Today also marks the first 22ft halfpipe to open in the Southern Hemisphere this year. Snow Park NZ team riders were given the first ride of the pipe and all agreed it was well worth the wait.

The team drew straws for the first hit to the pipe with Wanaka snowboarder Abby Lockhart drawing the shortest straw and the first ride.

I wanted to keep it fun so I invited the team to drop in together in a train, said Lockhart. Its  awesome to have the pipe open and great to have more options at Snow Park this early in the season.

A dedicated park crew have been working day and night to ensure the pipe is perfect. Ideal snowmaking conditions provided the icing on the cake.

This year sees a technically advanced superpipe created in association with Development Snow Parks, the local Wanaka company contracted to create this years 2010 Vancouver Olympic Halfpipe.

An increase in size from last years 18ft pipe, Sam Lee, Snow Park NZs Operations Manager said larger pipes are now the standard.

They are so much safer and everyone is able to get a better experience. said Lee.

Snow Park NZ halfpipe enthusiasts and newcomers alike are also free to enjoy the newly opened Hatchet Slopestyle run.

Always popular is the Birdman Competition.

Firworks always kick-start the week of action packed events.

Who cares about the cold – it’s all about CRAZY FUN – above is a contestant in the 2009 Undy 500 Race.

The Celebrity Drag Race is always fun, mayhem and an absolute HOOT to watch.

Queenstown’s Winter Festival has been ranked as one of the world’s Top 10 must-see festivals by a major Australian website.

Yahoo!7 Travel, which provides news, online travel guides, booking and reservation services, has rated the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival as the fourth best festival in the world.

The festival ranks higher than the likes of New Orleans’ Jazz Festival, Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls, Oktoberfest, and the Sydney and Melbourne festivals.

The Queenstown Winter Festival dates for 2010 are 25/06 till 04/07.

Click here to check out the winter festival website

Mr Lilly, of Auckland, told the Otago Daily Times in addition to extra services from Melbourne and Brisbane for 13 weeks during the winter season, the airline would be adding seven supplementary services between Melbourne and Queenstown between December and January.

The seven return services would coincide with the increase in leisure travel over summer and be marketed in Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne as “one stop to Queenstown” services.

“The extra capacity will benefit the New Zealand tourism industry and we are pleased to offer our customers an extra service each week, on top of our existing three return services per week on the Melbourne to Queenstown route.

“It will also encourage Australians to take their holidays in Queenstown. The Melbourne departures connect really nicely with our domestic flights from Perth and Adelaide – we’ll be marketing the flights in all three of the centres as `one stop to Queenstown’.”

The additional weekly flights would operate from December 18, to January 29, 2011, he said.

Qantas’ additional winter services will begin on June 26 and run until September 19, with extra weekly schedules from Melbourne and Brisbane to Queenstown.

Click here to read the full story on the ODT website

Coronet Peak’s Snowsports School staff are getting out and about in the new snow today – and are keeping nice and snug in their brand new uniforms!

Snowsports School Head of Department, Cesar Piotto, says his team are really looking forward to the season’s start and the chance to show off their new red uniforms.

Ski Area Manager, Hamish McCrostie, says about 5cm of snow has fallen at the top of the mountain overnight, with more on the way in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, The Remarkables has also received around 10-15 cm of good wet snow, which will see the snow base begin to form.

Coronet Peak is well on track for its scheduled opening on Saturday 5 June and The Remarkables on 19 June.

One of Wanaka’s leading tourist attraction’s has landed on an international weird list.

Stuart Landsborough’s Puzzling World has been voted No9 in the list of The World’s Top 10 Weirdest Tourist Attractions.

The list has been compiled by the travel website IGoUgo.com from the feedback of travelling tourists.

However, this attraction has to be seen and is sure to become more popular.

Puzzling World attracts over 160,000 visitors annually and passed the two million visitors mark in 2007.
It started in 1973 with a one-kilometre long wooden maze made of 600 posts and 12,000 wooden planks, and now includes four illusion rooms that use perspective and holograms to deliver out-of-this-world experiences, a puzzle centre and cafe, set in landscaped grounds.

A million-dollar major new attraction is in development. The new illusion garden is a collaboration with movie production wizards Weta Workshop – part of Peter Jackson’s Wellington, New Zealand, film empire.

The illusion garden will feature surrealist or illusionary sculptures on a winding pathway through a garden of real and artificial plants. Some of the man-made plants have been used on film sets for movies such as Avatar.

• This annual list was compiled by editors at IgoUgo.com on recommendations from its readers.
• 1.Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, Delhi, India
• 2. Texas Prison Museum, Huntsville, Texas, USA
• 3. Peabody Duck March, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
• 4. Jellyfish Lake, Rock Islands, Palau
• 5. Beer-Drinking Burros, Isla La Roqueta, Mexico
• 6. Haines Shoe House, Hellam, Pennsylvania, USA
• 7. Joe’s Scarecrow Village, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
• 8. Christ of the Abyss, Key Largo, Florida, USA
• 9. Puzzling World, Wanaka, New Zealand
• 10. Moosefest, Roslyn, Washington, USA

Queenstown has been voted No1 Outdoor and Adventure Destination in the world by Trip Advisors 2010 Travellers Choice awards.

The website is a top traveller source and contains over 30 million reviews and opinions.

Wanaka was voted fourth most popular Outdoor and Adventure destination.

The Studio is now streaming online.

Click the picture and tune into the sounds of the Queenstown underground.

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