New Zealand 2013 Wanaka/Queenstown
Some places in NZ have free WiFi but I wouldn’t count on it as NZ has one of the worst Internet in first world countries…
Actually a girl I know recently went skiing in Queenstown and she was really impressed with Vodaphone in NZ. reception was brilliant all over the mountains (she was using A LOT of data. IG facebook twitter etc…)
She had to buy a sim over there cause telstra datapack was a PITA…
When we were there in July they had free wifi at Coronet Peak and Remarkables 
We got a Vodafone NZ sim as well (which came with data) and we had absolutely no problems with reception or data. Probably better than AU vodafone tbh!
ok so question: Its a long way away but say next year I wanted to do a NZ snow trip - I have a week max and a limited budget. going with about 3 mates, what would our best plan of attack be? I would say find the cheapest flights possible to Queenstown, and get one of those packages where you get a hire car for 5 days and 5 days worth of lift passes for all different resorts.
Tips? Ideas? Suggestions? Companies to go with or stay away from?
ok so question: Its a long way away but say next year I wanted to do a NZ snow trip - I have a week max and a limited budget. going with about 3 mates, what would our best plan of attack be? I would say find the cheapest flights possible to Queenstown, and get one of those packages where you get a hire car for 5 days and 5 days worth of lift passes for all different resorts.
Tips? Ideas? Suggestions? Companies to go with or stay away from?
According to our taxi driver ace rentals are the cheapest for car rentals.
When we were there we just got the snow bus cos we only did coronet and remarkables. Considering it was only $15 return each day and practically left from outside our hotel I’d say it was preferable to driving myself. Buses were pretty regular, never really had to wait more than 10 minutes.
We were there for 8 days and were planning to do a few different resorts (Coronet, remarks, cardrona, treble cone etc.) but only ended up getting to 2 (coronet and remarks). They were by far the easiest/closest to get to from Queenstown and we could use the same pass for both which made things simpler.
Main issue is that they are quite possibly the worst of the 4 major ski fields…
TC is awesome for long runs and freshies on a powder day.
Cardrona has awesome terrain, good parks and a great layout.
Remarks has an awesome park but not much else (their runs can be quite short in comparison
And Coronet Peaks (AKA Concrete Peaks) is very likely to get icy after 12:00. It also has pretty short runs and some pretty crappy traverses.
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By all means, each to their own… but if you’re going to Queenstown, hire a car for 2 days and check out the Wanaka mountains. They are worth the trip (especially when it has snowed recently or is a powder day (consider taking a bus since chains / bad roads aren’t fun)
ok so question: Its a long way away but say next year I wanted to do a NZ snow trip - I have a week max and a limited budget. going with about 3 mates, what would our best plan of attack be? I would say find the cheapest flights possible to Queenstown, and get one of those packages where you get a hire car for 5 days and 5 days worth of lift passes for all different resorts.
Tips? Ideas? Suggestions? Companies to go with or stay away from?
I got a deal a couple of months ago through Jetstar for $1850, includes 7 Nights Accom at Copthorne Queenstown, Buffet Breaky every day, Flights SYD <> QTN, 7 Day car hire Avis Auto Toyota Corolla!!!!!
* No lifts in that / And we have 1 x 20KG Check In & 2 x 10KG Carry On Luggage
This was for 2 People and the dates were all over Peak Season!!!!! (Bar School Hols)
Dunno if they always do these deals though?????
Main issue is that they are quite possibly the worst of the 4 major ski fields…
TC is awesome for long runs and freshies on a powder day.
Cardrona has awesome terrain, good parks and a great layout.
Remarks has an awesome park but not much else (their runs can be quite short in comparison
And Coronet Peaks (AKA Concrete Peaks) is very likely to get icy after 12:00. It also has pretty short runs and some pretty crappy traverses.
—————————
By all means, each to their own… but if you’re going to Queenstown, hire a car for 2 days and check out the Wanaka mountains. They are worth the trip (especially when it has snowed recently or is a powder day (consider taking a bus since chains / bad roads aren’t fun)
we didnt find it too bad but then we didnt have any basis for comparison as it was our first time in NZ! 
Remarkables runs were really short and the chairlifts were terrible, especially alta chair. So SLOW and stops so many times!
We much preferred coronet peak over remarkables (park is a bit beyond my ability), but i get what you mean about it being icy. I actually didnt mind the icy runs, i preferred it over the main run cos that was all chopped up and just mounds of powder everywhere!
Next time we go though we are definitely going to do Mt Hutt, Cardrona and Treble Cone! They do sounds pretty epic!
Some places in NZ have free WiFi but I wouldn’t count on it as NZ has one of the worst Internet in first world countries…
Actually a girl I know recently went skiing in Queenstown and she was really impressed with Vodaphone in NZ. reception was brilliant all over the mountains (she was using A LOT of data. IG facebook twitter etc…)
She had to buy a sim over there cause telstra datapack was a PITA…
When we were there in July they had free wifi at Coronet Peak and Remarkables
We got a Vodafone NZ sim as well (which came with data) and we had absolutely no problems with reception or data. Probably better than AU vodafone tbh!
got back 2 weeks ago but have been hermitting away from the net but Vodafone was great especially.
when we were there we flew into Christchurch to save money and fit 5 people into a car! With 3 boards and a pair of skis! Really pushing it with cash! Haha Ended up taking the super scenic root unintentionally to get to QT (12hrs maybe) Lol. it was heaps fun overall the trip not the 12 hrs though! But we all agreed we like caddies the best. TC wasn’t good it didn’t snow when we went there so it was all Icey. remarkables was nice cause I like park stuff Wish they brought snowpark back :(:(:(
Hey fellas. We are two Norwegian guys heading to Wanaka and Queenstown from 7-14 sept. I’ve been reading through most of the posts here… We’ll stay in wanaka for the first few days and do TC and Cardrona. We’re gonna rent a car for that purpose. However, the last few days we’ll be in Queenstown. Does it make sense to have a rental car down there, or is it just a waste of money?
Also, anyone have any good recommendations for a backpacker in both wanaka and QT? We’d like to stay at one that has an outdoor spa pool!!
Does it make sense to have a rental car down there, or is it just a waste of money?
It is a very good idea to have one! (but make sure you have heeded all warnings about the roads which have been said many times in this thread.
Also, anyone have any good recommendations for a backpacker in both wanaka and QT?
Can’t help with the spa i’m afraid!
I have stayed at base backpackers in queenstown.
Oh and welcome to BW!!! 
Maybe check out Reavers lodge for a place with a spa - http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Reavers-Lodge/Queenstown/47082?dateFrom=2013-08-29&dateTo=2013-09-01#availability
Välkommen till våra nya norsk kompisar!
Pretty sure Base has a backpackers in Wanaka as well, so you might wanna check that out.
I’d get a car for the whole trip, too. Just take care going over the crown range road between Wanaka and Queenstown.
We booked Black sheep backbackers in Queenstown.. looks pretty good and has an outdoor hot tub. Booked YHA hostel in Wanaka which looks quite nice, though there’s no hot tub. So we’ll be in Queenstown 7-10 and wanaka 10-14 september in anyone wants to hang out!
So the first few days, is it worth going to coronet peak or the remarkebles or should we just drive straight to cardrona?
If you’re in Wanaka, you’re not going to Coronet or Remarks. TC or Cardrona are close to Wanaka, the other 2 are close to Queenstown.
So 8th and 9th, hit up Coronet and Remarks. 10th, have a day off to go Bungee or Clay shooting or up the gondola and ride some go karts etc. Then drive over to Wanaka
Then 11 and 12 you should hit up TC and Cardy. Then on the 13th go back to whichever you preferred.
And 14th you go home.
Here’s hoping that NZ has a great September for you!
Swap your dates around in that post above TJ!
Fixed