dollyhill

Can anyone who has been living in the North Island advise please! Comparing to the UK (North west to be precise), what would you describe as the type of clothing you wear most often?

Mainly summery all year round?

Polo necks and boots in winter?

This is important to me just now as it's time to sort out all the clothes for the family.

THANKS!

Drover Jess

well I still live in Uk but have visited NZ twice.

I believe it gets cold in the winters, frosts too, so I advise you take the full range of clothing, also most NZ houses have no heating..

our last trip was in Dec06 -Jan 07 and although summer there it was very cold.. on the beach on N Yr's day we wore almost as many clothes as we would have here, and the nights were down to 0'C and we had not taken enough warm clothes as we expected it to be mid-summer!!

you dont say where in the NI, and I am sure the residents will be able to pinpoint more exactly..

Personally, I'd rather be too hot than too cold, and I seem to have picked up on the forum it is better to take too many belongings rather than too few.

good luck deciding

dollyhill

Thanks for that. We will be going to New Plymouth.

garryhg

this will ber second winter here we are in Auckland,never seen frost yet....O degrees at night. the lowest it got last year was about 11 degrees at night...true it does feel colder in your house than out side sometimes...but generally imho the winters aren't that bad,but we are from Scotland,so used to cold weather...

Definitely rain jackets,as it rains a lot here in winter..but light Jackets i would say,and a few jumpers needed...but winter temperatures imho are quite mild compared to Uk.my oh has just put his shorts away now,and has worn long trousers for the first time since last winter..so can't be bad...hope this helps...Jacky

krissie

were from nw too and now in tauranga!! still in shorts yet!! tho gettin a bit chillier at night...been here 3 yrs and worn a coat once...in wellington!! at most, long sleeves with a fleece or light jacket...weatherproof!! and get one b4 you come coz good rain jackets are bloody dear here!!!

pixi-dust

north of north island- still t shirts and jeans or shorts during the day. But there's a nip in the air at night now - well there was last night. My DH had his sheepskin boots on!
I havent worn a coat for almost three years - we're heading down to the SI for a holiday in 2 weeks and I had to buy a coat for the trip!

You'll need a light waterproof or an umbrella though

dlmckay

Check out http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/93309.html - will have historical weather almanacs for the area - so you can see how much rain/sun/snow to expect, what range of temperatures and at what times of the year.

Kiwiprincess

I am a complete wuss. I hate the cold.

I live in Wellington and apart from in late January and February i could wear Jeans just about all year round. However, most normal people would be in lighter clothes at that time of year. Generally however, i would be in a tee short and sandals or scuff type shoes though as well as the jeans.

Key thing for me is layers. I have a warm coat, but if i have layers of light clothing i will always be warmer.

Bring light layers. That way you can just take them off when you are too hot

Hokey-pokey

New Plymouth can get very cold in the winter. Heavy frosts, snow onto the lower hills, wind and lots of rain.
You will certainly experience beautiful warm sunny winter days too and combined with the snow clad Mt Taranaki , makes for picture perfect scenery.

The summers can be wet and windy, warm, sunny and cold.

Expect Spring and Autumn to be a combination of the above!

Bo-Jangles

I'm mostly still wearing exactly the clothes that we brought from the Uk, so therefore it's safe to assume that these are multi-purpose and suitable for both climates. If you are sorting your clothes, just bring everything you have and then some. You'll regret it forever if you throw anything away.

I never wear a coat and didn't even bring anything that could be construed as such. A coat? What is this coat? I've never been a coat person and was often berated for not wearing one in midwinter in UK anyway. So I am definitely somewhere now where the weather suits my clothes - I hardly ever wear jumpers either, but I do have lots of camisole vest things, long sleeve t-shirty tops and cardigans, which constitutes my winter wardrobe. Usually need a fleece in winter (usually indoors on chilly nights). Boots I wear in winter because I like them, not strictly because it is cold.

Most definitely not summery all year round, as someone else above said, winter can be wet, windy, cold, sunny (combinations of, all of, or anything in between). Summer ditto!

dollyhill

All fantastic info, thanks so much!

I'm taking it all!

Hokey-pokey

Good thinking !

whitesand

Here in Auckland it never gets as cold as it does in the UK, although the houses are much colder and damper. Therefore, you don't need the very heavy type clothes you wear in the UK. I found that last winter in Auckland it was too warm to even wear my boots for more than a couple of days and generally a warm jacket is all that I ever need outside. A long-sleeved T-shirt plus jacket will generally get you through until summer. But I usually carry a folding umbrella in my handbag for all those Auckland showers and heavier rain.

LizaJane

I live in Hamilton and totally agree, heavy winter coats are not needed and i don't wear boots much, as they are a pain in the backside having to keep taking them off to go in peoples houses etc. Layers rather than thick heavy items, even in winter you can go through the seasons in one day. I haven't worn any fleeces since being here, vests/camisoles, shirts, sweatshirts, cardis and body warmers. But prepare for rain, it rains alot so a good raincover/waterproof jacket and no posh raincoats everyone is casual.

LizaJane

clothes are far better quality and better value for money in UK. I still have clothes from UK (I came over 4yrs ago) that have out lived the crap you are most likely to come across here.