Central Plateau kicked off its winter season festivities today with the opening of the Mt Ruapehu gondola and the annual carrot festival in Ohakune.
But there are still concerns surrounding the opening of the mountain for skiing as the search for new operators continues.
Mt Ruapehu’s Sky Waka gondola is back in business, with people lined up and ready to ski.
After only a few hours, over 300 families were jumping onboard the gondola.
Staff are bussing to be back too.
“It's absolutely amazing we've been waiting for this right through summer,” said Steve Manunui.
The conditions are looking good too.
“We're seeing some nice weather patterns coming through really over the past four weeks that we haven't seen for a wee while, and certainly looking forward to next week, it looks like more good snow on the radar,” Manunui said.
While the conditions are appropriate, the future of the ski field is still unclear - after its operator went into liquidation last year.
The Government has been negotiating with two bidders to take over while funding is provided for the administrators to carry on.
Down the maunga, the party mood is in full swing, with Ohakune locals kicking off the winter season with the Carrot Carnival.
“We really appreciate our farmers, and we love everything they do, so we create this day to give them a bit of love,” Carrot Carnival Co-ordinator Emma Young said.
But some in the town are thinking further ahead, desperate for some clarity on the winter season.
“It's been a good weekend. We've got lots of people here, so people are ready to go skiing and come skiing. They just want to know who's going to run it all,” said ski shop owner Mike Wiggins.
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