About Us

Cardrona History

First Footprints

• Around 1000 years ago, the first footprints were made on this land as Māori settlers journeyed through the Cardrona Valley looking for paradise shelducks, eels, and karamea, a plant containing "liquid gold" – perfume oil.

1860’s

• The Central Otago Gold Rush brings a bustling population of prospectors to the Cardrona Valley. These early pioneers struggled through cold winters and harsh living conditions, fostering the pioneering spirit that the valley is renowned for today.

• If you look at our trail map today, you may find links to:

  • The ‘Gin & Raspberry’ was the richest mine in the Cardrona Valley during the 1860s Otago Gold Rush. It got its name from the owner's custom of shouting gin and raspberry to all hands when a bucket of pay-dirt yielded an ounce of gold.

  • The ‘Whitestar' was a dredge that operated in the valley at the turn of the century.

  • Robert McDougall was the famous shopkeeper who established the general store in Cardrona township.

  • ‘All Nations’ was one of four hotels established in the bustling Cardrona community.

1970

• 100 years later, the effects of the brief, hectic beginning and slow decline of Central Otago gold mining are plain to see; Cardrona’s township is a small farming town with a tiny population – a shadow of the busy centre it once was.

• John and Mary Lee are bold pioneers like the Cardrona prospectors who came 100 years before. They are passionate about Cardrona's future and are determined to breathe life back into the valley. The Lees purchased Mt Cardrona Station and the iconic Cardrona Hotel. John vows to make "his father’s nemesis his friend" and has a bold vision to farm snow – create a ski field on Cardrona Station.

1978

• Throughout the mid-late 70s, John Lee designed and built a road up to the ski field site – without permission from the council. He describes it as a "high quality farm road”, but has designed it with a mellow gradient that is ideal for buses coming from Queenstown to get up the road.

• The Lees installed the first rope tow from Tow Hut Corner. Many wish them well but don't give them hope. The first intrepid skiers' brave ungroomed slopes in 'rope tow assisted heli skiing'.

1980

• Cardrona’s first winter is its hardest. Although 1980 is a good snow year, the snow makes road access impossible – meaning there are just 16 days of skiing between days of clearing snow off the road with a bulldozer. A 1000m rope tow is bought from Mt Hutt and installed.

1981

• Cardrona's second winter is six weeks long.

• The Lees realise people need groomed trails to ski on, so purchase Cardrona's first snow groomer in 1981!

1982

• Marks the resort's first full winter, with operations surpassing all expectations – more than doubling the expected skier numbers.

1983

• Cardrona's first double chair is installed in the Main Basin – the La Franchi Double, named after the proprietor of the Cardrona All Nations Hotel.

1985

• McDougall's Quad is installed along with a base building (including a 200-seat café). John Lee isn't a skier and wants to be in the thick of it all, so the base building is unique among ski fields in that it sits in the middle of the resort. Cardrona is a ski field built by a beginner and is now renowned for its incredible beginner facilities.

1986

• Cardrona expands into Captain's Basin with a new quad chair and café.

• "Captain" was an old rodeo horse who was put up to pasture on Cardrona in the summer during the 1970s. Captain was a nightmare to wrangle – so much so that some of the men wanted to shoot him! But Cardrona founder John Lee liked Captain's tenacious spirit that matched his own and named one of the ski field's basins after the cheeky horse.

1989

• Snowboarding is banned by Cardrona in the late 1980s. Cardrona staff member Nigel Kerr wants the ban lifted, so asks Austrian snowboarder Michael Bosch to give Operations Manager Shaun Gilbertson a lesson. Shaun is hooked, and the ban was lifted in 1989.

• The Vealls of Melbourne buy Cardrona Ski Resort. Duncan Veall (famous for his days in Mondo Rock) becomes the resort's general manager. Duncan continues the Lees' legacy of innovation by advocating for freestyle features and continued development of the resort.

• The country's first international halfpipe is built above the learners' area. The pipe attracts. Cardrona snowboarding legends Ewan Straight and Graham Dunbar later set up the New Zealand Snowboarding Association and nationwide training and certification of snowboard instructors.

1993–1995

• Loved by families and kids, Cardrona is the first mountain in NZ to develop specialised kids' centres.

• The development of the base area includes Mezz Café, Kids' Centres, staff rooms, on-mountain apartments, a medical centre, and the famous Cardrona Clock Tower.

• In 1994, the increasing popularity of snowboarding led to the building of Cardrona's first terrain park.

1996

• Cardrona's first magic carpet for beginners is purchased and installed. This is also the inaugural year of the Cardrona Instructor Training Centre – a training provider still getting ski and snowboard instructors certified today!

1999–2000

• Cardrona decides to try their hand at summer operations, including mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing and accommodation. Climbing routes are bolted in Arcadia.

2008

• A high-speed quad chairlift replaces Captain's Basin Quad and is renamed Captain's Express.

2010

• The old Captain's Basin Quad is installed above Speed Straight, and the Valley View Quad and Basin are born!

2011

• New Zealand's longest ski conveyor is installed in Cardrona's Beginners' Area.

2012

• RFID ticket gates are installed on every lift.

2013

• New Zealand business RealNZ purchases Cardrona Alpine Resort.

2014

• The intermediate jump line opens – ‘Antlers Alley’, bringing Cardrona's impressive freestyle offering to 4 terrain parks, 2 halfpipes and a big air jump.

2015

• Cardrona Bike Park opens in January for a 2 week trial period. Cardrona purchases 4 new groomers and the SnowSat GPS snow management system.

2016

• On December 27, 2015, Cardrona opens for its first full summer of operations including mountain biking, walking/hiking, Alpine by Night stargazing and the Southern Hemisphere's first mountain carts. The 2016 summer season is the beginning of Cardrona's quest to become a year-round resort.

• Cardrona athlete Jossi Wells wins New Zealand's first Winter X Games Gold medal!

2017

• A new ‘combined’ lift of 8-person gondola cabins and 6-seater chairs replaces McDougall's Quad – the McDougall's Express Chondola.

2025

• Cardrona Alpine Resort expands into the Soho basin with a brand-new 6-seater chairlift making it the largest ski area in New Zealand!