Hello, We are a family of three (54, soon to be 50 and 15 year-old son). We are considering traveling to New Zealand in June (my son is in high school so can not miss any school). If June doesn't work we will consider Christmas break (but that restricts our travel time to 2 weeks). We want to see as much of NZ as possible (yes both islands) even though that means parts of both islands. I'm thinking we would rent a camper van. We haven't laid out an itinerary yet because I'm not sure if June will work. We will want to hike (tramp), kayak, see the fjords, see the hobbit house (husband and son are big Hobbit fans), the glow worm caves and my son would LOVE to see a tuatara. We will pack/buy warm gear and are completely fine being casual, cooking in the camper van, etc.. My question is how limited will we be with our travel given it will be the beginning of winter there. No interest in skiing, we want to see NZ and don't want to put chains on a camper van. We know we won't be able to get in the water but we live in San Diego, California so we're fine missing the summer weather. However, if we won't be able to get to many places (again, we only have 2-3 weeks anyway) than we would reschedule our trip to December/January (but then are really limited to 2 weeks). I would appreciate advice, thank you!

IMHO you'll get more out of two weeks around Xmas than a few more days in June. Mostly because in June the days are short - it doesn't get light til half past seven and it gets dark at 5PM! So what are you going to do with all those elate-afternoon and evening hours - nothing to see, nowhere to go?

Secondly, the temperatures - look up the statistics, it varies from south to north but overall, well, it's just about winter.

Xmas gets very busy of course, but still, if you plan it well, make reservations in good time, and go for it, you'll get much more out of your trip than in June.

June is not that bad. The days are short but it's usually better than July or August. There can be some nice days.
Sounds like you want to hit both the North and South Islands so 2 weeks will limit you considerably.
You won't need chains in June but I would suggest a warm motel rather than a campervan. I gather motels in the States have a bit of a seedy reputation but that is not the case here. They are usually very well equipped with a basic cooking facilities etc. Good for the short evenings.
I am so excited your son wants to see a tuatara. Sounds like my animal mad son (now 18). We've had to trail all over to zoos and parks looking for creatures!
Tuatara is a Maori word and means 'peaks on the back'. They are so rare they have their own order.
"They are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia, which was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago. All species except for the tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago." copied this from DOC for you.
At Ti Point Reptile Park (near Leigh and about 1 hour out of Auckland) they have a tuatara and one day we were there the keeper took the tuatara out of his cage and let us gently pat it. It was a special moment. Auckland Zoo have one but I can't remember seeing it there.
He would probably love Tiritiri Matangi with the takahe (big chicken size native birds very cheeky.
Hobbiton is also awesome. Don't miss it.

The National Aquarium in Napier offer kiwi and tuatara close encounters. We have been there but did not do the encounter. Costs more but it would be worth it. Napier is a bit more out of the way however.
We are off to Zealandia in Wellington next weekend so I can post some feedback about it. They have tuatara there.
Love answering questions like this! Come to NZ for as long as you can to see everything.

Backing up what others have said. December/January advantages:
More daylight hours. Little to no chance of snow. Not as cold.
Summer produce available in the stores and farmers markets.
Lots of colourful flowers in bloom.
Disadvantages: More people by far, because of school holidays.
You’ll only have two weeks, so not enough time to see much of two islands.

June advantages: Fewer people by far. No school holidays (just the Queens Birthday). If you decide against renting a campervan, and rent a car and stay in motels instead, you’d pay lower rates for accommodation. You'll have three weeks.
Disadvantages: It’s colder. Possibility of snow on South Island and mountainous parts of the North Island. Possible morning frost on the road.
Shorter days, longer nights, which is not so bad.
Night time activities:
Stargazing. Clearer winter skies. It’s the time of year you can see the Milky Way’s Galactic Center (the brightest part of the Milky Way, which is directly overhead in New Zealand). Winter offers best chances for seeing the Aurora Australis.
If you plan on staying in Te Anau, you can tour Milford Road and Sound during the day, do a 7 p.m. glow worm tour at night.
Or visit free glow worm dells, such as the one in Hokitika (there are many in NZ).
Movies.
Long dinners.
If you enjoy watching sports, it's rugby season; you can go to a game.
Queenstown Winter Festival is on from June 22 to 25, 2017.

Weatherwise, NZ's weather is changeable and unpredictable. In the south of the South Island (because you'll visit this area), I'd say your chances of rainy days or clear sunny days are as likely in December/January as they are in June. Last year was a particularly warm year, here's a link to an article about last year's weather:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/...e-weather-2016
I like winter because on the South Island we have many clear days with blue skies and clear nights.

That's interesting that you've never seen the tuatara at Auckland Zoo, tasmangirl. I wonder why that is? It's a good zoo, all the same.

I've seen tuatara during the day at Zealandia a couple of times. It's a great place to see them. i took a one-hour guided walking tour, that was free after admission, during which the guide pointed out the tuatara. They also have night tours. Dunedin's Orokonui Ecosanctuary has about 60 to 100 free-roaming tuatara. A couple of them are in an enclosure, but because it's cold in winter, they tend to hibernate. In summer, they can often be seen basking in the sunshine. I visited Invercargill's Southland Museum and Art Gallery last June—they breed them—and their tuataras were also in hiding or hibernating, as it was cold.

Adult tuataras are nocturnal, hunt for food at night, though they can come out during the day to bask in the sun. Young tuataras are diurnal and hunt for food during the day to avoid being eaten by adult tuataras.

The best way of seeing tuatara on Tiritiri Matangi would be to spend the night in their bunkhouse. I spent a couple of nights there, didn't see any, but others did. They saw kiwis, too. I saw other creatures at night such as Brown Teals, Grey-Faced Petrels, and Little Blue Penguins.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/tiritiribunkhouse
http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz

Have a look at AA Drive Distance Calculator for drive times:
https://www.aa.co.nz/travel/time-and...ce-calculator/

Sunrise/sunset times here:
http://rasnz.org.nz/in-the-sky/sun-rise-and-set

If you go to Wellington, your son and husband (the Hobbit fans) would probably enjoy visiting the Weta Workshop (I've not been myself, but i'm sure it's fascinating for fans of the films). You'd all enjoy Te Papa Museum, NZ's national museum.
http://wetaworkshop.com/visit-us/workshop-tours/

I've visited the SI in June and would do so again, but I like the cold, am competent driving on the left and know what to expect.

The weather can be lovely, or awful.

We encountered a snowstorm one year in June - at sea level! Roads were closed, visitors had to be rescued from Arthur's Pass - it was chaos.

If you go in June, expect anything. You will need to be very flexible, as a change in weather could ruin your plans. For example you may not be able to get to Milford if the road is closed for snow removal or ice (assuming you want to go there in the first place).

You are required by law to carry snow chains on some roads in NZ (such as Milford Road) from May-Sept. BUT, if the road is bad enough to require chains, chances are it will be closed anyway.

As much as I like the cold, I'm not the least bit tempted to stay in a camper van in NZ in the winter.

Weta Workshop is great - well worth a visit and learning some of the secrets.
My comment about Auckland Zoo was not meant to be negative in any way. At the time of writing I had a mental blank about remembering tuatara there so that's my bad memory! It's a great zoo and the new native bird area is really good.

Sorry, I didn't take your comment to be negative at all, tasmangirl. I just couldn't remember seeing the tuatara myself when I visited the Auckland Zoo, so I was wondering if that was generally the case with the zoo's tuataras and why that would be so. Meanwhile, I can vividly recall the tiger enclosure, the red panda, the birds. I agree, it's a great zoo, though if Libbienienstedt's family is from San Diego, they might not be as impressed as their hometown zoo is truly astounding. I believe they even have tuatara on-loan from NZ, but in an off-exhibition area. The Weta Workshop sounds like it's definitely worth a visit.

Libbienienstedt, you mentioned wanting to "hike (tramp), kayak, see the fjords, see the hobbit house (husband and son are big Hobbit fans), the glow worm caves."
According to drive distance calculator, Hobbiton in Matamata, is about a two-hour drive from Auckland; Waitomo Glowworm Caves are about 1 hour 20 minutes from Matamata.
If you're headed that way, you might want to visit and stay in Rotorua, known for its Maori culture and geothermal attractions. Check AA distance calculator for drive times.
http://www.hobbitontours.com
http://www.waitomo.com
http://www.rotoruanz.com/visit/home.aspx
There are also one day tours of Hobbiton and Waitomo Glowworm Caves from Auckland. It looks expensive, but includes admissions. One day tours are worth considering if you think you may be short on time.

Te Anau makes the best base for visiting Milford or Doubtful Sound (fiords), however, if you're pressed for time you can visit Milford Sound on a tour from Queenstown. Milford Road is considered a top scenic drive, but in winter bus tours are often a safer option. As Melnq8 mentioned, Milford Road can be closed at times (particularly in winter).

You'll find hiking and kayaking throughout New Zealand. Suggestions can be made after you've firmed up your itinerary and decide what time of year you'll be going.

Even in midsummer, the weather can offer surprises and obstacles. Arthur's Pass re-opened last Tuesday, Jan. 24, after being closed for five days due to slips caused by heavy rains. Trampers had to be rescued from other parts of the South Island. There were scattered power outages around the country. Normally sunny and dry Nelson was battered by rain.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8867...-expect-delays
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8865...cross-auckland
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel...s-wind-warning

A year ago, there was similarly stormy weather around the holidays.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/arti...ectid=11568080

The weather can be fickle, for sure. With three weeks, you'd have a little more wiggle room with your itinerary, if you had to make changes to your route due to inclement weather. In summer, you'd have to pre-book accommodation, in some cases, even campervan sites, as these, too, can be full.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/wanaka...e-upper-clutha

Thank you to everyone who posted a reply. Yes, we have seen the tuatara at our San Diego Zoo but we were hoping to see one living free in its natural habitat. Sounds like that is not the case, but we will look into your mentioned options. If we travel in June we will stay in hotels. Just to reply to the comment about hotels here, no they are not seedy, although I'm sure there are some that fit that description. I thought it might be a lovely adventure to use the camper van and also eliminated the unpacking/packing and living out of a suitcase. Wishing we could see most of this beautiful country in two weeks, of course that is not realistic. Sounds like we need to consider hotels, car rental and possibly a domestic flightier two to see parts of both islands in our limited time.

We have done a couple of campervan trips in NZ in winter. Once in June-July and again in Aug-September. Yes the days are short and it can be cold but we had a fantastic time and are going again this year. We used a Maui Ultima camper the last time and it was fine. The heaters worked fine, being able to stay where we wanted cook our own food and not have to pack and unpack every day were major advantages over staying in Hotels.
Some photos of our first trip in June 2008 @ http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html entries 39 onwards

and more recently in Aug 2014 @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/new-zealand/

Another alternative to hotels is perhaps something like Top10 holiday parks when he have great chalets, cooking facilities etc.

Libbienienst4dt -

tasmangirl's comment was about US motels, not hotels, which can indeed be seedy.

Motels in NZ are wonderful - clean, spacious and very well equipped for self-catering and families.

Not so here in many parts of the US, but perhaps you're not from the US?

In cities like Auckland or Wellington, you might also find "serviced apartments." They often have full kitchens (some have ovens, stovetops, microwave and full size fridge, others just microwave and mini-fridge) and washer and dryer. For example, here are a couple I've stayed at in Auckland:
http://www.heritagehotels.co.nz/hote...ylife-auckland
http://www.thesebelauckland.co.nz

Here are a couple I've stayed at in Queenstown:
http://www.pounamuapartments.co.nz
http://www.thewaterfront.nz

Those in downtown Auckland (and perhaps Wellington), where space is at a premium, will likely charge for parking, but you don't need a car for Auckland unless you plan on making day trips out of the city while there.

Holiday home or "bach" accommodation is also popular. They're often as economical as motels, but you'll have more room, such as a cottage or an entire house. Here are two popular booking sites:
https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz
https://www.bookabach.co.nz

On Book a Bach, I occasionally came across a place where guests needed to supply their own, or pay extra, for linens, but that's probably rarer these days.

Here's a definition of "bach" (or "crib" in the south of South Island):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bach_(New_Zealand)

Farm stays are also popular. Some of these are on large working farms, some on "lifestyle blocks," where a family might have some sheep, goats, alpacas, so on. They range from luxurious to rustic. Here are some in Dunedin (where I live):
http://www.samsoffroadtours.co.nz/cottage.html
http://www.stonebarn.co.nz/Establo_A...y/Welcome.html
http://www.blackheadcottage.co.nz

Here, accommodations will provide milk for your morning tea or coffee. Real milk, not the powdered stuff in a little packet. When you check in, they'll often ask, "Green or blue?" Green for skimmed milk, blue for whole milk. NZ is a dairy powerhouse.