After a day of hiking around Mount Cook National Park we were ready to switch our hiking shoes for skis and try out a couple of new to us ski resorts near the town of Wanaka.
Our first stop was Treble Cone, we had driven past the access road to this ski resort on our trip into Mount Aspiring National Park back in April when we hiked the Rob Roy Glacier Trail. The access road to the ski resort climbed steeply up the side of the mountain, and the lack of trees gave us a great view out across the Matukituki River valley.
After getting kitted out in our ski stuff we headed for the lifts which took us even higher up the mountain, giving us great views of the Matukituki River and out across to Lake Wanaka.
After a fairly dry and mild winter, the mountains here had finally received a good amount of snow the previous weekend and the conditions were great for skiing, although we stopped often to take in the views!
We stopped for lunch at the base area and were entertained by the Keas. We had heard a lot about these alpine parrots, which have a reputation for being rather cheeky. Despite the numerous hikes we have done throughout the mountains here we had yet to see one.
It appears that they live up to their reputation and they spent the entire lunchtime attempting to get scraps of food. They were very actually very clever and quite successful in their hunt for food, mostly due to their ability to break into rucksacks and other bags in search of something to eat.
After lunch we headed back out to enjoy the skiing, spending more time in the bowls on the far side of the mountain.
We really enjoyed our day at Treble Cone, and the views from the ski runs made it one of the most beautiful places we had ever skied and we certainly didn’t get tired of watching the light change over the mountains.
The next day we decided to test out another ski area; Cardrona. The views from Cardrona weren’t quite as stunning as those from Treble Cone, but the slightly gentler slopes and quieter atmosphere made for another great day of skiing.
It still surprising to ski such open areas, after having spent so much time weaving through the trees at the resorts in Colorado, but it certainly makes for some beautiful views from the slopes. We skied until lunchtime before starting our drive back to Christchurch.