NZ skiing and snowboarding holidays at Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu is located in the Tongoriro National Park on the North Island of New Zealand. The Mountain itself is an active volcano and is in the geothermally active region close to Taupo and Rotorua. This region is one of the most active in the world and visitors coming to the region will be able to see some spectacular displays of geothermal activity. Mt Ruapehu is the home of New Zealand's largest ski and snowboarding resort. Historically, there have been two resorts on the mountain, Turoa or "The Giant" as it is known is located on the south western slopes of the mountain. It is famous for its natural half pipes formed by flowing lava. Whakapapa is located on the North Western slopes. The two resorts have recently merged into one resort and now offer more than 65 trails across some 1050 hectares of terrain. Whakapapa has a complete beginners area with a gentle slope where they can gain in confidence without the pressure of faster skiers around them. Turoa has Australasia’s longest vertical drop and runs up to 4 kilometers long. Turoa also has two lift accessed, "off Piste" areas that the experienced skiers love.
In 2006/7 Turoa underwent New Zealand's biggest ever ski upgrade with 19 million dollars spent on new six seater chair lift, new snowmaking equipment and reservoir and a base café and retail service complex seating 400 people. People come to Mt Ruapehu from all around the world to see what it is like to ski on an active volcano. It is four hours drive from Auckland, which is New Zealand's largest city. It has an international airport with regular flights from Australia and around the world. Most people hire their own car or campervan for travelling around the North Island. Taupo is the nearest town with lots of accommodation and it is about an hour and a quarters drive to Mt Ruapehu. Ohakune is the nearest town to the mountain and also the departure point for the shuttle service to the mountain. There is also some local accommodation for skiers in Ohakune.
This is one of New Zealand's finest skiing and snowboarding resorts so make sure you include Mt Ruapehu in your next skiing holiday in New Zealand’s North Island.
