new zealand winters

Accommodation Coming out at the start of the season and finding somewhere to live can be a stressful process. Everyone has a different story, some people find a sweet pad the second day in town, others spend weeks or months searching for somewhere remotely decent.

In an ideal world it would be simple to sort accommodation out from the UK. However estate agents are often reluctant to commit to customers overseas (especially season bums), you don't have the advantage of being able to check the property out and if you're searching on your own you may have to surrender a large bond and rent advances - all a bit of a gamble, but probably worth checking out none the less.

Backpacker hostels
Most start off living in one of the backpackers. It's a really good idea to book your place before you arrive - all the backpackers get fully booked out for the large part of the winter season. Staying in a hostel works well for the first few days or even weeks.

The hostels are filled with season workers in the same position as yourself. It's a good place to hear of jobs going and new places to live as well as an inevitable way of meeting new drinking and riding partners aswell as possible new flat mates. A lot of workers end up staying all winter in the backpackers - they're no more expensive than renting, generally closer to town and provide an awesome party atmosphere.

When to start looking
In terms of timing I would say that turning up early is a huge advantage. Once the season has begun it is so so hard to find somewhere, especially in Queenstown. The problem is these are small towns that become totally saturated with overseas workers for 4 months of the year and are still going through the fairly early stages of development so can't nearly provide enough places for all of us to live.

So although jobs may be scarce a couple of months before the season takes off, it really is the best time to get yourself sorted with a roof to sleep under. Once on the search the usual methods of house hunting generally apply - the most successful technique is word of mouth and the pub (!), local papers, notice boards (especially in the hostels) and local estate agents are also a good starting point.

Communication is the key
As long as you are prepared to hunt pretty hard and have a place booked for your first few nights you'll be sweet. The key is meeting people and telling everyone you meet you're searching...the grapevine is a powerful tool.

There are also estate agent websites that may help such as LJ Hooker and Kindleys.

Report by Zoe Watson, Resort Reporter, Wanaka, NZ

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