35th Parallel - adventure travel & sports community

Snowkiting the Southern Alps of New Zealand!

The highlight of our snowkiting camp is the feeling of freedom as you blast across the snow, powered only by the wind!  You also get a huge amount of satisfaction at the end of the week when you see how much you've learned and how far your knowledge and experience has increased in such a short period of time.

Our team is devoted to making sure you progress your snowkiting as much as possible!

Check out the great videos and photos uploaded by previous travellers in our community!

Snowkiting with Chasta the World Champion

Snowkiting is amazing, but imagine learning from the world's best!!  Chasta is three time world snowkiting champion - check out some of Chasta's videos on YouTube here.

Chasta is active in our community had has some amazing photos and videos in there!

Instruction

Instruction is a component of all our camps.  Everyone can learn something whether you’ve been snowkiting for years or if it’s your first time.  Each person is evaluated on day one, and then encouraged to work on a progression plan with set goals for the week with an instructor.  Each day your riding is filmed so that the instructors can really show you what you're doing right and wrong!

Check out the great videos and photos uploaded by previous travellers in our community!

Guiding

We provide general direction during the course of the camp but you must assume responsibility for your own actions and make your own decisions based on your own abilities.  As many people have learned, it may not be the smartest idea to try to follow Chasta everywhere! 

Day 1: Arrive in Queenstown, New Zealand and go snowkiting!

Arrive into Queenstown Airport.  Buy last minute suppliers, pick up rental gear and  then transfer to our lodge. Weather permitting, we'll hit the mountain today for your first snowkite session!  The goal today is for everyone to freeride, giving the instructors the chance to evaluate each person's skills and technique.  The entire snowkite session will be filmed for review that evening.

At dinner tonight each person will spend time with the instructors to put together a progression plan for the week.  Specific goals will be outlined and a plan to achieve them!  We'll also watch the footage from today's snowkiting so that we can get our first tips from the master!  D

Days 2 - 7: Snowkiting, snowkiting & more snowkiting!

Each day you can make the most of the conditions available.  We normally snowkite for much of the day, often both in the morning and afternoon.  You can expect a great deal of one-on-one instruction from our team, focussing on the goals you've set for the week.  

Each day your riding will be filmed so that we can review it in the evenings prior to dinner when our instructors will go through each person's progression and provide tips for improvement.

Then it's time for dinner, a couple of drinks and bed!  Most nights everyone crash pretty early due to tired and sore muscles to ensure they're ready for the next day!  B/L/D

Day 8: Last session then head home

Maybe time for one last session in the morning before departing…or maybe just stay one more week! B/L

Snowkiting

Snowkiting of course!  Yes, we’ll be snowkiting as much as possible. 

Check out the great videos and photos uploaded by previous travellers in our community!

Touring

We have found that touring gear makes the camp far more enjoyable and gives us more options when the wind isn’t happening.  For this reason we strongly recommend touring skiis or split boards.  These can be rented for $300 for the week.  We make a plan in the evening and head out wind or no wind.  The wind will often come up at some point during the day and we can also go looking for it.  Sometimes wind in the mountains can be very localized and by touring we can find a better spot than if we just sit around and wait.  Plus this improves safety in the event we are deep in the back country and the wind dies on us.

Mountaineering

Being based at a hut gives us the opportunity to practice mountaineering skills which could be used for future trips and to gain confidence in exploring the alpine environment.  We can build a snowcave, practice crevasse and cliff rescue techniques, learn how to navigate, interpret the weather and other snow survival skills.

Land Cost

NZ$2,750 per person
Single Supplement (private room) NZ$700 per person
Accommodation Upgrade (double/twin room with ensuite) is available for an additional NZ$175 per person

Rates quoted are per person, based on shared accommodations (3 people per room).  A 3.5% credit card processing fee will be charged to all payments.  To avoid this fee, contact us to arrange payment by bank transfer. See our Terms & Conditions of Travel for more information on cancellations and refunds.

What’s Included

All activities, meals and accommodation mentioned in the itinerary as included.  Further inclusions are:

• Expert leadership and guides
• 2010 Ozone Demo Kites
• Airport transfers
• Ground transportation
• Accommodation in mountain lodge (3 share rooms)
• Entrance fees and permits
  

What’s Not Included

International airfares; optional activities; helicopter access if required, optional tipping to leader/guides; gratuities; meals not noted as included on the itinerary; bedding; travel insurance (we strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance - 35th Parallel can provide this if you like); excess baggage charges; airport taxes; costs of medical immunisations; and items of a personal nature (sodas, alcoholic beverages, laundry etc.).

Optional Extras

The following are all optional extras and will incur an additional cost:

• Rental equipment
• Splitboard/touring skiis, skins and collapsible poles $350
• Kite rental $500 Ozone Snowkite
• Helicopter flight into /out of area if required by snow conditions for access.  This will be charged on a cost only basis.
• Optional activities where available (such as heliskiing/boarding, etc.)
• If you wish to commemorate the experience, we can provide hats, t-shirts and soft jackets with custom printing or embroiding.
  

Sporting Conditions

Many of the sporting activities we do are weather dependent.  Whilst we make every effort to ensure the conditions are right by selecting the most suitable time of year and location, the actual conditions on tour are of course completely out of our control.  For this reason, there are no refunds due to lack of suitable weather conditions. For further details, please see our detailed Terms and Conditions of Travel.

Air Travel

Airfares to and from the departure point for this trip are not included in the land cost.  We are happy to provide a quote for your domestic and/or international travel, or you can source your own airfares via the internet or your preferred travel agent.  Please be sure to check your tickets with our staff before purchasing or obtaining your tickets.  We need to verify your arrival and departure schedule and ensure we have enough participants to operate the trip.

Seasonal Considerations

The weather in New zealand will be cold both during the day and night (approx -8-5°C).  The huts are spectacularly located and have various levels of comfort.  Most have a fireplace and all have mattresses.  You should be prepared for cold weather and pack accordingly - the pre-departure information pack provided once you've booked will outline exactly what you'll need to pack for this trip.

Accommodations

To maximize the "local" aspect of our adventures, wherever possible we avoid staying in large hotels or "tourist traps".  On this particular trip we stay in a mountain lodge.  The standard accommodations are 3 people to a room with shared bathrooms (upgrades and private rooms are available upon request for an additional cost).

First Aid

We provide a comprehensive expedition first aid kit but prefer everyone to be independent with basic first aid items. Your personal first aid kit should include: Pain killers, Plasters (Band-Aids), strapping tape, anti-biotic cream, general anti-biotics (ask your GP), Diamox, throat lozenges, re- hydration salts & other personal medication of your choice.  Please be sure to read the comprehensive pre-departure pack for this trip to get an understanding of what to expect and what to bring.

To book your place on this great trip, you just need to do a couple things:

STEP 1	If you haven't already, click here to become a member of the 35th Parallel travel community and join the travel group relating to the trip and departure date you want to join.  You'll then get to meet the other travellers and even your guide!
STEP 2	Click here to complete the online Trip Registration form and pay the deposit for your trip using your credit card.
	Or, if you'd prefer:
	Download the PDF Trip Registration form, complete it and fax it back to us on +61-8-9200-6247

If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call:
In Australia: +61-8-9463-6642
Toll Free from USA/Canada: 1888-460-1280