With all due respect to the North Island’s ski facilities, the South Island is the place to be with skis (or a snowboard) strapped to your feet, on or off piste. There are skifields everywhere and for the most part, they are wide open and varied in their terrain. New Zealand’s best fields – Mount Hutt, Coronet Peak, Treble Cone and Cardrona – are all here, as is the country’s only developed Nordic ski area in the Cardrona Valley.