Skiing a family favourite

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WINTER WONDERLAND: Tekapo is fast developing a reputation as a winter resort.

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Round Hill will never be New Zealand's most challenging ski area, but for family fun in the sun, it's hard to beat.

It's the quiet pudding-shaped lump on the chilly little capital of the Mackenzie Country, Tekapo, 30 minutes from the country's most-photographed church.

The little town is a favourite stop for tour buses en route to Mt Cook and Queenstown, but it has established itself as a winter resort with a hot-pool complex next to an ice rink and a range of accommodation from homestays to hotels.

Originally a hydro town, Tekapo is home base for serious climbing guides and is well placed as a family friendly alpine town: Mt Dobson and Ohau ski field are less than an hour in either direction, and if cross-country or ski mountaineering are your bag, you're in the alpinist's Shangri-la.

You can enjoy grand views of Mt Cook and the Main Divide, Lake Tekapo and the Mackenzie Basin, and you can usually bank on good snow cover.

ROUND HILL

Round Hill Ski Area is renowned for cold crisp weather in winter with blue and sunny skies. Its extensive snow-making system means it can open without natural snow and it is one of New Zealand's finest family ski areas.

The wide gentle slopes are ideal for beginners and intermediates. It's also great for those who haven't skied for a while who want to brush up on technique, or for those wanting to make an easy transition from skiing to snowboarding or vice-versa.

It's the favoured training venue of the Austrian women's ski team, so don't be alarmed by a red flash whizzing by.

Skiable area: 60ha
Vertical drop: 250m
Base altitude: 1350m
Highest altitude: 1600m
Terrain: Beginner 30 per cent; intermediate 60 per cent; advanced 10 per cent
Lifts: 1 T-bar 1 (1.2km); 1 platter.

• More information and news at www.snow.co.nz

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