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Whakapapa
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Whakapapa - Mt Ruapehu

Whakapapa - Mt Ruapehu: Address, Phone Number, Whakapapa - Mt Ruapehu Reviews: 3.5/5

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Whakapapa - Mt Ruapehu

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Whakapapa - Mt Ruapehu
3.5
463
#5 of 9 things to do in Whakapapa
Ski & Snowboard Areas
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About
Whakapapa is NZ’s largest ski area with 550 hectares of lift-accessed & patrolled terrain. Terrain varies from mellow slopes for beginners to epic chutes, drops & bumps for the most experienced. Whakapapa's snow factory sees it through NZ's longest ski season all the all the way from the beginning of June through to the end of October. Home to Happy Valley, a fully self-contained learners’ area boasting its own café, rental complex and ski school meeting area, while also being free of advanced skiers and snowboarders. For non-skiers and the summer season, NZ's largest gondola the NEW Sky Waka, takes you to NZ's highest eateries at the Knoll Ridge Chalet at 2020m. This spectacular ride takes you over striking volcanic terrain with views across the Tongariro National Park.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
463 reviews
Excellent
160
Very good
124
Average
71
Poor
35
Terrible
73
Paul S
1 contribution
Poor Experience
Family
Having skied at many place throughout Europe I didn’t have high expectations, but sadly I was still disappointed. RAL can’t control the weather, but they could control the prices they charge in relation to what is open. As such we have had to pay 84 dollars each for Happy Valley access and a couple of blue runs above the Sky Waka. Everything here felt like a money grab in the worst possible way. Crap conditions and over priced ski passes which don’t flex to the conditions. I’m fromScotland and found skiing there is better than this. I won’t be coming back and off to the South Island next year.
Written 9 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Megan
1 contribution
Good experience, just make sure you can rely on the weather
Friends
I had a great day skiing at Whakapapa with my large friend group. Some of us were beginners and some where advanced.

We had a small mixup with our lesson on the day as we tried to swap from turoa to whakapapa as the weather was not great at turoa. We appreciated there is terms and conditions attached to the booking which meant we technically could not do this but we did not feel it worth our time to go to turoa for a lesson, when we would probably not be able to spend valuable time skiing there after. We therefore missed our lesson at Turoa as we were unable to get it swapped to Whakapapa.

Fortunately we had practiced in a indoor ski venue before we went and so could have a great time on the slopes at whakapapa with our more advanced friends giving us tips.The staff on the day were very helpful and after 9am were very prompt in their replies to our emails. They helped us rectify the situation and were a pleasure to deal with.

The food and facilities here are also brilliant. Drinks, coffee, food, places to sit and more, all great for making this experience one to enjoy with friends and to get a full, long day of skiing under the belt.

I cannot wait to head back to Mt Ruapehu with my friends again as we all had a great time.
Written 7 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Mary
Hamilton & Waikato Region, New Zealand7 contributions
Need adequate staff
I put this on google as well:

Came here end of July, start of August 2022. I was skeptical coming as I really didnt think there would be much snow but the day we arrived, it was pouring with snow - it was great. Did encounter a few problems - restricted access (make sure you have chains or 4WD) very pricey snow socks but we shouldve come prepared.

We were late for our lesson due to road closure but thats unforeseeable but the thing that bugged me the most is that they didnt have staff or atleast staff that knew what they were doing. I know the tourism industry is in shambles but they were well over a month of being open yet training staff on busy days? I do feel bad for the guy as he was only 15 and his first season. Rentals could have been better for sure. Instructor was alright but didnt seem too enthusiastic about his job, there was only 5 of us in the group but he really struggled to give us one on one advice, did one activity for like 20 minutes and really dragged on.. seemed like non of us really learnt anything after that. bit of a shame really

Really liked the click and collect online tickets/card - saved us a lot of time.

Overall experience, yes it was alright. Staff could have been better. Depending on day and weather - this can really make or break your trip. Come prepared.
Written 3 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Annemarie B
Auckland, New Zealand8 contributions
Poor staff attitude and service
Family
Went to Whakapapa last weekend. We were a group of 8 that included 4 children 2 to 6 years. After going to happy valley and finding out that there was no place for children to just play in the snow ( at the entrance to the ski fields there is no signage at all) we went back up. A staff member told us we had to go to the top of the gondola to find the play area. Very expensive trip up the gondola but at least the children loved it. Up at the top the kids played in the snow for an hour or so. Decided to get them some lunch around 1pm. Went to the cafe up there. My niece got some hot chips and drinks. Waited for at least 15 minutes with dozens of other people. Nothing happening at the tills. Then a staff member came in and announced that they could only take cash as eftpos was down. People had been standing there picking off their plates etc while they were waiting. Everyone was told if you don’t have cash just leave your food. Attitude was “ to bad”. I spoke to a staff member and said that instead of wasting all the food at least let those that had already got their trays to eat it especially the kids. Got called a bitch by the staff member ( absolutely true people). No attempt to find a solution such as transferring funds into their account or a manual eftpos transaction. Completely unacceptable when children are cold and hungry. It is not like you can just walk down the road to another option. Rude rude staff. Hope they do better in the future
Written 1 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Matt
2 contributions
Terrible skiing ,
Couples
Would never come here again , went on the only slope you can go on "happy valley" and it's about 20m wide and 100m long with about 200 kids on it , drove from auckland to go skiing and I'm very disappointed, no wonder they are losing money , no advanced or intermediate slopes
Written 13 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Dunny123
2 contributions
Incompetent
Family
If you love queuing and want to experience a complete absence of leadership then this is the place for you. The experience is undescribeably bad. Go and ski in the south island.
Written 12 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Serajis
Rotorua, New Zealand79 contributions
A pleasant day out in the snow
It was our first time for us at any ski field in New Zealand. Quite happy for what we got. We took the Skywaka, the view was amazing; also took happy valley, which was okay.
Written 3 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
jgrant666
Sydney, Australia38 contributions
Greed, misrepresentation, inflexible
Family
Booked here for 3 nights at the end of June. Limited accommodation options, and where we stayed (chateau Tongariro) was a complete ripoff for what it was. The whakapapa 'ski resort' was happy to charge us for lift passes without pointing out that you can't actually get off the lifts and ski any of the runs, so we spent an absolute fortune to basically muck around in the kids area . Level of customer service from both our hotel and the ski operators was zero

Avoid it like the plague, Australian ski resorts are expensive but don't leave as bad a taste in your mouth as this place. If we ever ski NZ again it'll be the south island for sure
Written 30 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ebonee
15 contributions
Awful. Frustrating. Sad.
Family
Really expensive, poor information, disappointing mountain access. I tried several places beforehand; websites, i-site, customer services...no one gave us the info we needed. No staff helped kids on Happy Valley slope and supervising adults can only go on if they pay. Lifties gave very little info yet told kids off if they did something wrong. Made me sad as a Kiwi knowing our Tourism is suffering. How are our tourists expected to work this stuff out when English speaking NZers find the experience really crappy. Set up packages that make sense. Inform all staff what options are available. Have more people on hand to direct visitors. Open more Guest Services kiosks to keep queues down. Thankfully our maunga remains breathtaking.
Written 5 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
grace877
Singapore, Singapore13 contributions
Didn’t meet expectations
Family
We booked a private lesson for a four year old who has skied several times before and is very keen. After less than half an hour the ski instructor decided to bake on the lesson when perhaps some food may have turned lesson around . We subsequently skied all afternoon with the child who has loved lessons at Coronet peak, Cardrona and a treble Cone. Seems instructors poorly prepared or just not used to small children , $250 wasted no refund offered .
Cardrona recommended four hours of skiing for same child and he loved it.
We were also ‘told off’ for going in a lift queue that was unmarked but was ‘Ski School only ‘ most skiers are not telepathic Photo taken at Coronet Peak
Written 17 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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