New Zealand Travel Blog

June marks the beginning of winter in New Zealand, and with it comes a whole host of great activities, events, and special celebrations to look forward to. Overall, temperatures are cold but not freezing, and in terms of rainfall June marks a kind of ‘calm before the storm’ of the wettest months about to come.

December is the first official month of summer in New Zealand, so it’s a great time to plan a road trip around the North Island, or to lock in a holiday itinerary.

Let's hijack the wonderful Forest Gump quote, 'New Zealand's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get'. Never a truer word has been spoken about these shaky isles, as every twist and turn of a country road dishes up something fresh, particularly on the Mainland - (the South Island for the uninitiated).

November is the final month of spring in New Zealand, and by the end of the month, it feels like summer has arrived to practically all parts of the North Island. Temperatures are warm, sunshine hours are long, and rainfall is relatively low for most parts of the island.

October welcomes spring temperatures pretty much everywhere across the North Island, with relatively little rainfall and longer daylight and sunshine hours to boot. It’s still not too hot, though, so it’s a great time for getting out and about in the great outdoors for hiking, cycling, and other activities. 

January is a beautiful time of year to visit the North Island of New Zealand. With the peak summer holiday season in full flow, you can expect lots of high temperatures, long days, plenty of sunshine, and less rainfall than at other times of year.

In the words of 'old mate', the usually reticent high country scribe Claver Esmond, 'Kurow is where the (Waitaki) river strangles enough, as if plying open a portal, with access to another chapter, as the Waitaki story refreshes'. Esmond claims to have traveled this area extensively as a kid and says the simple memories still endure.

When we talk of contrasts, the Waitaki river valley has them in bucket loads. You can attack this routeway, from either end..the Pacific Coast just north of Oamaru, or from Omarama on the inland Queenstown to Christchurch highway.

What is there to do in Oamaru? In short, plenty. The big 'O', is exactly that, a kaleidoscope of colour, character and surprises!

The Mackenzie Country township of Twizel (pronounced Twyzyl) virtually sprang up overnight. The name comes from the word Twizla, meaning fork in the river and was built in 1968 to house construction teams working on the Upper Waitaki hydro electric scheme.