Hi
Sorry for the very general nature of this post but I would really appreciate your opinions on this.....
We would love to come to NZ (north and south islands) but I'm worried it may be too cold for us. (Due to having school-age kids and the nature of my job we can only have long holidays in July & August.) The trouble is that we have lived in the Middle East for 8 years and our tough British exteriors have been worn down to the point where we now feel cold if it drops below 20! Obviously if we do decide to come to NZ we will invest in some appropriate gear, but what do you think.... will we regret spending a small fortune coming to NZ just to freeze our bits off and have whining children cos they're fed up of being so cold? (By the way, the kids are aged 9 and 11.)
Thanks for all your thoughts.
Yes - I think it would be too cold to enjoy it properly. The only upsides are (a) seeing seriously snow-covered mountains, and (b) skiing. All the rest is downside I expect. Have you considered a North Australian holiday instead (maybe with a SE Asian side-trip) at that time? Your kids will love you.
I agree with ianw. It really would be too cold here. The mountains would be pretty, but cold, cold, cold. And, being winter the days are short.
North Queensland is where I like to escape at this time of year, or otherwise somewhere like Samoa or Fiji.
I entirely agree with the posting above. The day time temperature in the north island would range from 10 to 17 degrees celcius and the south island 5 to 15 degrees celcius. Also wind and rain could wreck your holiday. NZ is a great place to visit in the summer but I would only visit it in the winter if you were into skiing. If you really did want to come during this time you could maybe have a week or so in the south island (Queenstown/Wanaka are spectacular) but cold! Then go over to the Gold Coast in Australia and do the theme parks (Sea World/Dreamworld/Movieworld) and then a week in Fiji wouldn't go amiss! If you really wanted to spend any length of time in NZ, then summer is definitely the way to go.
Many thanks for your replies - I pretty much thought I would get answers like these - Oz it is then! (NZ will have to wait til the kids leave school!)
We took our kids touring around NZ in the middle of winter and they loved it as it was a total contrast to the tropical life they had been living.. They were aged 7 and 4 at the time, and even now as teenagers they talk about how much fun they had in the snow. Yes, it was cold, but we all had a great time. It depends greatly on the personalities of your kids, but don't be too quick to discount the idea. And I relate to what you are saying about winter temperatures - it's 23 degrees here on Rarotonga and I'm currently rugged up in jeans and a jumper!
trusted partner
