General Country Information
New Zealand is extremely popular in terms of tourism, especially with backpackers due to its diverse range of geographical features, extreme sports and cosmopolitan cities. It is one of the most recently populated major landmasses, settled by the Maori’s in the year 1000. The Maori language native to New Zealand is named Aotearoa, Land of the Long White Cloud.
New Zealand consists of two main islands, the North and the South. The North Island, home to the major cities: the capital Wellington and “The city of sails” Auckland is mainly volcanic in origin boasting many seismic features such as geysers and hot springs. The South Island is separated down its length by the Southern Alps, the highest point of which is Mount Cook/ Aoraki. For a landmass that is a little larger than the UK, the population is only 4.1 million - which makes the ratio of sheep to people 10:1! However, this means that despite the huge number of visitors that travel to New Zealand every year it never really feels crowded.
So if you want to pump up your adrenalin, bask in the peace and tranquillity of Milford Sound or cruise dramatic bays spotting dolphins and whales... New Zealand is the place for you!
Time
New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of GMT.
Climate
|
|
Spring |
Summer |
Autumn |
Winter |
|
|
(Sep, Oct, Nov) |
(Dec, Jan, Feb) |
(Mar, Apr, May) |
(Jun, Jul, Aug) |
| Bay of Islands |
Temp (C) |
19ºC / 9ºC |
25ºC / 14ºC |
21ºC / 11ºC |
16ºC / 7ºC |
|
Rain days |
11 |
7 |
11 |
16 |
| Auckland |
Temp (C) |
18ºC / 11ºC |
24ºC / 12ºC |
20ºC / 13ºC |
15ºC / 9ºC |
|
Rain days |
12 |
8 |
11 |
15 |
| Rotorua |
Temp (C) |
18ºC / 11ºC |
24ºC / 12ºC |
20ºC / 13ºC |
15ºC / 9ºC |
|
Rain days |
11 |
9 |
9 |
13 |
| Wellington |
Temp (C) |
15ºC / 9ºC |
20ºC / 13ºC |
17ºC / 11ºC |
12ºC / 6ºC |
|
Rain days |
11 |
7 |
10 |
13 |
| Christchurch |
Temp (C) |
17ºC / 7ºC |
22ºC / 12ºC |
18ºC / 8ºC |
12ºC / 3ºC |
|
Rain days |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
| Queenstown |
Temp (C) |
16ºC / 5ºC |
22ºC / 10ºC |
16ºC / 6ºC |
10ºC / 1ºC |
|
Rain days |
9 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
New Zealand’s two islands have differing climates partly due to their different geological features. In the north, the climate is sub- tropical, whereas in the south it is temperate. This tends to mean that it is a few degrees cooler on the South Island. The New Zealand winter falls from June to August, when both Islands receive snow and the average temperature ranges between 10 – 15°C. However, away from the mountains the temperatures are generally milder but the wind stronger. The summer, from December to February, sees average temperatures ranging from 20 – 30°C.
