Just got back from a last minute trip inspired by a coupon on a box of beer… left late Monday night and drove 4 hours to get to Mt. Ruapehu, the closest ski resort to Auckland. Stayed at Tongariro Holiday Park the first, short-lived night and woke up early to ski the first side of the mountain: Whakapapa (pronounced f***-a-puppa haha).
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| Whakapapa |
We thought it would be a little less crowded since it was a Tuesday, but either way there were pretty much no lift line-ups and clear blue skies all day! The snow was nice and soft in spots where the groomers had been, which somewhat restricted us on both days to stay on designated runs since other runs/areas weren’t groomed and were so icy. Lots of fun and cool to be snowboarding in September…
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| Whakapapaaaa |
After boarding, we drove to the opposite side of the mountain to a town called Ohakune and stayed at a really nice backpackers called Rimu Park Lodge & Chalets… (They had a hot tub! So nice after being up the mountain…)
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| Turoa |
Wednesday we went up the opposite side of Mt. Ruapehu to Whakapapa: Turoa. I definitely liked this side better, check out the view below and the runs were longer (and no T-bars). Another bluebird day with little/no lines! You can hike to the top of the mountain to check out the crater on top… wish we did it now that I’m looking at this brochure… dang… Unlike other mountains I’ve been up, this one was a bit freaky since there were signs on the chairlift saying, “Do you know what to do when you hear the sirens?” “Did you know mudflows follow valleys?” There also weren’t any trees (makes sense but still different) and instead big rocky outcroppings.
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| Looking down on Turoa |
Nice little getaway and a good warm-up for our trip to Queenstown (flight leaves this Saturday for a week!)
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| kiwi crossing! |
