big nelly

Hey,

Hoping to plan a reccie/holiday (depending on school holidays) How bad is the weather in July/August? I know it's winter there but surely it can't be as wet and miserable as the summer has been here for the past few years? Or should we bite the bullet and come over next Christmas time?

Scouse Dave

July and August are pretty much the worst months (sorry!). This year has been exceptionally wet, and when it rains here, it doesn't mess about - it really hammers down! On the plus side, it's not what you could call cold, although it is chilly early in the morning before the sun gets going.

In some ways, it may even be the best time to do a reccy-type trip, because when it's all sunny and lovely it's easy to fall for the "lifestyle" hype and miss some important stuff.

Bring brollies and kagoules though!

crap coffee

NO October please - absolutely Positively pouring torrential rain - July/august is bad but September/October is bad as - the wettest ever. I do remember that I get extremly wet in October every year and each time I tell myself You Must get an Umbrella.! (Now I got one finally ) I do wear a very long waterproof which is my school uniform (got it from St Mary's College in Welly), but that's not just enough., My pants always get soaking wet on a rainy day in October

Visit in February or March if you can.

big nelly

So would Easter be a good time? trying to find the cheapest and best way to see the best and worst of the country... as i'm trying to persuade my OH that a move to NZ would be the best for us 3! I thought (like Scouse Dave) winter would be good, although i do hate the rain, i don't mind the cold at all.... but we all love the outdoors and want as much info as poss!

Scouse Dave

One thing to bear in mind - the rain here tends to come in shower form - admittedly very heavy showers at times, but showers none the less. So, you get up in the morning and it's raining, give it an hour and the sun's out again.

As someone told me when I first got here - in Auckland, there's only three types of weather: "it's about to rain", "it's raining" and "it's just rained".

Temperature-wise - the coldest we've seen this winter was 9 degrees, although it can get cold at night. We've had a light morning frost twice this winter (unusual in Auckland though). That said, the outside tables in the bars and restaurants along Mission Bay all seem to be very busy all winter.

But if you SERIOUSLY don't like rain, is NZ really for you?

big nelly

Nah, i don't mind rain, just don't like it ALL the time, and showers are fine, i can more than cope with that, especially if there happens to be a little ray of sunshine following it! believe me living in Yorkshire is wetter than wet at the moment! and even worse than that, coming from Scotland I truly know what rain is!
What a great saying that is!! I love it.

would you say the weather is similar to the UK then?

Scouse Dave

Sort of - the summer tends to be warmer and more predictable (esp last summer!), but the main thing is you don't get the extremes of temperature. Of course, I'm commenting on my experiences of Auckland - where are you heading to? Wellington and Christchurch (for example) are quite different.

The main difference between here and the UK is that the winter doesn't tend to stop you doing stuff for months on end. You get a weekend when it's a bit stormy, so maybe the fishing trip gets postponed, but you can still go to the rugby and take the kids to the beach between showers.

As I said, any fool can have a great time when the weather's great, so coming here in winter will give you a chance to see if you'll be able to live here. Plus the flights are cheaper in July/August...

luvwelly

You can't rely on the weather in NZ really, so in that sense it is like the UK.
However whatever time of year you come (except maybe July/August) - you would be very unlucky not to get some sunny days...in Wellington at least.
For instance on Sunday it was bright and sunny all day in Wellington but Monday /Tuesday has been dull with more or less constant rain.

I had bad rainy weather in Northland and Auckland on my 2008 January holiday in NZ even though that was one of the best summers on record for many years.

Nelson on South island (not that far away from Wellington but on a different island) has the best sunshine hours I think...we got good weather there in Autumn.
Apart from up mountains..only South island seems to get the real cold weather but the wind chill factor can come into play in Wellington but again not as bad as I expected windyness wise.

lapsed kiwi

If you're restricted to UK school holidays I'd come here at Easter time. The weather is usually pretty good up to the end of April - obviously there are good days and bad days - and the sea is quite warm after the summer. It's also quiet and you will be able to turn up just about anywhere and find a motel/hotel/campsite. July and August can be quite grim - this year was very wet although we seem to be past the worst now. NZ weather is comparable to UK weather in that it is changeable and a bit unpredictable, but it is generally warmer here, especially in the North Island and especially in winter. Citrus trees - laden with fruit - are a common sight in gardens north of Taupo, and I have seen frost on my car windscreen once in the three winters I've been back here.

big nelly

I have to say that the weather in the UK would stop most people especially this summer, we haven't had a day yet when you could get the bbq out or plan anything much outdoors, on a hole, grey, dark and miserable is the weather and the forecast isn't much better for winter, so changeable weather sounds great to me. We're thinking of trying around the North Island mostly round Napier/Hastings and so on... My Oh and Son (13) both love sports, running, football, rugby, cricket and so on... so really think it could be the perfect country for them! Just have to convince the OH now!!!I hadn't really thought about Easter before, but that sounds great! i'll have to check out flights and such now...

crap coffee

A good question mate.



I do not mind rain, misty & foggy. BUt do not like COLD, DAMP & strong wind. Nobody does. yeah. sounds like NZ might not be an ideal paradise for OP?

well. I seriously hate the heat & the blazing sun, though (funnily enough) as I never want to be around in the kitchen area or desire to cook in hot summer days, ex) Oz, Japan, the U.S - but not the case in UK/NZ. If my parents didn't take me here when I was a teenager, and if we continued to live in Japan, then I probably wouldn't even know how to cook food!

don't mind rain ........therefore I am able to survive (reasonably) here otherwise I don't know......(if you don't like rain....Oz would be a better option?) ....... some similarity with Britian, so I rather like here........I feel comfortable though it's not the best weather.............you know what I mean............. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing - you grown up with and you are so used to - so you don't mind.....and enjoy sometimes

big nelly

so what do you all ove about Life in NZ? What makes it soooooo much better on paper than the UK?

luvwelly

It's not better just different but I'm the wrong person to ask...as I haven't emigrated.

big nelly

ok, so what would you say the main diferences? Looking for lots of positives and negatives, even if it makes me realise that what i have is more than enough, information is always gratefully recieved.

Browner_

Well if you are fixed on Napier/Hasting, I shouldnt worry too much about the weather, wine grapes grow there like nobodys business, and every time Ive been there its scorching and dry (in the summer).

Having said that, you would have to drag me there, Im not sure I could even cope with a full weekend there.
Unless I was travelling round the wineries maybe.