[Laura Lu]

1. Which area of NZ is the hottest or has the best climate? Any specific towns? I love the sunshine and heat, and warm water for swimming.

2. Any of those areas with good schools or a shortage of teachers? I'll be getting my teaching license soon and looking forward to moving to NZ.

[victoria24]

Hi laura and welcome to the forum!

Ive not been (leaving in 5 sleeps + 1 mini sleep) for our recce trip so im sure NZers will be up and about soon to add more but i believe the north of the north island to be warmer and more humid and the further south you go to be drier with more distinct seasons. the northlands are subtropical. take your pick!

[Carey]

Primary or secondary teaching?

[Laura Lu]

Primary.

[marybelle]

We are going to the Far North which is "winterless" so we have been told.

Everywhere should get its fair share of rain though, you can't have hot weather and green fields without it :yes

[BigRod]

We are going to the Far North which is "winterless" so we have been told.
Eeeek! Don't believe everything you are 'told' - NZ has a maritime, not continental, climate that is dominated by the sea. So for the same latitude as a continental country NZ has less temperature extremes, but it still gets wet and cold in winter and not as hot in summer.

Either way; if you are expecting the absense of winter, or blazing hot balmy days all year then you are in for a shock.

Rod

[NikT]

Napier/Hastings has good weather all year round.

It's more of a Mediterranean climate here.

Only wore a jacket twice last winter, and that was cos it was raining!:exit

Nick.:cheers

[BkyMonster]

Not sure that any of the water is really warm (like eastern US, Mediterranean waters). I think it's wetsuit recommended year round (similar to the west coast US in temperature) for long term exposure.

[marybelle]

Eeeek! Don't believe everything you are 'told' - NZ has a maritime, not continental, climate that is dominated by the sea. So for the same latitude as a continental country NZ has less temperature extremes, but it still gets wet and cold in winter and not as hot in summer.

Either way; if you are expecting the absense of winter, or blazing hot balmy days all year then you are in for a shock.

Rod

We are moving there for the job, not the weather ;) We have got swimmers and wellies, so either way we will be happy.

[Laura Lu]

Thanks for the responses!

Now, when you say the water is not really warm, how cool do you mean? I am used to swimming in water about 20-25C in a swimsuit, no wetsuit. Should I expect similar temperatures?

[JandM]

Here are a couple of links which refer to the sea-water temperatures around NZ. (You need to scroll down in both cases.)
http://www.surfing-waves.com/travel/new_zealand.htm
http://www.seafriends.org.nz/oceano/special.htm

[Sam B]

Hawkes Bay area or Nelson seem to get the best year round weather in terms of more sun and less rain. Some parts of central Otago seem to get the hottest summer temperatures (and the coldest winter ones). It rains a lot in Northland from what I can see from my obsessive watching of the weather on TV and it is not the hottest place in summer - Hawkes Bay and Alexandra usually get the hottest temperatures, but it is often the mildest in Winter. It's not winter-less though - we went there for a winter break and it was cold and wet.

[sweetpea]

1. Which area of NZ is the hottest or has the best climate? Any specific towns? I love the sunshine and heat, and warm water for swimming.

Have you looked at Australia? Sunshine, heat and warm water for swimming are not what NZ is usually known for -- NZ is not called the Land of the Long White Cloud for nothing. Australia, on the other hand...

[dilanium]

Australia, on the other hand... has loads of poisonous things that are creepy. ;)

[Sam B]

I don't know where the OP is coming from, but if you arrive here from the UK and live in one of the better climates, you will be a very happy person weather-wise.

[NikT]

Australia, on the other hand...

...is full of Aussies.:exit

Nick.:cheers

[NikT]

has loads of poisonous things that are creepy. ;)

And thats just the locals!:D :laugh

Nick.:cheers

[TonnyTessa]

I went swimming in the ocean around Kaikoura (South Island) and it was absolutely freezing!

Okay it was July, airtemp and water temp about 10C. I was wrapped up in 7 mil neoprene, but it was worth it, the view of the snow capped mountains from the ocean was utterly amazing, and the dolphins were even better.

[mgf]

Tauranga has lots of sunshine. You do get a good deal of rain during the winter months of July and August but overall temps not to bad.

[DizzyF]

We went to Orewa on the North Shore just this weekend and the water was warm to swim in...felt like the Med! Think it is because the water is quite shallow for a while so has opportunity to warm from the sun...compared with somewhere like Kaikoura where it gets deep very quickly. Temperature has been about 28-30 degrees around Auckland all weekend and we have not had much rain all summer. If you are coming from the UK you will notice a huge change here. Lots of microclimates across NZ so be careful where you pick.

Locals will say Napier/Hawkes Bay in North Island and Nelson in the South Island have best all year climates. Nelson is popular retirement place because of climate.

[Laura Lu]

We are coming from central Canada. In January, we had many days of -40C, and one of -50C! So this year we decided that once I'm finished my schooling, we are moving to NZ. Mind you, our summers can get hot, usually around 25C, but some weeks closer to 33C and then with 80%+ humidity, often feels like closer to 40C.

We are looking for mild winters, warm summer days, not too much wind, and rain. I've read that NZ doesn't have much thunder. Is that so? We love rainstorms with thunder and lightening.

[dilanium]

I haven't witnessed any thunder since getting here in July, which is sad for me because I was used to it on a weekly basis (being from Cleveland, OH).

The winters where I am don't get that cold, but they feel much colder than you'd expect because there's not as much insulation in the houses so you don't warm up very quickly. I know in part this is because I am in a student flat (ie one that only a student could afford and put up with) but I've heard this complaint across the board.

What are you in school for? Here it's really a case of most jobs being in only a few places so really it comes down to where you can get a job is where you live (usually) rather than you find a job where you want to live. :)

[Laura Lu]

I'm working on my B.Ed. for early/middle years teaching, with a Geography major and a Kinesiology minor.

[dilanium]

Ahh well, schools are everywhere. :) Hopefully where you end up your OH can get a job too.

In my travels I have really liked the Coromandel, Hawkes Bay, and Taupo (so far, I haven't seen the whole country). Taupo will have more of a winter, and the Coromadel will have more varying weather. Hawkes Bay reminds me of Napa Valley a lot in its weather.

Where I live in Palmerston North it rains and is cloudy a LOT! We also saw a day of bad hail last winter (the day after we arrived) but that was supposedly really odd.

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Honestly, the hottest I ever was in New Zealand (and I've been to pretty much every part of the country) was, surprisingly, Queenstown and Wanaka. It was just blazingly hot there in the summer, even by my standards, and I'm from New York City. :laugh I think it was because it was a remarkably dry heat, which you don't really get anywhere else in the country, I don't think (feel free to correct me?). So, combined with their very "wintery" winters, I think I would feel most at home, climate-wise, in that part of the country. However, good luck trying to afford a house there, lol...

If you're looking for more temperate areas, Nelson and Blenheim are probably your best bet - I don't think they get too stormy, and they're reknowned for having lots of sunshine. (Picton is also a really cute little town too.)

I only saw one or two huge thunderstorms while I was there - although they were both whoppers - and they were both in Auckland. Maybe you just don't get the right kind of conditions further south than that?

[Jo Jo]

I am used to swimming in water about 20-25C in a swimsuit, no wetsuit. Should I expect similar temperatures?

In the north of the North Island in summer, yes, but not around the South Island in summer. There's quite a good map here (http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/SeaLife/CoastalFish/1/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/en) as well.

[JandM]

What a great map!

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Wow, am I reading that right in that the water temp gets up to 22C in summer up in Northland? I wore a ginormous wetsuit when I went diving in Matauri Bay and I was still chilly. Then again, I am a wimp. :laugh

[aberdian]

Wanaka and Central Otago in general is very hot in summer - by all accounts this has been a poor summer with little sun (and a heck of a lot of wind!) and the vineyard temperatures on harvest.com have been constantly in the 30's. Bear in mind these are "in the sun" temps and not the usual metservice shade ones and you'll get an idea of how hot it is. Add in the clear skies and the hole in the ozone layer and the sun can be fierce.

And there's skiing in winter :)

[us3innz]

Blenheim has great weather, lots of big blue skies in summer and winter and usually a dry heat in summer too.

Last winter was apparently the worst for years for being cold and the amount of rain (but having just arrived form UK we didn't think it was that bad;)).
The usual winter is cool nights but nice SUNNY days.
Don't seem to get many storms, they go around us.

As for swimming there is Whites bay and river swimming...but have to admit its a bit chilly! But people must be harder here as there are always loads of people in the water!

After saying all the above it is rudely CHUCKING it down as i write this:laugh
But OH says we neeed it.

[wolfysmith]

The Bay Of Plenty has a good climate, winters are cold in the morning and at night but summer is awesome and the beaches at Mount Manganui and Papamoa are fantastic.

[Kerry and David]

We have been in the Sea alot through the summer without wetsuits. It has been lovely and warm and I am the type of person who will only go in the sea when it is warm and clear!

Weather varies so much in the Auckland area alone. Last week we had a lovely dry warm day up in Red Beach, my son works in Albany and they had rain and in New Lynn where my husband was working it rained for 2 hours solid!