Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
I've spent a lot of time at ski fields throughout New Zealand and the world, but one of my all-time favourites is ÅŒhau Snow Fields and Lake ÅŒhau Lodge. Tucked into the north-western corner of Otago, ÅŒhau blends the quality and consistency of a full commercial field with the unbridled charm of New Zealand's club fields.
The field is tucked into a wide valley bowl under the summit of Mt Sutton. It cops snow from the southwest and excells in the foehn wind that sees warm moist air off the Tasman Sea slammed by cold fronts – creating snowfall with minimal wind affect ... and plenty of it. That's partly why scientists believe ÅŒhau will be one of the last ski areas in New Zealand to feel the affects of climate change.
Last week Eman and Marlee Silva and Rewa and I gave chase in pursuit of the promise of powder. We'd roped the grommets in so we could get some decent photos. ÅŒhau did not disappoint. Like all fields in New Zealand, the winter storms have been late arriving, but this last one has brought the tide right in. Our goal was to get first tracks and we found so many pockets of powder – some inside the field and plenty from the short 20-minute Ridge bootpack. And we left a whole heap out there as well. It was sublime riding and even on one of the busiest days of the year, the queues were zero. We never lined up once.
ÅŒhau Snow Fields is actually the closest ski field to Dunedin, about a three-hour drive. When Mike and Louise Neilson took over operations in 1990 they joked they did it so their surfing mates could have a ski field to visit. Mike, a long-time surfer, originally from Oamaru, quickly had his surf buddies frequenting Lake ÅŒhau Lodge and ÅŒhau Snow Fields. Still to this day it feels like you're visiting friends with warm friendly staff and that high-country feel. It's become a firm favourite of surfers throughout the country with plenty of yarns to be had about great days in the snow and the early days in the surf. Characters like Graham Carse, Dave Crooks and a long list of others guarantee the stories are filled with colour.
The lodge has 72 rooms and caters for everyone: families, groups, solo travellers ... the main meal is held in the dining hall each evening with seating shuffled up so everyone gets to meet new people. We got to sample it this past week and met some very interesting people as we dined on superb high-country fare. And all this is set in a breathtaking location on the shore above Lake ÅŒhau.
In early October 2020 a devastating fire ripped through ÅŒhau Village and destryoed almost 50 homes. Luckily, Lake ÅŒhau Lodge was unharmed, but the devastation reached into the whole community. It's been a long way back, but if our experience last week is anything to go by, then ÅŒhau is in very good shape.
We're certainly going back for more.
See you on the ridge ... Derek
PS You can book your own adventure at Lake ÅŒhau Lodge and ÅŒhau Snow Fields right here on their website. Get in quick as the weekends tend to book right out – especially when there is good snow in the forecast.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: