Planning ahead here...2 weeks in New Zealand in September 2005! That's when my last baby moves off to college.

I persuaded hubby that we should go somewhere special. I couldn't talk him into a return trip to europe yet but he agreed to New Zealand!

Our first trip to New Zealand was 20 years ago. I know that spring in New Zealand is September, October, November. so our trip would be in late September, which would basically be early spring in New Zealand.

I'm wondering where exactly to go for the most pleasant experiences in the early spring? Living here in San Diego we're not snow people...

Milford Sound was breath-taking on our first trip. I wonder what it's like in September?

Mt. cook was awesome and peaceful but in early spring I wonder if it's warm enough up there?

thanks for anything you can share.

I think it will be too early for the south island. We visited north island mid-November 1999 to tour the gardens. We did a driving trip from Auckland to New Plymouth and then across the island to Hawk's Bay area and back to Auckland. Then we drove farther north to Bay of Islands. The weather was pleasant but mild. The temperatures were in the mid-50's to mid-60's. The daffodils had just finished blooming and the rhododendrons were in full bloom.

As we went farther north, it got warmer. The Bay of Islands was very nice in late November. If you are going in September, I would consider this but expect the weather to be similar to March in San Luis Obispo. It was also nicer on the east side of the island such as Hawk's Bay which is similar to Napa area.

It will be cold and wet in the south. I know that the Routeburn trek which is out of Queenstown still has snow on it until early December. If you do want to go to the South Island, consider going to Marborough on the northern part of the island. That area would be very similar to Oregon in March (rainy and 40-50 degree).

I would start to research Russell (Bay of Island) on the far north, Hawke's Bay/Napier, and Coromandel. These are all on the North Island (remember everything is reversed and it is warmer in the north than in the south)

Thanks for the reply, Marta. I have done a little more research and we are mainly interested in the south island. If we went in the first week of October I wonder if the weather would be okay in the south island? I am very interested in spending a few days on Steward Island in the south...we would also like to see Milford Sound.

In the south island we would like to see Nelson and Marlborough, which apparently has the best weather on the island. Also would like to see Christchurch, West coast and glaciers, Queenstown and nearby, and Dunedin, Southland and Stewart Island. I cannot find separate weather listings for each of these places.

I really think it will be winter-like on the South Island. I looked up a bit about skiing on the South Island and found this page on Winter in Queenstown. Notice that they mention that the ski season can run past the last weekend in October but usually will close some time the last half of October. Also if you google about treking the Milford Track, the earliest I could find trips was the end of October.

I know you have your heart set on the South Island but I really do not think it is a good time to go.

For weather for Stewart Island, you could try Invercargill. It may be a bit difficult to find weather history for the west coast. You could try Haast and Greymouth.

We went to the South Island the last part of September in 1997 and it was wonderful. It was a Springtime cool (cool nights, warm days) and that was fine. The weather did range from very light snow flurries near Milford sound to beautiful days. We certainly did 'outdoor' things - canoeing, kayaking, and even took a jetboat ride. Queenstown is a neat little town, we took the steam boat trip to the far shore and went horseback riding. We also did a flight seeing trip of Mt. Cook - awesome. We walked up to the glacier on the western side of the island. All in all we had very decent weather - it rained a couple of times and we ran into a few snow flurries (nothing sticking though)near Milford Sound but other than that it was sunny and pleasant. We drove over the contiental divide (or whatever they call it there) twice in our travels with no problems. Outside Queenstown we took a gravel road to the next town (I look for the smallest roads on maps to drive) and it was several hours but we really got into the back country. The South Island is so varied (from tropical plants on the Western side to the permanently snow-capped Mt. Cook) in geography that saying it will be cold or rainy or hot is only a general observation. And, of course like everywhere, the weather can be totally from year to year, month to month so your experience may be very different than someone who has gone in the same time period before. About the only disappoint weather wise was when we wanted to go whale watching, the sea was too rough for the boats to go out. We spent 2 days/1 night in Wellington and that was cool but nice too. I seem to be blubbering on here but I did want to tell this story. We took the ferry from South Island to Wellington and arrived around 9pm. We took a van taxi to our hotel but the driver had to drop off two other couples first. When they were left at their hotels he asked if we wanted to see Wellington by night - we said OK wondering how much this tour would cost. He drove us around for an hour, up on the highest hill to overlook the city lights, and he drove around pointing out various landmarks. When he dropped us at the hotel I asked how much the tour was and he said "I love Wellington and like to show it off." He would not even accept a tip.

The discussion of New Zealand in springtime is really helping me weight the pros and cons. If I do decide to go ahead and go in the spring, at least I will have a realistic idea of what to expect!

Scruffy, thanks for sharing your springtime experience in New Zealand. Really interesting and it helps. I would like to talk to you some more but gotta go right now.

{{Commercial Content Deleted}}

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Amy,

Our plans were really loose when we flew into Wellington. No hotel, no car, no nothing. (OK, I'm not an English major.) We found when the ferry to the South Island was leaving and took a taxi from the airport. Then we called from onboard (they had a reservation system right there) and made a car rental and hotel reservation so when we arrived in Picton (beautiful little town) the car rental (agent stayed late for us) was ready and we drove to the hotel. After that we bummed around for 2 weeks, never making advance reservations and everything worked out beautifully.

It's been a couple of months since this discussion finished, but Melissa Joy if you have any more queries, I'd be happy to help. We travel to the South Island nearly every year and generally in the August September period.

AnG, thank you for your kind offer of help. I'm still not sure where we will be going in September 2005! We still want to go someplace special, especially as this is just after our youngest daughter leaves the nest to attend college.

My husband is now concerned about whether we should undertake a major international trip for 2 weeks in September, considering that we will also be taking a 2-week trip to Costa Rica just 3 months before that (family vacation will be June 2005 to costa rica!)

So now September 2005 is more uncertain than ever...on the discussion board are Australia, New Zealand, Washington D.C., and Yosemite! Out of all of these choices New Zealand is actually still my 1st choice. If we can't agree on New Zealand for September 2005 I'm pretty sure I can talk my husband into it for sometime in the next several years.

Hi Melissa Joy, I was interested in your original enquiry as it received quite a lot of negative comment about the weather in September. We have been to the South Island, in particular Queenstown, Wanaka, West Coast, etc every September for the past 4 years, I just realise. We prefer that time as the weather is normally quite settled, cool, sunny, and lots of snow around. You obviously have a lot of choices to decide on, but if you do decide on NZ then please let me know, as I'm sure we can make plenty of suggestions. I run a website of our activities to keep friends and 2 absent sons (London & Colorado) in touch, and there are photos of each of our South Island trips on there, si if you still have an interest in visiting NZ I'll send you the web address. Regards Graham

Hi Ang,

I'm new in here! I am planning to visit South Island (Fiordland) in mid September (for about 6 weeks). I am actually looking forward to a scenic vacation and plan to hire a campervan (first time). I only want to visit the South Island this time...and the big question in my mind is about the weather!

Thanks in advance. regards

Hi selV, That is a difficult question to answer as we get great weather and bad weather and either can come at any time. Traditionally our best and hot weather is late January to late March, but we can also get storms during those months. The best time for the South Island in our opinion is August/September and that is backed up by a boat cruise operator down south (Doubtful and Dusky Sounds - about as far south and west as one can go)as he only runs cruises in that area from July to September as the weather is more settled, there is less rain and wind, and the sandflies (minute insects that do have a pesty bite) are only an issue in summer. There are very few people around at that time as well. I have lived in the South Island and since then we have travelled down from the North Island during September every year for at least the last 4 or 5 years on holiday. However it can be cold at that time of the year, but scenery is beautiful with all the mountains still covered in snow. If you leave it much later we tend to get a lot of wind in November and December (we are in the Roaring 40's after all!).
I hope this helps. If you want to see our website with photos taken down south over the past few years then email me at grahamc@paradise.net.nzand I'll give you a link to it. When you get a better idea of what you want to see and do, we can make some suggestions if you wish. Up to you, but only too happy to help.
Graham

Very interesting thread as my husband and I have just booked for a trip to the South Island beginning in mid October for 10 days. Renting a car and just going where the spirit takes us. Hoping that we won't have problems finding accommodation because we seem to be genetically programmed not to book in advance! So far we've been really lucky in most parts of the world as we tend to travel off season and love it.

any suggestions about whether to go clockwise or anti clockwise to the west coast and the glaciers after leaving Christchurch?

Hi Valda,
You should be fine just going where the spirit takes you. We frequently travel down south out of the summer period on the same basis. The only possible difficulty is Labour Day holiday on Monday, 24 October, which makes a long weekend when accommodation may be harder to find at the major tourist spots (such as Queenstown). As for which way to travel, it really doesn't make any difference. We have no preference.
Have a great trip
Graham

Weather tolerance is such a personal thing. I've been to NZ one time in January for 2 weeks which was supposed to be the warmest time of year. I was cold the entire trip except when I was in the far north in the Bay of Islands area. I am from Florida so my sense of "warm" is probably different from most people, but be aware that NZ in their Spring will probably be pretty cold.

I had a business trip in New Zealand, just returned and made a page on our travel site:

You may view what things to do and what places to visit in New Zealand! Fun activities, attractions, tours...

things to do in New Zealand