Winter Sports
Winter sports, especially skiing and snowboarding, are extremely popular in New Zealand. A number of Kiwis are performing well internationally in their respective disciplines and recreational numbers remain high.
Mt Ruapehu is the snow sports centre in the North Island, while Mt Hutt and a number of smaller club fields are within relatively easy travelling distance of Christchurch. The main snow sports centres though, are the alpine resorts of Queenstown and Wanaka, which have a number of commercial skifields nearby.
There are direct flights into Queenstown from various cities in Australia, with Aussie skiers outnumbering Kiwis in the resort most winters.
Heliskiing is popular, particularly around Queenstown, Wanaka and Mt Cook, while Ski the Tasman involves fixed-wing flights up onto the Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.
Other sports
See Snow Sports NZ for information on all disciplines, including Cross Country Skiing.
NZ Curling oversees this most Scottish of sports, with most of the action taking place in Central Otago.