Working a ski season in New Zealand

A storm has aided the start of the New Zealand ski season, dropping 30 cm of snow. Coronet peak is now open and the new snow bodes well for the other resorts. Mt Hutt opens next week and The Remarkables on 21st June. In Mt Hutt alone over 250 staff have been training in preparation for opening, most will last until the NZ ski season closes in October.

Queenstown houses most staff for Coronet Peak or the Remarkables and Wanaka (about an hours drive away) is the main town for getting at Treble Cone and Cardrona. Both places are towns in their own right with normal town stuff as well as the ski stations (or fields) so there are more temporary jobs in the towns than you might find in the European resorts. There are lots of bars and restaurant jobs in Queenstown which is a lively place to live and work. Wanaka is more laid back but still has loads of bars, pubs, restaurants etc to find jobs in. Jobs in the ski fields include the usual retail, hospitality and catering work as well as instructor jobs and lift attendant work. Treble Cone for example employs about 200 staff per season.

www.nzski.com is a good place to find late jobs in the Queenstown fields or try Treble Cone for jobs on the Wanaka side

Most of the ski fields in New Zealand are on the South Island but there are a couple of belters to the South of the North Island (see Turoa and Tukino). Whilst not really on a par with Europe and the USA in terms of kilometres of piste and lifts, the resorts here are varied and not too far from each other. There is also some fantastic terrain for ski mountaineering and even heli / cat skiing.

The Kiwi's are in general very welcoming to foreign workers and there is work to be found in the winter resorts. However, the smaller resorts mean less businesses operate in situe and you may have to work in a town through the week.

Many none NZ nationals work the season in NZ but unless you are an Australian citizen you will most probably have to get a work visa. A visa is an official 'permit' authorizing you to enter the country. You need to specify a reason for your visit and state how long you will be there. To find out what type of visa you need try this page: NZ Immigration and working visas

Here are the latest ski season jobs & courses in New Zealand

All reviews are a rough guide. All information is to our knowledge correct at the time of writing. If you see any mistakes or would like to add something please email info@seasonworkers.com