Heading off: farmers and the move to high-country tourism

Heading Off is our weekly travel segment where we pick a destination and learn what's it's like to visit, what you'll see and what you can do.
Today we're heading to Te Waipounamu - to speak to Jonathan Wallis who manages Minaret Station at Lake Wānaka
Minaret station has been owned by his family since 1995 and like many farming families across the motu, the Wallis' have been diversifying their income through high-country tourism.

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RNZ News

9 hours ago

• RNZ News

Major Cardrona Alpine Resort expansion almost ready to open

Shimmering high on the Queenstown horizon, an expansive off-map ski basin that, for years, existed only in whispers and long-term plans is finally ready to be revealed. Skiers and snowboards were praying the snow gods delivered in time for Cardrona Alpine Resort's planned opening of Soho Basin on 28 June, marking the culmination of years of painstaking planning and tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure investment. Cardrona and Treble Cone chief mountains officer Laura Hedley said the project had involved technical backcountry building work, helicopter missions and meticulous tussock replanting. "We don't often get to open up new terrain in New Zealand, so we are so excited about being able to open this up to our guests, let them explore a bit more of these beautiful mountains," she said. Chief mountains officer for Cardrona and Treble Cone Laura Hedley. Photo: Supplied The basin was tucked over the ridge from Cardrona's main slopes, high on the Queenstown horizon on a south-facing aspect. Punctuated by rocks and ridgelines, Soho Basin expanded Cardrona's total footprint by a quarter, making it the biggest ski area in the country. Hedley said it would mostly cater to intermediate and advanced riders. "It's really rolly and playful," she said. "We tried to keep it as natural as possible, because the terrain itself is amazing. "People will have this experience where they go basin to basin. You can get from Soho Basin to Captain's Basin, then across to the main basin. "You'll be able to ski in different places, eat in different places - it's going to feel like a whole different resort." Soho Basin's new high-speed, six-seater, 1.2 km chairlift. Photo: Supplied Planning for Soho Basin began in 2015, followed by a 2018 agreement to use land owned by Land Information New Zealand. A new high-speed, six-seater, 1.2km chairlift called Soho Express took two years to build, with towers brought in by a Black Hawk helicopter, because there was no road access. As the area was landscaped, Hedley said staff tried to leave the smallest possible mark on the environment. "We made sure that every time we took out a tussock, we replanted it," she said. Soho Basin's new high-speed, six-seater, 1.2 km chairlift. Photo: Supplied The project had driven development across the rest of the mountain, including a new T-bar ski lift, retail store and noodle bar, Hedley said. "We needed to make sure we had enough carparks, enough food and beverage seating, that our rentals [facility] was upgraded, that our infrastructure was upgraded," she said. "We've had some challenges. We didn't get every consent we wanted in time and that's okay. "It's a multi-year project, so things like the water reservoir for snowmaking, we'll do next year, but we do have the infrastructure in place already and we do have snow guns on. "We haven't quite finished yet, but this is definitely the big one." Cardrona's main slopes opened on 14 June. Photo: Supplied Along with snow guns, signage and a new ski patrol hut, staff had settled on eight names for new runs, including Sunny Side, Snow Farmer and Showtime. Ski patroller Shane Adams said staff started preparing the area for public access last year. "The snow safety specialists got to come in, and did quite a lot of work to look for avalanche paths and build their avalanche atlas, and all those sorts of things, which is really cool," he said. Adams said he recalled a lot of talk about the ski area one day expanding over the mountain, when he worked at Cardrona in 2015. "To be back here again and actually have that happen is pretty cool. I'm pretty excited," he said. Soho Basin could open at the start of school holidays, if snow coverage improved. Skier Sam Redwood was already eyeing up the possibilities. "I don't want to give away too many secrets, but I know some spots," he said. "My mate's been scoping out some really good lines down it and I'm really keen to hit those." Long-time Cardrona skier Will Murrell was also looking forward to trying out Soho's slopes. "The thought of a bunch of new stuff here is just awesome," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

15 hours ago

• RNZ News

Calling Home: Cath Lealand in Tokyo

Cath Lealand left New Zealand in her early 20s and has called Tokyo home for the past decade. Now working as a freelance translator and model , the former Hamiltonian joins Jim to share what it's like living in one of the world's busiest and most fascinating cities — a sprawling metropolis of 14 million people. Photo: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0

RNZ News

18 hours ago

• RNZ News

Are you paying too much for parking?

Photo: Felix Desmarais / LDR You might be paying too much for your parking, new research suggests. Vanessa Rader, head of research at Ray White Group, said she was inspired to look at how New Zealand's car park prices compared, after conducting similar research in Australia. She found what New Zealanders pay for parking can vary dramatically, even within cities. She said, on average, the daily fee being paid in CBDs was $39.53 in Auckland, $37.83 in Wellington, and $32.60 in Christchurch. But Aucklanders could be paying anything from $12 to $80, Wellington from $15 to $50, and Christchurch $10 to $98. She said that range within cities suggested that markets were "highly fragmented" and location, quality, and convenience made a big difference to price. In Australia, the difference between cities was much more pronounced than within them, she said. "People always think of Auckland as being the most expensive but it's not wildly more expensive. "It's really location sensitive… if people want to be in certain locations they're willing to pay that extra.. but if you're just someone that's commuting and you're happy to walk a couple of blocks you can get a much cheaper price and you're still definitely within the CBD." Rader said Christchurch had the most aggressive "early bird" discounts, at 48.97 percent. She said that suggested oversupply or weaker demand fundamentals. "This mirrors strategies seen in other struggling markets where operators prioritise volume over margin to maintain cash flow. Wellington's more moderate 43.44 percent early bird discount indicates a more balanced supply-demand dynamic, while Auckland's 43.95 percent discount suggests healthy competition without desperation." Photo: 123RF She said booking online would give people good savings on their car parking. Operators had improved their offerings and made it easier to access charging facilities and parking via app, she said. "You don't need to book days in advance or anything, it's all making it very seamless. Those car parking facilities that have a really easy way of being able to book their parking seem to be doing better." Some people who had access to or owned carpark spaces were using platforms to offer car parks to other people when they were not in use, she said. "There seems to be a lot of that happening in Auckland, not anywhere else that I can see." Christchurch had a 28.2 percent online discount, Auckland 19.9 percent, and Wellington 12.8 percent. She said the shift to hybrid working had affected parking operators. In Auckland, some car parks had additional discounts on Mondays and Fridays. "A clear acknowledgement that these have become the preferred work from home days in many offices… that really shows there's acceptance that the middle days of the week are when parking is more expensive." Few car parks changed hands in New Zealand. "The standout transaction being Downtown Carpark in Auckland's reported sale of $122 million for 2000 spaces at $61,000 per unit, though notably involves redevelopment for mixed-use purposes rather than pure parking investment." Smaller transactions in Wellington (24 Tory Street at $56,610 per unit) suggest varied pricing across different market tiers, however, limited data does make it difficult to benchmark results. "This transaction scarcity reflects the unique nature of parking assets, which are often tightly held by long-term owners or integrated within broader property portfolios. However, the limited liquidity also creates repositioning opportunities for astute investors who recognise that prime CBD parking sites may hold more value as development land than as income-generating parking facilities." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.