Looking for something fun to do with the tribe in the winter school holidays? Take them to Snow Farm New Zealand for some tubing and dog sledding.
If skiing isn’t your tribe’s thing, there are other snow based activities to be found in New Zealand’s gorgeous South Island. Take a trip to Cardrona and visit a family friendly attraction called Snow Farm.
Snow Farm has plenty of fun things to do including tubing, cross country skiing and dog sledding. Or simply enjoy playing in the snow with snow ball fights, snowman building and snow angels a plenty.
Tell me about the tubing
We went to Snow Farm specifically to go tubing in their Fun Zone. Grab a pass for each rider to get their very own donut. Kids as young as 3-4 years can ride in a tube on their own, and littlies can sit with a parent for a ride down the hill.
Each rider drags their donut up the hill then jumps in for a fun slide down the icy hill. You can ride as many or as few times as you like in the space of an hour. Once the tubing session is over, you can stay in the fun zone and play in the snow and take in the views.
A tubing pass costs $15 per rider, or you can pay $10 to stay in the Fun Zone for the day.
Snow shoeing
For families with older kids (seven is the minimum age for snow shoeing), you can head off the beaten track and go for a bit of a snow hike through some of the best alpine meadows in New Zealand. Take in the spectacular mountain views on offer on either a one hour or a two hour snow shoe trail.
Adult passes are $45, students are $35 and children are $25.
Dog sledding
If you fancy a tour of the mountain with some dogs pulling you along, be sure to book this activity in advance! Underdog NZ is a separate business to Snow Farm but runs out of Snow Farm’s property. You will need to book your experience in weeks before you turn up at Snow Farm. We left our run a little late and had to watch some other tribes having all the fun, so get onto that booking to make sure you don’t miss out!
Cross Country skiing
If you want to learn to glide across flat snow plains with ease – you can book ski lessons for adults and kids. Lessons for kids start at age three. You can even book in to stay in one of Snow Farm’s Mountain Huts overnight and cross country ski to your accommodation.
Prices vary depending on your experience and equipment needs.
Getting there
Snow Farm is on the road between Queenstown and Wanaka. It’s around 1hr from Queenstown and 40 minutes from Wanaka. If you are going to drive to Snow Farm, make sure your vehicle has snow chains just in case there is snow on the road up the mountain. You can also catch a shuttle from Wanaka, or book a private charter to take you there and back. Or for something extra special, Snow Farm can also organise a private helicopter ride from Wanaka or Queenstown.
