[Moorf]

I often hear from those back home who believe, for whatever reason, that NZ's climate is warm and sunny all year round and that you can BBQ on the beach at Xmas.

That might be true for some... but is it really a land of warm and sunny climes? How have you found the weather in your part of NZ?

(Please state where in NZ you live, and where you came from, in your posts!)

This is where I go green at Timbo's t-shirt weather up north right now!! :D

PM me with suggestions for future myths to expose..... :nice1

[KD17]

We live in Wellington. Last 7 years on the Isle of Man.

We didn't visit before we moved here so went on our research and opinion of what the weather was going to be like here. We had the impression that a big coat wasn't needed in NZ.

We arrived in February 07 and the weather was absolutely gloriously hot, for some time. We found that there is a different "heat" in the sun, it has a kind of stinging effect and, being the fair, blonde type I usually go lobster red, peel and then white, but I got the best tan I'd ever had during those hot weeks (long gone now mind !) My daughter also got a tan the two weeks she was here, and also never gets the sun, so it's definately different here to the UK or IOM.

We had been expecting those Wellington Winds and, so far, we haven't found it too bad, but I think it's because of our conditioning from the IOM - where it's also remarkably windy. The plane can be a bit hairy coming in to land though :wah

What has surprised us are the southerly winds, and how icy, bitter cold they are, we were not prepared for that, and also how "cold" the house feels when those winds blow, and believe me, those big coats are definately needed.

Without those it feels fairly mild for mid-winter just now, in our comparisions. We've had the occasional frost in the mornings, but nothing much to speak of. All in all the weather's been pretty good, but would definately not want to be taking the barbie to the beach thats for sure...

I'm sure those from warmer climes will see it totally differently.

Keith & Debby

[gil]

We live on the coast, in the south-east of Auckland, which is in the northern part of the North Island.
The summer was warm-hot and we only really stopped wearing T-shirts/shorts in the end of May/first week of June. Since then it has rained plenty. Coming from Wales, we find the rain here warmer and more tropical and less grey and drizzly.
It is generally far milder than we are used to and whilst we have had heavy rain and a bad storm recently, we prefer the weather here!

Gil

[Questor]

We're on the Kapiti Coast, about 45km North of Wellington, moved over from Yorkshire.
We expected the climate to be similar to that in the UK, albeit with not as much frost/snow apart from all the way down South ;)
Middle of winter both this year and last have been positively mild, not really got much below 5degrees here. I very rarely need my big coat!
Summer was very warm (for me) up to 27 or so quite a few days
Just the Southerly winds that are COLD as there's no landmass between us and antarctica to warm it up!

[willsken]

We arrived in Hawke's Bay in January and the weather was glorious. This was the case until well into May and then it started to get cold. Now, during winter, it's cold at night and in the morning but lovely and sunny during the day. Certainly haven't experienced the grey weather of the UK. Looking out the window at a lovely sunny day today. This being said we have had a lot of rain over the last couple weeks. (Well needed though as we have suffered a drought)

[jen]

We had been expecting those Wellington Winds and, so far, we haven't found it too bad, but I think it's because of our conditioning from the IOM - where it's also remarkably windy. The plane can be a bit hairy coming in to land though :wah

What has surprised us are the southerly winds, and how icy, bitter cold they are, we were not prepared for that, and also how "cold" the house feels when those winds blow, and believe me, those big coats are definately needed.

Without those it feels fairly mild for mid-winter just now, in our comparisions. We've had the occasional frost in the mornings, but nothing much to speak of. All in all the weather's been pretty good, but would definately not want to be taking the barbie to the beach thats for sure...

I'm sure those from warmer climes will see it totally differently.

Keith & Debby

I'm one of those from a warmer climate (our winters averaged 7 at night and 18 daytime). I didn't expect to be wearing a winter coat so often & I've bought scarves and gloves for the first time since moving to California 15 years ago! I've even learned how to wrap my scarf for a windy day in such a way that it doesn't strangle me or come loose and attack nearby pedestrians :laugh

It's not been too bad though I TOTALLY agree about how cold the southerlies are. We also found out that the wind can drive rain through any loose parts on your roof - when the southerlies started suddenly we had a small waterfall dripping through the molding on one of our windows. We've gotten used to putting a brick on our trash can to hold it down & laying down anything in the yard because it'll get blown over constantly.

I loved the summer here - it was never hot enough that you'd want air conditioning, though we did sleep with a fan some nights, and no stifling humidity like I grew up with in the midwestern US.

Jen

[Nettie 2]

:nice1 We've been pleasantly surprised at how mild and even hot on some days it's been in Taupo. If this is mid winter bring it on! My partners family kept telling us how cold it gets, but compared to UK winters it's brilliant. We've had a few heavy frosts first thing in the mornings but once the sun gets up it's gone and usually turns into a gorgeous day. We have been playing alot of golf and I have commented often that you wouldn't even catch me on a golf course in England in the winter let alone walk round in a t-shirt! The last week has been a bit grey and dismal but not cold, so who cares? I can live with this!

[thepiesleys]

The climate is far better here in Pakuranga, East Auckland then Birmingham in the UK. The summer was amazing - from when we landed in late November 2006 until late May 2007 it was T shirts and shorts all the time. We went to the beach and swam on xmas day, was cold in the sea mind, and February and March were blistering almost all the time.

It rains though - a place wont be that green unless it gets a fair amount of rain. It rained alot in Nov and December, and has rained a lot more recently. It also never seems to dry out and is very damp and muddy. The winter although plainly milder still seems cold - especially inside the house. Our chalet - sorry I mean house is really cold and we had a few nights when we toyed with going to stay in a motel.

I have worn a coat out during the day, not often, in winter and I have also gone out in shorts and T shirt during the day. So a real mixed bag.

[Timbo]

We are in the upper North Island, on the Coromandel peninsular. I guess it was mainly because of the novelty value, but yes we did xmas on the beach last year. Mind you, we only had 3 other people for company despite it being a lovely day.
In general we love the climate here much more than Surrey in SE England which was our home for many years. Since arriving here in Nov 05 I think we have had 5/6 frosts, and certainly no snow. Early summer brings a brisk SE wind that can be annoying at times, but we can live with that.
If it were not for the fact that my job demands I wear overalls, I would still be wearing shorts and tees 99% of the time, even now in so called midwinter.
I love snow and ice, but only to look at on postcards.

[emilyw]

These posts are great to read! Would love to hear from South Africans and how they see the NZ climate!

[Sam B]

In Cambridge (upper half of N.I. in the middle) it is much better than UK weather, warmer, sunnier and rain all comes in one go rather than the endless drizzle of Cornwall. You couldn't have a grapefruit tree in your garden in Cornwall...

[nippa&pippa]

Moorf, I live just "down the road" from you, so we get same weather:laugh ...
I am learning about canterbury winds now...they are harsh sometimes!
Weather here in canterbury areas is bit like living in UK but lots warmer as we get all sort of weather, raining, windy, sunny, snowing (not yet see it as my son is waiting to play with sled!!) and frost. We have experienced lots of frost recently but I can't get my head around is how earth the rose bushes is still flowering through the winter even temp went below zero until we hit by -7 last week and finally killed the rose bushes as well as rest of flowers we had in our garden :wah

[Stephen Jones]

We live on the coast, in the south-east of Auckland, which is in the northern part of the North Island.
The summer was warm-hot and we only really stopped wearing T-shirts/shorts in the end of May/first week of June. Since then it has rained plenty. Coming from Wales, we find the rain here warmer and more tropical and less grey and drizzly.
It is generally far milder than we are used to and whilst we have had heavy rain and a bad storm recently, we prefer the weather here!

Gil

Gil, you would definitely feel at home at the moment in Wales. It seems like it hasn't stooped raining since May!

The weather is even worse than a usual British summer!

Steve
(Pontypridd)

[katandbob]

Well I'll start by saying that when you see a weather report on Invercargill, its normally over in 0.25 seconds:roll and they only spend a bit more time on it when something freaky happens, like the icey conditions the other week.

But the weather can be different in a supprisingly small area.. ie Raining in Bluff, and sunny in Greenhills, raining in Invercargill and snowing in Winton.

on that icy day I had no idea it was icy till I got to the junction at Ballance - then it was fun and games! and I went about 40km from then on!

It has been warmer here this week, not as warm as this time last year, It was a sunny day on Thursday, and I was on my last tour around the city for a while(Id'd been to the Council Admin Building to test the PC's there - I seem to crash ours at the Parks offices:confused: Its got to be the link to the building)

Any how, it was a lovely sunny day, and as I was driving back to the Parks office, I noticed the Fountains on Gala St, So I stopped to take a pic.

It just shows that even though I had stripped to a T-shirt as the sun was beating down, there was an underlying cold front that when you were out of the sun it was still cold & frosty.

Although I still can't say its as cold as NE Lincs - as I have never had to wear 3 pairs of socks while out riding! which was a daily thing when down at the stables in the winter.

Any way - heres the pic(s)

[Moorf]

Nice pics Kat - is that street in the centre as it sure looks a lot more open than I had imagined?

I know what you mean about the differences between relatively short distances. We pay little, or no, attention to the weather reports for Chch. They mean nothing here, yet we are just 55km inland - methinks the ocean on one side and a whacking great big mountain range on the other play a big part :)

In Chch the other day it was foggy and pouring down, here it was sunny as. Sometimes Woz leaves me and it's overcast and in Chch it's warm and sunny! In fact, on his way in to work he says he often experiences about 3 different weathers!

When we had a few flurries of snow the other week, Springfield just 15km up the road, had lots of snow and were out sledging!

[tiefchord]

The second it goes below 10 and winds here in Wellington, with the crap insulation, it gets cold, cold, cold. If one is wearing layered clothing it's not *that* bad, but it's not that good either. Now 11-15 or so, it's noticably nicer.

However, I do miss the occasional 35-40C Californian summer days.

[busylizzie]

Hi everyone
We're so glad to see someone else from Taupo. We are not long back from a brief visit where OH ,who's a plumber was sitting his exam in readiness to start his new job as soon as we get the word from you know who! Family - me (Liz), OH (Billy) & twin daughters aged 14 (Becca & Lucy).
We couldn't believe how beautiful Taupo is and how freindly everyone was. We are just hoping that immigration gets a move on as we have to be out our house by 10th August.
I'll stop wittering on now and will let you know when we get the word, can't wait................. bye for now

[DMcG]

Being a born and bred Scot, coupled with the fact that I used to do a lot of winter mountaineering; I find central Auckland substantially warmer and a lot sunnier than Edinburgh. :laugh At a guess, I'd say it's between 5 to 10 degrees warmer on average across the whole year. We'd usually get snow three of four times a year in central Edinburgh and it'd regularly drop below zero in January and February.

What I don't miss is the good old East coast harr (sea fog), which would roll in and cover the city for days at a time. In Auckland, I think we get just as much rain - but in a much shorter time period. We certainly don't get the cold, wet, grey days that would stretch on for a week or more with no sign of sunshine.

I spent Christmas day '05 sitting on an empty beach with a small group of sea kayaking friends not far outside of Auckland :D

We're heading to the South Island at the end of August to catch the end of winter/start of spring and maybe see some real snow for the first time in 3 years (which I do miss).

Dougie

[katandbob]

Nice pics Kat - is that street in the centre as it sure looks a lot more open than I had imagined?

!

No thats Gala St - Just off Dee Street (which is the main street and is like a duel carriage way), Gala is the street that the main Feldwick Gates into Queens Park is situated

Personally I was suprised on how wide the roads are and I can't wait to show you around

PS the first day at work went well - hardly did anything all day (enjoying it while it lasts) I am waiting for AUS to finish their part in creating me access to the system! but the Uniform is less to be desired LOL

Kat

[willsken]

and is like a duel carriage way

Kat

What's one of those, I've forgotten! :wah :wah

Am I the only one to notice the Kiwi habit on the overtaking lanes? It seems to happen all the time. You'll be impatiently sitting behind someone doing 80km and as you come to the sign for the overtaking lane 1k they speed up and are going over 100km and you either stay behind them, just to drop straight back to 80km again once you're back to one lane, or you have to do 140 km to pass them!

I might just start a thread to see if I'm alone and they're all picking on me!!:uhoh :uhoh

[incredible hulse]

Kapiti Cost and Welly - basically think there is probably more sun than UK but also more rain. Spring is defintely the worst time (winter isn't that bad)and it seemed to rain for about 6 weeks solidly last year, but when summer eventually arrived (mid/late Jan) we had several glorious weeks of mildly warm, dry weather. I think the air temp in NZ is pretty cold but the strong sun takes the chill off - when it isn't sunny it's very cold ! All in all I would rate it as similar to the UK (if not as hot in the summer, but milder in the winter)

[willsken]

It really is unbelievable how different the weather is from one part of NZ to another! :)

[IanW99]

The following link is good for comparing the New Zealand climate to that of the major cities in the UK (shows Temperature, Rainfall and Hours of sunshine)

New Zealand Climate (http://www.emigratenz.org/NewZealandClimate.html)

Ian

[Kim39]

It states quite obviously in my location tab that we are in Te Awamutu in the Waikato where the weather is quite mixed moreso through winter than summer. Summer months brings similar temps and pattern to other parts of NZ, but winter is really a mixed bag. Take this morning, frost, not ice had formed on the windscreen overnight, but within a few hours temps had raised nicely.
As the Waikato is situated in a bowl we get quite a lot of mist/fog throughout the year, and also seeing that between TA and Cambridge is a peet ladened area then mists are quite common even in summer.
One thing that i can take here is the grey days as they seem to be a lot lighter and not dark, unlike a grey day back home.

Kim

[katandbob]

[QUOTE=IanW99;142707]The following link is good for comparing the New Zealand climate to that of the major cities in the UK (shows Temperature, Rainfall and Hours of sunshine)

New Zealand Climate (http://www.emigratenz.org/NewZealandClimate.html)


funny how when they do these statistics then forget to do the top of the Nth iland and the bottom of the South = I think that the south island stops at Dunedin???????????:confused: and the north with Auckland:rolleyes:
Good Job we have this thread, as I can catagorically say our weather is nothing like Dunedin!

Kat

[Tia Maria]

Location: North Shore, Auckland (previously London, UK)

Like many of the other posters I find the weather reports useless just because it can be raining everywhere else in Auckland but if that one particular cloud doesn't pass over Devonport we can have glorious sunshine.

I never really noticed the weather in the UK, it didn't particularly bother me - but here I find there is more 'big' weather. You often get downpours that can soak you in 2 minutes, followed by big gusts of wind that can then dry you out :laugh The sun can burn you very quickly and is also usefull for heating your home.

So as someone who walks a lot I am more at the mercy of the weather and often find I can be wearing sunglasses in the morning and gloves and scarf in the afternoon.

The 2 summers I've spent here have been great as you really can make the most of the weather, going to the beach can be just a casual thing rather than a big day out and the kids can walk back in their togs and dry out in the sunshine.

The 2 winters I've spent here have been completely different. The first was very cold and very wet, we even had hailstones in August. It was miserably cold in our villa and even when the sun did came out it was too wet to play down the park or in the garden.

This winter, so far, has been very mild and relatively dry and its made such a difference to how we feel about NZ. Walking with the kids everywhere has been a pleasure rather than a drama. As we've only been here 20 months I have no idea which is the typical winter, but I'm hoping its this one! :yes

So the weather in London, for me, is 'normally' dull, drizzle not rainstorms, sunny not burning and personally didn't get in the way of my day to day life. In NZ the weather can really make or break a day for me. Obviously if I drove, wasn't always pushing a buggy with toddlers in tow or had a well insulated home, then its impact wouldn't be so great.

I suspect every local has their car stocked with umbrella, fleece, sunglasses, suncream and togs .....for just in case! :D

Cheers

Tia

PS Forgot to mention the fantastic rainbows in NZ!