Both teams are missing several first-choice players as the five matches come on the back of a T20 World Cup and on the eve of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The Proteas only have three players - interim captain Keshav Maharaj, George Linde and Jason Smith - in the touring group that formed part of the T20 World Cup squad, where the Proteas were knocked out in the semifinal.
The understrength nature of both teams has seen some disjointed performances, with the series locked at 2-2 with the deciding contest to be played in Christchurch on Wednesday.
Conrad said: "I think it's been an exciting series. Whether it is fully-fledged international cricket, I think the jury is out on that and many people will have their opinions on it.
"But as soon as you pull on that Proteas jumper, and I'm sure the same for the Kiwis, you represent your country and you've got to try and make them proud.
"It was always a tough one coming after a World Cup. It was never about the exit in the World Cup, but a lot of people would be questioning the value of the series and why you would have it."
The series has seen some shining lights for the tourists with wicketkeeper-batter Connor Esterhuizen being the top run-scorer in the four matches while young seamer Nqobani Mokoena and spinner Prenelan Subrayen has also impressed.
Conrad says the home franchise tournament SA20 has unearthed a few names that could play at the highest level but maintained there is still gap to international cricket.
"When you look at some of the younger guys, again, that have become household names in SA20, as soon as you expose them to international cricket, that there's still a gap and there's still a pressure and a scrutiny that they would never have experienced before," the Proteas mentor said.
"So I think on that front, it's been an invaluable exercise to see guys like Connor Esterhuizen, and Mokoena step up, Subrayen on debut, like I said, and deliver the goods."
The Proteas levelled the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in Wellington on Sunday, securing a tense 19-run victory in the fourth match to set up a decisive final clash in Christchurch on Wednesday.
New Zealand comfortably secured an eight-wicket win over a weakened South African side at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match Twenty20 International series.
South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince said his team "didn't get any rhythm" after the Proteas were bowled out for 107 in a seven-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton, leveling the T20 series 1-1.
The Proteas crumbled with the bat to go down by 68 runs against New Zealand in the second T20I in Hamilton on Tuesday with the five-match series now level at 1-1.
