pass: big costs I need to foot before I even get out there.
| nixmap wrote: |
| How much work are you looking to do? How much skiing. I might have an arrangement for you in Wanaka but I dont think its really a job. Place is full on weekends but not much to do in the week, clearly youd be expected to help out. but you are pretty much a free agent weekdays. Im quite private about details, PM me if you want more info. |
I hadn't really thought about work and skiing mix, but I'm fairly flexible: I would be happy to work half the week and ski half the week; or work evenings in order to ski days.. whatever really. Thanks for the offer, will send you a PM and find out more.
| Dot. wrote: |
jackus, good on ya! you'll love NZ. I'm going to throw my local into the mix. Ruapehu http://www.mtruapehu.com/winter/ . Not the best if you're after powder but great riding and the volcanic terrain makes great natural features.
Great buzzing service town called Ohakune. Worth looking at for sure. Jobs to be found here http://www.bfound.net/list.aspx?CoId=1993 |
Thanks. And thanks for the links. I really didn't realise how many different fields there are to choose from.. I'm pretty torn between sticking with Queenstown or Wanaka, where the towns are bigger, more job opportunities; or looking at smaller towns and fields more where it might be a bit more special skiing wise! From what I've read about NZ resorts there might not be enough terrain to entertain for as long as a big European resort for a season... that was another reason I was thinking of Queenstown, as there's probably more to do while not skiing, better links to visit other places in the country etc...
| hang11 wrote: |
You've got a couple of options, Queenstown/Wanaka for a bit of life and more commercial hills, with more convenient access, and Canterbury/Mackenzie for the real NZ but a bit of a hassle in terms of access and lifts.
On the money front, you should be able to cover living costs easily enough with a seasonal job.
It's worth getting in quick (within the next two weeks) to get an early bird season pass, much cheaper than day rates or full season pass prices.
In terms of snow, Queenstown is basically snow sure, due to artificial snow at Concrete Peak, which is great fun, but can get busy. It can be marginal elsewhere if huey doesn't deliver the goods, but can be epic if huey does.
If you fancy the Canterbury/Mackenzie option, you would need a car, preferably 4wd, and a chillout pass.
PM me if you can do hospitality/restaurant/hotel work, may be able to help you out - in Canterbury.
Where you go depends on what you want. If it's a party, definitely head to Queenstown, if it's about the mountains and earning some turns without the crowds, then Canterbury. Wanaka is cool, but work can be a hassle and you're locked into one mountain on each pass there.
Have a look at www.nzski.com www.snow.co.nz and www.chillout.co.nz
Having lived in Queenstown for a couple of years, I'm damn glad I left More amped about the coming season than I have been for years, and stoked to be back to having some decent local hills.
As a bonus, we get earthquakes all the time as well. It's worth renting a single storey house if you can. |
When I posted this, I was hoping SnowHeads might have a resident Kiwi, this is exactly what I was looking for!
I will send you a PM about work: one of my main problems (as I said above) about not living in Queenstown or Wanaka is the danger of it being harder to find work. What was it in particular that makes you glad you've left Queenstown? Too much of a party rather than a skiing town?
EDIT: hang11, I'm not allowed to send you a PM as you're "down a crevasse"?! I don't quite understand how this works but doesn't sound promising!
| Sarge McSarge wrote: |
| One other point. Make sure you are legal to work here. There is some competition for winter season work so if you don't have the permit nobody will be interested in you. As hang11, said look at www.nzski.com as the have quite a list of staff wanted right now. |
From what I can tell there is some sort of working holiday visa entitling a British passport holder to work in NZ for one year which is fairly inexpensive at ~£150 and apparently quite easy to get hold of. Obviously that's completely essential for me to be able to do this, so yeah, thanks, need to check out more details about that.
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I think I'm leaning more towards Queenstown for some of the reasons outlined above, and I'm not particularly averse to being in a party town! Just briefly, will finding somewhere to rent and live as a solo traveller would be problematic, or are there lots of people in the same boat? (another plus for Queenstown is that presumably I'm more likely to find other people or even students doing the same thing as I am).
Thank you for all of the replies again, very very helpful and putting me closer to actually doing this!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jackus, Lots of people doing exactly the same as you. Queenstown is a party town but most of the accommodation is a little away from the down town bars so you have the choice as to how much you party up or how quiet you live. The earlier you get here the easier it is to get a good place to live and if you get a car that gives you the option of living a little further out of town so makes room hunting a bit easier. Coronet Peak opens on the first weekend in June so that's when a lot of the winter work starts but don't wait till then to look for work. If you come you will have a great time.
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