Kiwi chalet, Euro vision

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Kiwi chalet, Euro vision

Fire on the ice at Neon Pompom ski chalet just outside of Christchurch in New Zealand.

Fire on the ice at Neon Pompom ski chalet just outside of Christchurch in New Zealand.

Rachael Oakes-Ash discovers a resort in the land of the long white cloud that's an oddball tribute to the Euro chalet.

Tom Dunbar is a man of few words. This Kiwi skiing pro lets his hair do all the talking.

Mention the guy with the big bouffant styling and South Island Cantabrians will nod and say, you must be talking about Tom. You will find Master Dunbar, his hair and his band of merry men, at the bizarrely named Neon Pompom ski chalet.

It's surrounded by a golf course, on Terrace Downs estate, an hour from Christchurch. The four-bedroom wood and riverstone chalet sits in the foothills of the Southern Alps and boasts mountain peak vistas from almost every room. There's the comfort of open fires, fine bed linen and en suites with heated floors. Think of it as your private home, only this one comes with staff.

The eccentric Guild family, together with Dunbar, host exclusive groups of skiers and snowboarders in the luxe chalet. There's Simon Guild, a former Lion Nathan beer marketer-turned-hospitality host at High Peak Station (more on that later). He does the driving and the hosting of Neon Pompom clients.

Then there's Amelia Guild, actress, artist and foodie who adds the little touches, from a sequinned deer head over the fireplace to retro laminated place mats on the dinner table. Amelia fell in love with Dunbar's hair and married him to be close to it. As for Dunbar, he provides the ski guiding and instruction. As a former New Zealand free-ski champion and global pro athlete, he is well qualified. Plus he makes a mean martini and tells a good dry joke.

Neon Pompom is based on the European chalet experience, where groups of friends and family book in to the one lodge or chalet and have their own private chef, private ski instructor and private driver to take care of everything. Staff live in a neighbouring chalet so guests have complete privacy and simply wake up to fully cooked breakfasts (Amelia), are driven to the snow (Simon) and guided by qualified instructors (Tom).

We spend our first night dining on home-cooked venison from the Guilds' own farm, with alcohol-soaked stone fruits and fresh custard to finish, and never-ending glasses of local wine. Simon has promised us a choice of Mount Olympus, Craigieburn and Broken River local club fields on which to point our skis.

Trouble is he didn't let the weather gods know, so next morning after breakfast we reconvene in the hot tub on the deck, with its views of Mount Hutt. Despite our best efforts, we have neglected to "drink the sky blue" and are tempted to spend the day at our base camp instead of heading for the ski hills.

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But our hosts have other plans. We head up the switchback shale road to Mount Olympus. This members-built ski field features a nutcracker rope tow, where skiers lock in to a moving cable by a hinged tool attached by rope to their belt. For first-timers like us, it's not easy.

The locals heard the Neon Pompom crew was coming and have cleared a patch of frozen pond ice at the top of the first lift. A dress-up box is produced and grown men and women don tutus and tartan and head for a spot of mid-mountain curling. There's an impromptu ice bar and shots of Scotch to numb the cold.

By the time the local lads bring out the kerosene to set fire to the ice pond for their version of extreme curling, it is thankfully time for us to head back down, skiing by headlamp, for an evening of dinner and dancing.

The beauty of New Zealand skiing is that when the resorts don't open - and due to wind and weather that happens more often than one would like - there are other adventures to be had. The next day, with resort skiing on wind hold, it is time to meet the real Guilds.

High Peak Station is a working deer farm and hunting tourism operation owned by Simon and Amelia's parents, James and Anna. Like all good farming families, even ones with a croquet lawn and private lake, hospitality is in their veins. Anna dishes up a feast of home-cooked delights, including fudge, and James proudly shows us his trophy hunting beasts mounted on a wall, surrounded by Amelia's original artworks.

The only beasts we manage to cull after lunch are some clay pigeons, as we take to the high country in four-wheel-drives and gasp at the snow-laden mountain landscape. High Peak valley has no through roads and is completely private, making us the only folk for miles.

High Peak Station's 4000 hectares were settled in 1856 and purchased by the Guilds in the early 1970s. Almost half of the station is dedicated to a game estate for horse riding, hunting, mountain biking and four-wheel-drives. The remainder is pastoral farming and the homestead's landscaped gardens - and guests of Neon Pompom have access to it all.

The question remains - why Neon Pompom? When entering the Neon Pompom chalet we are confronted by Neon Leon, the patron of the chalet. The perfectly coiffed store mannequin is not dissimilar to Master Dunbar in the hair stakes. Dressed in retro neon ski gear and bright beanie with regulatory pompom, Leon doesn't say much either. It must be a Kiwi thing.

Heaven and heli

Diehard skiers and snowboarders know that heli-skiing is the holy grail of snow sports but it doesn't come cheap.

A week's worth of ski passes will get you a four- to five-run heli-ski day in New Zealand, and if you want a multi-day experience in a remote lodge in Canada, prepare to hand over thousands. And in Alaska? Unless you are happy to mortgage your house, think again.

One can only dream, and New Zealand's Southern Lakes Heli Ski has taken that dream even further this winter. Guests on multi-day heli-ski safaris can choose to bed down in a swanky en suite cabin on the private-chartered 24-metre Pacific Jemm on Queenstown's Lake Wakatipu. Wake up each morning to a different remote mooring with stunning mountain views and prepare to board your waiting chopper to take you to heli-ski heaven. Return by chopper at the end of the day for canapes and gourmet dinners served by a private chef.

Expect to pay $7500 a person for five nights' heli-skiing while staying on-board the Pacific Jemm and two nights at the Hilton Queenstown.

More information

southernlakesheliski.co.nz, pacificjemm.co.nz.

Trip notes

Getting there

Air New Zealand flies from Sydney to Christchurch daily. 13 24 76, airnewzealand.com.au.

Neon Pompom is an hour's drive from Christchurch; transfers are included in accommodation rates.

Staying there

From $NZ1395 ($1163) a person for three nights, for exclusive use of the chalet for six to eight people, including all meals, beverages and two days' skiing.

More information

neonpompom.co.nz.

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