I have just had a wicked week skiing in France and met some Aussies who said skiing wasnt bad in Vic and NSW. We will be living in Adelaide, so can anyone recommend some great places to ski? Im having serious withdrawal already!

Have a look at this http://www.ski.com.au/resorts/

Perisher Blue and Hotham are considered the best. They wont be as good as the best European slopes but they are pretty good considering where they are. The drive from Adelaide would probably be about 13 hours to Hotham. And there is always NZ.

I have found skiing a bit dull here. I haven't been to Hotham yet or NZ.

The one thing that I will say is that it seems to be very expensive in comparison to Europe. You will not find any ski / accom packages, especially ones where kids can go free etc....

Coming from a swiss ski resort and living in Australia, i can tell you that i had a fantastic time during my season in Perisher Blue!!!

Of course the slopes are not what you might expect them to be but oh god everyone is soooo motivated and happy to be there it creates a fantastic atmosphere and i had an awesome time!

NZ seems fantastic as well, i went there but right after the season finished and it all looked really good!!!

so i would definitely recommend skiing in the southern hemisphere around here! but be ready, its blooooody expensive!!!!!!!

fabie

have you had a look in some travel agents?

For the past years, I've timed a business trip to OZ in August, and travel with my snowboard. A few years ago, somebody from our office in Sydney went to a travel agent and got me a couple of brochures on wintersports holidays and posted them to me before I left. There were loads of packages of transport/accom/skiing combined.

I've also seen the vans taking people down when I drove from Sydney to Canberra in August.

Not sure about the kids go free as it was not something I was looking for.


I ended up going to NZ (I was on a round the world ticket), and went to Mount Hutt, which is close to Christchurch. Actually I went there 2 years on the trot.

I've only been to the 3 valleys in Europe, and then I've stayed with friends, so cannot compare, but I stayed in a back packers place which was fantastic for the money.

From memory, I thought the cost of the lift passes were reasonable. Certainly cheaper than the US, Canada and Japan and not a lot different than my limited Europe experiences, although I admit that 'not a lot' for one person can become 'quite a lot' for a family.

The one thing that did stand out, is that the overall quality of the facilities were much better than in the 3 Valleys, the lifties were much more friendly, the town less of a rip off, etc. Certainly has my thumbs up, and I will be taking my winter sports gear when I finally make it out there permanently.

I have a friend who used to live in Sydney who is a big skier, and he said that Perisher Blue has become an excellent resort over the past 5 years or so.

Hi Lucy

How are you? Hope things are going well. Like you we are avid skiers to, going to Spain 23 Feb for long w/end. As you know we are going to Adelaide to. We brought an Australia Map the other day from WH Smith and it has 3 areas for Skiing not to far from Adelaide Vic/NSW thank god we can still ski. I think it would drive me bonkers if I could never go skiing again (to far to go to France or Austria hay).

Tracey

Hi Tracey

I booked another skiing holiday today....we are going to Klosters in Switzerland this time...I havent skied there before. Im trying to get my fill before we leave! I have been looking at Perisher Blue and I reckon that looks the best...we can get cheap Virgin Blue flights so Im trying not to worry too much! When are you moving to Adelaide?

Lucy

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for the post...it was very helpful! Do you find that the scenery is as breathtaking as the alps? Or is it more like skiing in Vermont?

Lucy

I have just looked at Perisher Blue and it seems a great place to go... Shame it's so far out of Melbourne

Mount Hutt is very small. Basically one mountain (I think it was a volcano, and the top blew off, creating a bowl). It's quite an experience, you stay in a town called Methven, and then catch the bus up the mountain which used to run 4 times a day.

2 things stick in my mind, firstly I had a huge fall (suspected broken ribs), and in the medical centre I was asked if I minded if 2 student doctors examined me. As they were both stunning bunnies, I thought it was rude to refuse! Secondly there are loads of coloured 'parrots' that live up there. They are really comical, but apparently they eat everything, with a particular taste for the rubber strips that seal in car windshields!

I think that the size of the ski fields in the south of the South Island are like the Alps in regards to size from the pictures I've seen and from what I've asked.