Three travellers on winter magic in New Zealand’s South Island

New Zealand’s South Island doesn’t hibernate in winter; it comes out to play. The Southern Alps turn white, the West Coast turns surprisingly mild, the hoar frost coats Twizel and the South Island in ice crystals like a scene from Frozen, and the long, clear days arrive.

For Australians chasing that trans-Tasman magic, here’s how to do it.

Into the snow

Adventure filmmaker Kyle Mulinder, the man behind BareKiwi, says the Queenstown and Wānaka region alone has four world-class ski fields within an hour of each other, each with its own character.

“The Remarkables drops you into a huge natural basin, Coronet Peak is the most accessible and runs night skiing, Treble Cone has the biggest terrain and the views down Lake Wānaka, and Cardrona has the family slopes and an Olympic-standard superpipe,” he says.

It’s not just skiers flying around. “Keep an eye out for the kea,” tips Mulinder. “It’s the world’s only alpine parrot, olive-green with a scarlet flash under the wings. You’ll hear them before you see them.”

For something the crowds never experience, travel writer and snow enthusiast Craig Tansley, would send you to Ōhau and the Canterbury club fields – and it’s a tip well worth following, Tansley reckons he has skied at least 20 New Zealand seasons over the past 25 years. “Ōhau is the happiest place in New Zealand, one chairlift, run by the same couple since 1986,” he says. “The club fields feel like the 1940s, all rope tows, but the snow is extraordinary.”

The real surprise, says Mulinder, is the Tasman Glacier. “You fly up in a ski plane and ski down New Zealand’s longest glacier, two of the longest runs in the southern hemisphere. You don’t have to be an expert and once the plane leaves, it’s pure silence with Aoraki Mount Cook right beside you.”

Magic beyond the slopes

You don’t need skis to fall for a South Island winter. Mulinder’s pick is an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland, reachable only by boat across Lake Manapouri and a coach over the Wilmot Pass. “It’s vast, remote and almost silent,” he says. “In winter you feel like the whole fiord is yours, just you, the waterfalls and a pod of dolphins.”

Inland, Tansley follows the cold-weather reds to the Gibbston Valley and Kinross, a 2024 Qualmark wine tourism award winner. “Central Otago in winter is magic, bare vines, snow on the ranges and the best pinot you’ll drink anywhere,” he says. Après-ski is half the appeal: he warms up by the fire at the 160-year-old Cardrona Hotel, then heads into Queenstown for the restaurants. “Eichardt’s sits right on Lake Wakatipu and The Bunker is a hidden gem I’ve loved for 25 years.”

After dark, the sky takes over. At Lake Tekapo, in one of the world’s great dark-sky reserves, stargazing is a family-friendly favourite for Jennifer Parkes, travel photographer and writer of Backyard Travel Family. “You float in a hot pool while a guide points out Saturn, the moon and the Matariki stars,” she says. “It gets dark early in winter, so even the little ones make it.”

Family favourites

For families, Parkes recommends Mt Hutt, an easy drive from Christchurch, and one of the best places in the country to learn, with the laid-back town of Methven as a base and the solar-heated Ōpuke pools, with both a child-friendly pool and an adults-only swim-up bar, to thaw out in afterwards. “The kids love the fairy door forest walks,” she says.

On the West Coast, she takes the kids on a Franz Josef wilderness tour, kayaking to a tiny island in Lake Mapourika, within the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary. “Our guide showed the kids the lancewood, a tree that grew spikes to outwit the giant moa, and we watched for the kōtuku, the white heron Māori see as a sign of good fortune,” she says. “Five years on, they still talk about it.”

Her advice for winter with kids? “Don’t be scared of the cold, just dress for it, and pack a flask of hot chocolate,” she says. “And say yes as much as you can. If they want to throw snowballs and build snowmen, let them. That’s the whole point.”

Kyle’s top tip: Base yourself in Christchurch and drive the Alpine Pacific loop, five nights through Kaikōura’s whales and seals, the Hanmer Springs thermal pools and the Waipara wineries. “Three different worlds, hours apart. The journey is the joy.”

Plan your escape

Snow one day, stars the next, a hot pool whenever the cold bites: a South Island winter suits thrill-seekers and families alike, all just a short flight from home.

Discover your winter in New Zealand at newzealand.com.