You've probably heard of Surfing for Farmers, an initiative to get rural New Zealanders active outside of their own farm, but there's another, similar idea that's recently gained some traction.
Since not all farmers have the privilege of living close to some good surf or even in some cases, warm enough weather to head out into the sea, the Otago and Southland Rural Support Trusts have come up with an alternative, Skiing for Farmers.
Rural Otago Support Trustee and North Otago farmer Aimee Francis told REX host Dominic George they wanted to provide an alternative to Surfing for Farmers, particularly during the winter months when there is less opportunity to surf.
"We saw how successful that (surfing for farmers) has been and we just thought it would be really cool to come up with an option that was more inland," she said.
Their first events will be held at Coronet Peak in Queenstown on the 23rd and 30th of July and are open to farmers and growers of any skiing ability. A single ticket includes an all-day lift pass, lessons if desired, gear hire and a bbq lunch.
For more information on how to get involved head to ruralsupport.org.nz or go directly to events.humantix.tix.com to purchase a ticket.
While it is a very different challenge to surfing, Francis told George their aim is to get farmers and growers off the farm and try different things they may not have otherwise done in their regular, day-to-day lives.
"It's a great opportunity for someone to get out there and try something new that's a little bit physical, takes a bit of energy and gets the brain going when you're trying to coordinate yourself to get safely down the mountain."
Registration is now closed for the first meeting but tickets are still available for the 30th of July.
Listen to the full chat between Rural Otago Support Trustee Aimee Francis and Dominic George above.
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