Can you be spontaneous with overnight accommodations in New Zealand?

We were travelling in a campervan in May so very different circumstances.
We did book into a backpackers in FJ about an hour before arrival. Also booked our final night hotel/motel in C'church the night before.
I doubt you would have many issues in the places we visited last year on the South Island. Only places crowded with tourists were Tekapo, Queenstown Wanaka and Milford. Twizel (great base for Aoraki/Mt Cook) and Te Anau (great base for trips to both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound) didn't give the impression of being chockers with tourists.
We are off to the North Island end of April but again it will be campervan not hotels.

That time of year you should be well clear of the crowds that tend to fill up the small towns during the Chinese New Year period, which usually ends by the middle of Feb, so you should be fine as long as you're willing to settle for "whatever is left" when looking for accommodations.
Know too that the further south you go (am thinking Invercargill and Stewart Island) you're more likely to encounter unsettled weather by the beginning of March, while the North Island will be terrific.

Check the New Zealand school and public holiday schedules. I was advised (2019) that advance reservations were often necessary if there are New Zealand vacation periods as many locals traveled then. Perhaps that has changed, but I would check into it as I doubt that the tourist infrastructure (motel/hotel/lodging) has changed significantly.

Thank you for your replies. We plan to rent a car and tour the South Island for the first 2-1/2 weeks, then fly to Auckland and rent another car for the remainder of our vacation. We are concerned about accommodations being full but we love to "wing it". We did a road trip from Melbourne to Adelaide, Australia and had the best trip ever. I will check the school holiday schedule. Good advice!

I am here now, but arrived with all 5 of my weeks booked. The worst rush of the vacation time seems to have passed and if you are flexible on quality and pricing (and maybe flexible on actual location), you can probably be spontaneous. Per my conversation this morning, the exception might be on the long weekends for different provinces celebrating independence (not something I was aware of). Auckland’s is coming up next weekend and things near the coast, etc. book up quickly. Different weekends in different places. I haven’t made it to the South Island yet.

If you have particular things you want to do or places you want to see (and stay), I wouldn’t leave those to chance unless budget isn’t a problem. But otherwise, probably possible.

Thank you Texas Travel Mom for taking time out to reply from beautiful NZ! There are certainly advantages to booking ahead. Have a lovely time!

A long time ago (2009) we did a very similar road trip in New Zeeland. It was 6 weeks in late Feb and March. We also "winged" it on lodging with no difficulty except around Queenstown. We got ahold of a NZ Automobile Association booklet listing all lodging by city/area. It was extremely helpful. When we finished an area or knew when we were moving on we just called whatever looked good at the next stop. On several occasions we waited until the afternoon when our stopping point was finally known. It all worked out. We did not always get our first choice but no real problem. In the Queenstown area we ran into a golf tournament and everything was booked. The first place we called had nothing but referred us to another property that had a cancellation. She knew this because they shared a "hot sheet" for the immediate area. That turned out great. NZ people were always extremely helpful.

If you don't know this, many NZ motels have a microwave, fridge and, best of all, a two burner stove. We bought an ice chest (a "Chilly Bin") and a small frying pan and made our own breakfast most days. Dinner was out but dinner leftovers were often lunches, often at a local winery. Fond memories!

Sounds like our idea of the perfect road trip, Robbie! It's reassuring to hear that it has been done on the fly, although those AAA guidebooks are now a relic from the past. I wasn't aware of the mini kitchens in hotels... that is definitely a bonus. Thank you for the info and your nice walk down memory lane.

You are talking about the current time of year we are at, start checking booking.com, etc for this year to see what is available.

That's a good way to test the availability. Thank you for the idea.

Winging it is doable, however I suggest booking accommodation in the tourist hot spots, especially if you’re arriving on a weekend.

Late Feb March is still deemed peak travel time. Towns like Picton where the boats depart for Marlborough Sounds and as mentioned Wanaka, Queenstown, and other tourist hot spots will be busy. I’m currently trying to find accommodation for friends due to arrive in NZ end of February, with difficulty. Sure some hotels, motels, and Airbnb’s are available but not my preferred ones at decent prices.

Good idea to peruse booking.com this will give you an indication of what's available in the places you have in mind to visit.

Enjoy NZ.

Our self drive (small Jucy campervan) self planned 3 week trip on the South Island last year cost (less airfares and travel insurance) $USD3600 total for 2 old codgers. That includes all food and miscellaneous spending. We did book 2 organised coach and cruise day trips from Te Anau, Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound, our big spends total $USD700ish. We could certainly have done it for much less but we like to have some creature comforts.
Most tours I have seen would be priced way beyond our means. None of them would have been anywhere near as interesting to us either.

We are heading to the North Island at the end of April for 3 weeks and will have a similar travel style and expect a similar cost.

Can you be spontaneous…? Sure. But you will be paying higher rates for whatever is leftover after others have booked up the better-value rooms at the more desirable properties.
The impact of Chinese travelers in New Zealand in February should not be underestimated.
When we toured South Island for three weeks in February, I got great deals on rooms with views by reserving them months in advance. Those were not available at all by the time of the trip— and non-view rooms were often more expensive than the ones we reserved by the time of the trip.

Thank all of you for the much appreciated input! We've decided to hire a car and explore the northern half of the north island for 3-1/2 weeks, take our time and be spontaneous! It looks like there are reasonably priced Airbnbs available at last minute, which will allow us to wing it and land wherever our travels take us, guidebook in tow. We'll save the south island for a return visit. I'll let you know how it all worked out. Happy travels!