The snow-covered view from Coronet Peak across to The Remarkables.Picture: NZ Ski Source: Supplied
- Late winter dumps snow on New Zealand
- Too dangerous for skiers to come down mountain
- 250 skiers had to sleep in cafeteria overnight
THE great snow dump New Zealand tourism operators have been praying for has arrived with gusto, trapping hundreds of skiers and blocking main highways across the country.
Winter hit late across the Tasman, setting nerves of a hungry tourism industry on edge, but arrive it has, with huge snowfalls across the entire South Island and the southern half of the North Island.
The dump caught many by surprise, stranding 250 skiers at Mt Lyford, near Christchurch, up the mountain overnight, leaving them to sleep in the resort's cafeteria.
The risk of avalanche was deemed too high to allow them to leave yesterday.
Some of the country's main roads have been closed due to snowfalls, and many others are coated in dangerous black ice, slowing traffic to a crawl.
Some towns, like tourist ski village Wanaka, near Queenstown, are expected to run out of petrol after tankers could not make the trip.
Wanaka BP Service Station manager Tony Myers told the New Zealand Herald there were "queues and queues" when news of the shortage spread through town.
"As soon as people came down off the skifields it was bedlam."
The snow has not brought cheer to earthquake-ravaged Christchurch, where thousands of people are living in damaged homes or temporary accommodation.
The worst white-out in a decade is keeping residents indoors, but many are struggling in freezing conditions.
"We're very cold, feel a bit abandoned," one resident told Television New Zealand.
Another local, Leanne Curtis, told the network the chill just added to the worries.
"No power and people are cold, just another horrendous nightmare added on top of it."
Authorities fear melting ice will cause havoc on broken-up roads and properties that still have no stormwater drains.
But for those in the tourism industry the news is great.
At the official launch of the winter festival in Queenstown in late June there was barely a sprinkling of snow on the country's famous Southern Alps.
Operators, suffering after a slow summer and shoulder season, were worried an unseasonably warm winter would deter Australian tourists from booking a New Zealand escape.
But Destination Queenstown chief executive Tony Everitt said after a slow start, everything was looking up.
"It's absolutely awesome. We've had two really big dumps over the last 10 days so the ski fields are in great shape and the whole place is just a winter wonderland," Mr Everitt said.
While it was still too early to predict visitor numbers, he said seats on the 32 weekly direct flights between Queenstown and Australia's eastern seaboard capitals were already "well booked".
"Numbers from Australia are steady and we're hoping and expecting it ramps up as time goes on," Mr Everitt said.
"We've certainly got the snow to justify it at this stage and we're sure it will stick around."
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