QUOTE Rosa_Park That was literally the response i dreamed of but assumed id never get. im going to both islands and ill be there the end of june and most of july. I hope to ski at cardrona and snow park but im not positive. itd be dope to see you. +k for the thorough response though that was ideal QUOTE
Hell yeah. Luckily it's not a huge country like the US so you can really get a feel for the country in a short amount of time without being rushed.
As somebody else mentioned snow park closed down a few years ago. Here are your ski options.
http://www.skicentral.com/newzealand.html
Cardrona seems to have the most consistent park. They also had their XL jumps open in June thanks to all the dirt work they did recently. The season up north doesn't really get going for a while but lasts till october/early november. I haven't skied the south island but in june/july that seems like the place to go.
As far as the tonagariro crossing
http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/
It's about 12 miles. Honestly I feel like they ruined the path a little bit to make it more accessible but you still see some amazing views, it's a great hike, and it's not that tough imo. If it's been snowing you might encounter snow and ice mid way. I wanted to hike Mount Ngauruhoe but I was in a heavy cloud up there on ice and didn't feel like summitting a mountain in sketchy conditions without gear and then not even be able to see anything at the top.
Top of Ruapehu in the spring. The drop into the crater is AMAZING! One of my favorite lines I've done. No rocks where I went but nice consistently steep and ripable. Smiled so much that day it hurt. Hiked that in pretty sketchy conditions without an axe or crampons but it was worth it.
Also if you dig the LOTR movies it's not a bad idea to check out different sites for the filming locations. It's pretty cool to be in those epic landscapes and be like "this part of this movie was filmed here" etc.
Lot's of good dirtjumping and mountain bike trails there. Pump tracks, dh trails in the woods, fields full of bmx style dirt jumps. Great weather for it. It's like spring. You have your snow on the mountain but you're wearing a tshirt and shorts most of the time even in the middle of winter. The snow is there but it won't keep you from doing much unless you're trying to hike way up in the mountains.
I was only there for 4 months but it was one of the best experiences I've had and I felt like I saw so little. I hope I get to make it back there whether it's to work or just a short visit. If you manage to get in both islands and a little bit of anything it's going to be an awesome trip!
If you don't have a decent camera, buy one. The landscape is fucking epic.
Have a blast man! Throw us some pictures or updates here and there.