LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK INFORMATION
When To Go
The warmer months between November and April are the catalyst for outdoor exploration and this is the official high season, with the slightly cooler and less tourist-trafficked months of October/November and April/May the best times to visit. The period around summer (December to February) is also when Kiwis lift their spirits with numerous food and wine festivals, concerts and sports events. If you're a fan of pointing your feet downhill, visit when snow is thick on the ground over winter (June to August), the high season in skiing areas.
Hat lovers beware: NZ is in the Roaring Forties and so has a prevailing wind blowing over it from west to east year-round, ranging from gentle breezes to the odd raging gale. On both main islands it gets wetter in the west than in the east because the mountains block the moisture-laden winds blowing in from the Tasman Sea. It's usually a few degrees cooler on the South Island than the North Island. When concocting your travel plans, remember that NZ has a maritime climate, meaning the weather can change very quickly - anyone tramping at high altitudes must be fully prepared for this climatic unpredictability.
If you're serious about having a holiday - as opposed to engaging in modern-day gladiatorial contests with flotillas of campervans, queues of high-strung parents and inexhaustible platoons of children for the right to stay and eat in your accommodation and restaurant of choice - then try not to visit key sites during local school holidays (particularly mid-December to mid-January) and public holidays.
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