[Carey]

Maybe a silly question, but how warm is the sea for swimming? For how long , and for which months, roughly, is the sea swimmable? Do you need wetsuits ? Lots of posts mention the amazing beaches but not much about going in the water.
Are there good areas for snorkelling? If so, where?
What other beach activites have people enjoyed ? We remember vast, open, beautiful, empty beaches from our year in NZ but it was 17 yrs ago, have they become busier or more used?
Having been spoilt for beautiful beaches and swimming in warm crystal clear waters, here in Sicily, I'm hoping the same could be said of places in NZ?

As a tag on, does anyone reckon there are beaches in Uk comparable to those in NZ? I hope the answer is no, as I need more positive reasons to persuade my OH that we should seriously consider the big move!

Thanks,
Carey

[jess]

Hi Carey. I have been seeing people out swimming in the sea lately on the Kapiti Coast (a little north of Welly) in temps around 19 degrees out, which is way too cold for me. That water feels freezing! So I guess it depends on what you're comfortable with. I've seen a few guys in speedos and some kids in bathing suits and t-shirts, but some people have wet suits... you can get burned so quickly that unless you slather on the water-repellant sunscreen you might want to have a shirt on over a swimsuit.

Beautiful deserted beaches. I see them all over the place. There are a few more people now that it's summer, but still so many beaches that are unspoiled everywhere.

There's a great page on NZ diving/snorkelling with locations described here (http://new-zealand-travel-guide.com/diving.htm).

[diforsyth]

Average water temps are about 18-20 degrees for most of the year. South island winter temps will drop to 10 and lower the further south you go. Northland waters will get a few degrees hotter in summer. UK waters rarely get hotter than 18 in summer so it's pretty comfortable here.

As for beach/ocean activities - you name it, they do it.

David.

[K&CS]

Wow, are you living in Sicily? That must be pretty hard to drag yourselves away from... The beaches I've seen here are certainly pretty unlike any I have ever seen in the UK!! I'm in a seaside village and all activities seem to revolve around the beach. Even the brownies went on a sailing trip last week.

Invest in a good wetsuit. Then you can go in the water at any time of year!

[thepiesleys]

I live in Auckland and have swum at eastern beach, the water was murky mind but had a laugh with the kids and did about 400ms on my own in just board shorts. The water felt lovely but it was a cooler day.

We alo swam at waitekre (I think thats the spelling) down past whitford and beachlands and the water was clearer but felt really cold, it was a hot day. Had a good day mind jetty jumping.

Have also been to a cove at Beachlands were you walked for miles and it only came up to your knees. That was fine.

Plan on seeing a few more beaches soon and Orewa is top of the list.

Dan

[bob_the_engineer]

Honestly I think the ocean is bloomin freezing LOL.

I hate to be cold, the ocean is big and its cold, wifey says its warm enough, but she would jump in the North Sea in November (I’m not exaggerating, I’ve seen her do it!)

I do swim in the ocean frequently and I usually wear a wet suit, (around $90 or £35 ish) you can get tiny ones for children too.

I tend to stay in the water for between 1 to 3 hours either playing in the waves or snorkelling. Just to put this into perspective the only other person that I’ve heard complain about being cold in summer was a friend from India.

Jump in the ocean, if you feel cold, throw on a wet suit and jump in the ocean, PLEASE then at least I wont be the only one on the beach wearing one!

Bob

P.S. can’t think of a beach in the UK like any in NZ….. I’d never go in the sea in the UK it’s far far far too cold in the UK for me, and that includes Devon and Cornwall.

[The Hodges]

When the OH & I visited NZ in October 2003, we swam with the dolphins off Kaikoura. I wouldn't have done it without a wetsuit though as it was blooming cold. It wasn't too rough though.

[dean1968]

THey have had Orcas / killer whales swimimg in the bay / in Auckland. West Coast and further south you can experience the feel swim with the dolphins and penguins and seals are around most coasts of NZ. You might be able to swim 2-3 weeks of the year if you are lucky. Why I mention the abundent sealife including whale watch is the Antactartic streams brings all the krill up around the coast of NZ. The marine life is suited for the cold and now the great white shark (JAWS) off NZ waters has marine protection too. Bring a wet suit and swim like a seal :-))

[Carey]

Wow, are you living in Sicily? That must be pretty hard to drag yourselves away from... The beaches I've seen here are certainly pretty unlike any I have ever seen in the UK!! I'm in a seaside village and all activities seem to revolve around the beach. Even the brownies went on a sailing trip last week.

Invest in a good wetsuit. Then you can go in the water at any time of year!

Yes we're on an 8 month house swap in Sicily to have an adventure as a family and we're certainly having some very different experiences! We're returning to Uk in April, but while here have time to consider where we want to live in the future. Not missing anything about our rural home in Suffolk or anything in the UK at all, we are feeling the pull towards NZ. My OH wonders whether we should try moving to somewhere near the coast in Uk first, mainly because family are missing us, (not the other way round interestingly enough!),before committing to emigrating so far away. Same decision for everyone I know........
So where are you, having seen other posts from you, your life sounds pretty good! How did you decide on your location?
We have 3 kids, 2 girls aged 11 and 8 ( and a keen Brownie once back in Ukl) and a son aged 3.
Wetsuits yes, just want to know if we'd have a more pleasant experience than last August, on the beach in W. Wales, when in full wetsuits it was still far too cold and miserable!

[KerryS]

I go to the beach all year round - I'm a complete surf addict. The water is definitely getting much warmer now, but doesn't really warm up enough for me to lose my wetsuit until the end of Jan/beginning of Feb.
Good snorkelling spots include Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel, and around Goat Island near Warkworth. If you dive then the Tutakakas/Poor Knights are amazing, and it's worth doing a dive to Rainbow Warrior too.
Water sports are big here - most of my friends were shocked that I'd never waterskiied before, as this is something they have all grown up doing. I have tried, fallen over and I prefer wakeboarding - soemthing else I'd never tried!
I've lived in Cornwall, and I prefer the NZ beaches - there's something about the ruggedness of the west coast beaches that I really love.

[Tia Maria]

Bob wrote:

Just to put this into perspective the only other person that I’ve heard complain about being cold in summer was a friend from India.

You can add me to your list, I seem to be constantly cold in NZ (even had the heater on this morning), whether it be draughty villas, strong winds or icy rain. I don't drive so I'm probably at the mercy of the weather more than most people, but even so I seem to cold here more often than in the UK!

So no I don't swim in the ocean and more often than not I'm wearing a cardi on the beach (unlike in OZ). But my boys do swim and they're always dressed in shorts and sandals and constantly complain about being too hot. So its a very individual thing.

I think what NZ beaches have over UK beaches is that there are just so many, so you don't have to go far to get one to yourself. Also people tend to go there to play - boats/kayaks/swim/BBQ, rather than just sit or sunbathe. I find we pop down to the beach in the same way we pop to the park.

Cheers

Tia

[Debbie P.]

As a tag on, does anyone reckon there are beaches in Uk comparable to those in NZ? I hope the answer is no, as I need more positive reasons to persuade my OH that we should seriously consider the big move!

Thanks,
Carey

I'm slightly curious about this comment. There are many things I don't like about the UK, but beaches aren't one of them! There are some gorgeous beaches around the UK - in my view anyway!! In fact, I'm generally disappointed by beaches in Mediterranean countries - usually too stony for me and often too crowded. Could you clarify what you would consider to be a nice beach? No criticism implied - just curious.

[Carey]

Of all the beaches I've been to in Uk, the water has been too cold to do much more than dip in very quickly and hopeless for young kids who freeze after a minute; brown and murky _ I hate not being able to see my feet or what's around them! This comes, I have to say, after being lucky enough to visit lots of beaches here in Sicily- yes there are stony ones as well as sandy ones but at all of them the swimming is superb. Also in the Uk the weather is so variable; when we had a beach holiday on the Norfolk coast in Aug., it rained every day!

I consider that for families 'nice' beaches ideally offer 2 things; ease of swimming ie. water temperature, waves or rather lack of big ones, clear water and secondly ease of playing on the actual beach- here our 3 yr old loves the stony beaches for throwing stones in the water ! Again we've had experience of too many crowded beaches at various places in uk, but I'd love to hear of ones you recommend- maybe we've been going to the wrong ones!

As no doubt you saw from my previous thread , we're thinking about whether to move nearer the coast within the UK , or seriously consider emigrating . We were in NZ before we had 3 kids so now are trying to do as much research as pos. to give us all a different life.

Carey

[Debbie P.]

Ah, I see what you mean about the water temperatures in the UK - can't offer any solutions to that, except maybe trying the Scilly Isles! Also a problem with clear water - you definitely need more stony Mediterranean beaches for those. Even the stony ones around here aren't that clear due to seaweed. And for really quiet beaches in the UK, you'd have to try somewhere like Western Isles of Scotland, unless anyone here knows any better?

My idea of a nice beach is one with lovely soft sand to sink into and make sandcastles with, and there's loads of those around here - Bournemouth itself is 7 miles long, including Sandbanks (name speaks for itself). Then, across Poole Harbour is the long Studland beach which tends to be quieter. Because of the angle, it gets sunshine late into the day in the summer, so tends to be quite warm, and the water is calm and fairly shallow, so is about as warm as it ever gets in the UK.

I was actually quite disappointed by the beaches in New Zealand due to the lack of pure white soft sand that we get here, but one that really stood out was Rabbit Island near Nelson. We were the only people in sight and it was a lovely warm sunny day in the middle of winter. However, I gather it's not particularly safe for swimming. I don't think you'd find anything much like Sicily.

I bet it's really hard to leave Sicily after your adventure!

[jess]

Also in the Uk the weather is so variable; when we had a beach holiday on the Norfolk coast in Aug., it rained every day!

Hi Carey - I love the beaches in NZ, but I have to say the weather is pretty variable here, and there's a good bit of rain in Kapiti at least. When the wind comes from the antarctic south all the sudden it can turn quite cold. It's 14 with a sharp wind today (north of Wellington on the Kapiti Coast). I had the woodstove cranking last night (low of 8 degrees) in the 'summer'. It's supposed to be back to a sunny 20 by Tuesday. But I do like the fact that you can start out a day with a downpour and by early afternoon it can turn gorgeous and warm. How does the saying go... if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes...

[gil]

There are currently quite a few people swimming in the sea at Eastern Beach; I saw one in a wetsuit this morning (about 8.00) and now there's abut a dozen, all in swimsuits. (Sorry, togs!)

Gil

[Ana&Steve]

However, I gather it's not particularly safe for swimming.
Hi, I was wondering what dangers there might be. My first thoughts were sharks or undertow...just curious!
Ana

[Velma]

We have just come back from two weeks in the north island and went swimming at cathedral cove in the Coromandel, the water was warm and very pleasant, with a beautiful beach and there was hardly anyone there.
However went for a paddle in Russell in the bay of islands and the water was very cold.
Have swum with dolphins in Akaroa near Christchurch a couple of years ago in February and in a wet suit and the water was so cold I could hardly breath!
So I think it's very variable, but anywhere very sheltered and shallow in the north island would seem to be warm enough to swim.

[Debbie P.]

Hi, I was wondering what dangers there might be. My first thoughts were sharks or undertow...just curious!
Ana

I think it's the undertow, but I may have that totally wrong. I know when we stayed with our friends in Mapua, they commented on one of the beaches being safe for swimming but the other not - it was either Rabbit Island or the main beach at Nelson. I'm sure a local will correct me.

[Bean]

I was actually quite disappointed by the beaches in New Zealand due to the lack of pure white soft sand that we get here

Just a few pickies of the beaches that I have as my screensaver at work......helps me to remember I will be escaping soon.

All are from South Island, although we visited a few around North Island which were just as sandy and beautiful.

I grew up on the south devon coast and believe you me, my home county beaches are nothing on the NZ ones. I will admit that the beaches of Harris and the Uists are amazing (Western Isles), however they have lots of litter on them, mostly blue rope and plastic bottles.

I really didn't see any marine litter in NZ when we were there. A kiwi told us it was because people wern't allowed to dump rubbish from boats, not sure if its that or just the scarcity of boats in the waters around NZ compared to europe.

The beaches are a big plus for us with NZ, plus the lack of stinging/ biting/ critters that stopped us swimming of Austrailia...

Bean

[Debbie P.]

Hi Bean,

Mmmm, lovely photos. :nice1

I agree with you that NZ beaches are sandy, just not AS sandy (if that makes sense). What I mean is, at our local beach when I walk barefoot, my feet sink into soft fine sand. But many of the sandy beaches in NZ when we visited (and being beach types we visited as many as we could), had a 'muddier' or grainier type of sand - not in terms of colour but in terms of texture.

I know that's very nit-picky, and it won't stop me from moving there when I can :D

You're right about the rubbish (or lack of) too.

[andrewandjane]

dont move to cornwall its got really expensive 200% house price rises, (why we are leaving) cant even afford a flat in the worst part of the county. beaches are really good though if you can see past the dog poo thats endemic everywhere untill summer dog bans even then once lifeguards go home its covered again.