New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, near by Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean and southeast of Australia. Total land area is 268,021 sq km – about the size of Colorado. There is over 15,000km of coast line and Aoraki-Mount Cook at 3,754 metres is the highest mountain. English is the official language along with Maori. New Zealand’s currency is the New Zealand dollar and the capital city is Wellington, located in the North Island. The total population is just over 4 million.

Weather
The overall climate of New Zealand is influenced by two main geographic features: the mountains and the ocean.

New Zealand is located in the Southern Hemisphere, so seasons are opposite the Northern Hemisphere. The warmest months are December, January, February; the coldest are June, July and August.

Temperatures are generally warmer in the north than in the south, however, the climate differences prove to be minuscule (most of the time).

In the summer months (south to north), the average high temps are in the low 70’s F (21º C), while in the winter months the average highs are near 40º F (4º C), and again, running slightly higher in the north.

The fall (autumn) months, March to May, are a bit cooler than summer, but for most of the time, the weather is refreshing, with clear, crisp air.

Moderately high rainfall is common (25 to 59 inches per year), but so are many hours of sunshine throughout the country. In fact, many places in New Zealand receive over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually – and this past summer 08/09, Dunedin recorded its highest number of sunshine hours since records began in 1947 and some Central Otago towns experienced their highest average maximum temperatures on record. Dunedin’s summer mean temperature was 15.4ºC.

To see what the weather is like right now click here