Driving up to the ski field during the morning rush was the usual signs of cars, buses and vans snaking up the mountain. However today there was an equal amount of cars returning down the mountain. A continue stream of cars leaving the mountain at 9.45am raised my suspicions.

The lower mountain was clear and calm with a little light patchy cloud lingering. As we progressed further the cloud got thicker to a point that visibility was a total white out. When we finally arrived at the ski field car park the maximum visibility was about fifteen metres at best. Definitely not a cracker of a day.

All the major New Zealand ski fields issue an early morning snow report. This is usually faxed or emailed to all the major hotels, local cafes and even the petrol stations receive and post in their widows the current and predicted mountain conditions.

To be fair these reports are done very early in the morning and like a weather forecast, they are to some degree a prediction. However when I compared the government mountain forecast with that of the ski field the two beared little resemblance. The ski reports are nothing more than advertising brochures for the ski fields. They put a positive spin on even the worst of weather days. But there’s more, the telephone radio reports are even more farcical and can not be relied on.

The best tip to getting a real idea as to the conditions is to go to the web cam page of the ski field and see for yourself. The only problem is if you want an early start, the web cams on most fields only start to update from 9 or 9.30 am.

The South Islands largest ski field operator, NZSki, who own two fields in Queenstown and one at Mt Hutt near Christchurch are claiming that pre-season bookings to Australian tourists are at a record high.

NZSki claims that with the low New Zealand exchange rate and travel warnings issued by the Australian government to traditional popular winter destinations of Bali, Fiji and Thailand, have had a phenomenal effect on demand for winter ski holidays. The company however has not release any figures to substantiate these claims.

Accommodation providers have however shed doubt on NZSki’s claim of a projected bumper ski season. Most in the ski resort accommodation sector are experiencing very weak forward bookings for the upcoming ski season. Claims that NZSki is perhaps talking up the season are further promoted as other ski fields employ reduced staffing numbers in anticipation of a soft season.

Unfortunately the snow brings the “snow bums” that live on a dime, dine on instant noodles and live in overcrowded rental accommodation no better than a London squat. Some live in cars and many seek temporary employment in the retail and hospitality industries. Others stay as long as their money last while an increasing under class attempt to subsidise their travel costs with the well worn art of fraudulent claims on their travel insurance.

Police in Queenstown report a steady stream of complainants filing theft reports. Many claiming stolen laptops, cameras and snow boards. (you will note that I did not mention skis)

Police are accustom to people lying , it is part of their job to seek the facts or the truth. It therefore takes a very skilled performer to make a false complaint while being subtly questioned as to the circumstances of the loss.

Suspected false complainants are often met by police at the airport departure check-in carrying the stolen snowboard or at the gate with the missing laptop.

Apart from the waste of police resources, the real problem here is the inference on the crime perception of New Zealand as a safe destination. Queenstown police have caught ten tourist making false claims in the last two weeks but many more are not caught. The nationality of last weeks catch was reported to be Australian and British.

Police report that the influx of itinerate skiers and snowboarders has also brought a increase in crime associated with drunkenness and petty thefts.

Ski fields have noted an increase in thefts of ski gear and bags left unattendered at base buildings and canteens. Theft from vehicles has also increased with police repeating the warning to not leave valuables in cars. This also applies to skis and snowboards on roof racks that do not have locking devices.