skiing in New Zealand
I haven't been, but was talking with a guy that has, Queenstown in New Zealand.
He was highly recommending it, but here is his take. It is not as extensive as resorts in North America. The ski hill is away from the Town, definitely stay in the town where there is evening life and shops, restaurants etc. It has a very mellow vibe, everyone hanging out and chatting, doing Apres etc. Welcoming to visitors. He had been there on a course to train you for level 1 or 2 ski instructor and was also recommending this as a great way to improve your skiing and to meet others.
This is a pretty good summation - I will write more this week (have been busy on a work project). Basically there are two main islands in NZ both have ski areas - North Island skiing is on an active volcano Mt Ruapehu (usually on low activity - so safe to ski - but it has affected ski seasons in the past). There are two commercial and one club field on the mountain. I don't ski in the North Island so can't say anything about the quality - I don't ski north for three reasons, the distance tot he mountain (4 hour drive from where I live), they are crowded (most of the population in NZ lives in the North island (but our total population is only 4million people), and there are more options in the South.
The Southern Alps form the spine of the South Island and there is skiing down the length of it clustered in a couple of spots. Southern Lakes (Queenstown and Wanaka) is the largest of these. LB what your friend said is a good summation, if you are a resort skier then the ski resorts here are very small and not as much vertical as you get at the big North American resorts
A note, all of our skiing is above the tree line, so we have bowls and chutes and some drop offs.
Our season is not long - reliable usually from July through to the end of September - June can be ok, depending on snow.
There are four traditional fields in the Southern Lakes - two near Queenstown, Coronet Peak (a bit low down, so good early season (July), but I think that the snow goes off from about August), and the Remarkbles, higher up, so holds the snow a bit better; and two near Wanaka; Cardrona (good family mountain, good half pipes, snow condition holds up well, fabulous kids ski school, but advanced/expert may get bored).
Treble Cone, great on a good day but if it is not a good snow year, the bottom of the mountain can be a bit dodgy.
Southern Lakes also has a nordic ski area, and the snow park - a dedicated freestyle resort (this is where Shaun White trains apparently)
On mountain accommodation is limited to club huts on fields in NZ (Cardrona (near Wanaka) has on mountain apartments, but they are expensive and there is nothing else up there i.e. when the ski field shuts that's it.
But on the positive side Wanaka and Queenstown are below snow level (and not cold by North American standards) and there is heaps of stuff (adventure tourism/ walking/ climbing/ mountain biking/ outdoors / scenery a la lord of the rings etc) to do in both other than skiing and they are beautiful. Wanaka is even more mellow than QTown.
Expect modern detachable chairs as lifts in these parts.
If you are more intrepid then there are some fabulous club fields (and a couple of commercial ventures) in the Canterbury region (where I grew up and learnt to ski) - but these are very old school - most still have rope tows (definitely no chair lifts), and a few surface lifts. Most also do not groom, and some you have to walk in (but there are goods lifts for your gear). But they are uncrowded and if you like off-piste then amazing in good season. There are companies than specialise in these fields.
There is also some good heli-skiing - here's a taster from the place I learnt to ski
https://www.mtpotts.co.nz/ (when it was a small commercial field with three rope tows), and there is lots from Wanaka and Queenstown. If you recognise the scenery in the heli-park you've seen it in Lord of the Rings.
Some things to bear in mind - you will probably need a car and we drive on the left had side of the road (that's the other side). Nearly all of the ski field roads are not sealed (they are gravel, metal not sure what you call it in North America - or if you have unsealed roads??). If driving up to ski fields you need to carry snow chains (or rent them) and be prepared to fit them (or pay to get them fitted). Flying and driving are the most practical ways to get around.
We don't have anything poisonous like snakes, or large mammals (Bears, big cats etc) - we do have dynamic weather (four seasons in one day is common).
If you want to know more, or want some links let me know and I am happy to oblige.
