Best Time to Visit New Zealand

Geographical location

New Zealand is located in the southern Pacific. The island state consists of a North and a South Island and more than 700 smaller islands.

The 14 miles wide Cook Strait separates the two main islands. New Zealand is 167000 square miles in total.

The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates New Zealand from Australia, which is up to 1300 miles away. Other neighbouring countries are the French New Caledonia and the South Sea islands of Fiji and Tonga.

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington in the southern part of the North Island. However, Auckland is by far the largest conurbation with around 1.5 million inhabitants.

Climate in New Zealand

New Zealand has two climate zones. In the north of the northern island there is a subtropical climate characterized by mild winters and relatively warm summers. In the southern part of the North Island and on the entire South Island there is a temperate climate. The further south you go, the lower the temperature. In New Zealand’s coastal areas you will find average annual temperatures of 15 °C in the north and 9 °C in the south.

The average temperature in January and February in the northern city of Auckland is 20 °C, in Wellington 16 °C and in Dunedin, which lies in the south of the South Island, 15 °C. In July, the average temperature in Auckland is 11 °C, in Wellington 8 °C and in Dunedin 6 °C. July is the coldest month.

The country experiences neither extreme heat nor severe cold with the exception of the high mountain regions. In New Zealand rainfall is relatively even throughout the year. On New Zealand’s North Island, on average, more than 0.04 in fall every year. Up to 314.96 in of rainfall per year falls on the west coast of the South Island. Snow often falls in high altitudes.

On the east side of the South Island, on the other hand, precipitation is sometimes below 29.53 in per year. Most rainfall falls from June to August. The driest months are the summer months from December to February, when the sun shines quite often.