You will find that most resorts in New Zealand will require Level 2 or 3, and to get a sponsored visa every resort will want level 2 or 3. A good thing to look into is a working holiday visa. I am a New Zealander and did the same thing to go and instruct in the US. You can generally get a visa for up to a year without needing to have a job lined up or sponsored. This is a lot more appealing to employers as all the paperwork is already done, and they don't need to sponsor your visa.
The place you want to be is either in Wanaka or Queenstown. Queenstown is more commercial and touristy and wanaka is smaller and is lot more chilled out. The skiing is also much better in Wanaka IMO. There are 3 mountains in Wanaka- Cardrona, Treble Cone, and Snow Park, however snowpark and cardrona are also close enough to qtown. Queenstown has 2 resorts- Coronet Peak and Remarkables.
Cardrona has the biggest ski school, and would probably be the best place to
work. Coronet would probably be the next best, although anywhere will be fun. Resorts over here are not really big on employee housing since there is not really anything on the actual slopes. You would either live in Wanaka or Queenstown which is about 30-40 min drive depending on where you go and live. Best (and funnest) thing to do is rent a house with a few other people. In Wanaka lots of people advertise rooms available on a local classified called the messenger (
www.wanakamessenger.co.nz) or if you have a group look on
www.housemart.co.nz to rent a whole house. You probably want to try and find a house in May, as when everyone else arrives in June they go pretty quickly.
In regards to actual skiing, this is how I would describe it:
Wanaka
-Treble Cone- best place in NZ for big mountain skiing. Awesome terrain & snow. It's where most of the locals ski, and unlike cardrona does not really appeal to learners.
-Cardrona- Great park (next best after snowpark), decent for terrain ect. Probably the best balance if you want to ride park and do some skiing.
- Snowpark- Just a sick park, nothing else aside from a bar.
Queenstown
I grew up in Wanaka so have not skied a ton over qtown side but here are my thoughts:
Coronet Peak- ok terrain overall. But I think its a pretty boring mountain. Does everything ok but nothing well.
Remarkables- Fun place, awesome terrain if you're willing to hike. Has an ok park, its overall a good rounded resort.
Any questions feel free to PM me. I know what its like trying to organise a trip to a place you have little knowledge of from the other side of the world.
