The ultimate winter playground for Aussies

NEW Zealand has a lot more to offer than just skiing - it has become a winter playground for Australians.

Rotorua

NEW Zealand has become a winter playground for Australians.

When the temperature drops and the highest peaks around Queenstown and Christchurch are covered by a thick layer of snow, Aussies flock across the Tasman to play in the white stuff and savour all the good things about winter.

But New Zealand is a year-round destination for travellers of every age, with something special happening every month of the year. Here are four seasonal ideas to inspire your next getaway to the islands over the ditch.

Spring
Stewart IslandWhen the winter rains pass, and the spring sunshine warms the soil, Stewart Island bursts to life with the sing-song calls of baby birds and the vibrant wildflower blooms that colour the native forests in the Rakiura National Park.

Stewart Island, New Zealand's third-largest plot of land 30km across the Foveaux Strait from the southern tip of the South Island, was established as a logging and whaling community in the 1800s but it's become a haven for those who like vacationing in a sleepy seaside settlement.

Ulva Island, one of the smaller islands in Paterson Inlet, has been predator-free since 1999 and when the last possums and rats were removed it became an "open sanctuary'' with dozens of native flora and fauna species reintroduced, making it a walking and birdwatching paradise.

Stewart Island is home to a colony of kiwis, with Bravo Adventure Cruises offering night-time expeditions that take visitors to a remote beach where they stroll through the bush with an experienced guide in a quest to see the shy nocturnal creature.

See stewartisland.co.nz

Summer
QueenstownQueenstown is famous for winter, when the idyllic lakeside community becomes a buzzing alpine resort with visiting skiers and snowboarders making the daily pilgrimage to the top of The Remarkables and Coronet Peak to slide on the white stuff, but those in the know say summer is the time to visit.

In the months around Christmas the days are warm and long, the temperature hovers around 30C and the sun rises at 5am in this South Island settlement. Lake Wakatipu becomes the focus for swimming and boating while the mountains around the big pond are the place for horse riding and hiking.

Cruise across Lake Wakatipu on board the historic steamship Earnslaw to visit Walter Peak High Country Farm, explore a private sheep station on horseback with a guide from Ben Lomond Station Horse Trek, spend a relaxed day exploring the 30 vineyards on the Central Otago Wine Trail, or walk a bush trail in historic Arrowtown.

See queenstownnz.co.nz

Autumn
MartinboroughAutumn is the ideal time to visit wine country, when grapes hang heavy on the vines and estates are busy with the activity of vintage.

In the pretty North Island village of Martinborough, the heat of summer is replaced by delightfully warm days and comfortably cool nights. Martinborough, a town of 1300 people at the southern end of the famed Wairarapa wine region, where some of New Zealand's most celebrated pinot noir is produced, is home to 45 wineries and 20 cellar doors as well as other gourmet enterprises that thrive beside the vines.

March is packed with harvest festivals and the best way to explore the vineyards, meandering from one winery to the next sampling the red and white varieties, is on a bike hired from March Hare Cycling. The flat country roads are peaceful places to pedal.

Peppers Parehua is a boutique retreat beside a block of pinot grapes on the edge of Martinborough, and each of the stylish self-contained cottages has a veranda on which to enjoy the autumn sunshine and a roaring fire to snuggle beside when night brings the cold.

See wairarapanz.com

Winter
Lake TaupoOn the brisk days of winter, plumes of steam rise from the rolling hills around Lake Taupo, marking the springs where water heated deep in the Earth's crust gurgles to the surface.

Lake Taupo sits in the heart of New Zealand's North Island, on a volcanic band stretching from White Island through Rotorua to the Tongariro National Park. And, while most of the super-heated water is used to make electricity, a few springs have been harnessed so visitors can soak in the restorative liquid.

Wairakei Terraces near Huka Falls and Taupo Hot Springs at DeBretts Resort are two health spas in the lakeside Taupo where the healing water, which is full of therapeutic minerals, is drawn from a kilometre underground and cooled to about 40C before being released into cascading ponds and swimming pools.

Lake Taupo is also home to New Zealand's largest ski area, with the alpine resorts of Whakapapa and Turoa on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu combining to provide 1050ha of skiable terrain and giving skiers and snowboarders the opportunity to slide on an active volcano.

See greatlaketaupo.com