Hi! We're getting married in July this year and considering New Zealand as a honeymoon destination. As we wouldn't want to travel there in the middle of the winter we're thinking of taking a 2/3 week trip in September, unfortunately we're unable to travel later in the year during the NZ summer due to university commitments. We're aware that September is early spring in NZ and coming from the UK we're used to "unpredictable" weather but given how far we have to travel to get there we don't want to spend the whole time freezing/soaking wet.
Am curious to hear other travellers experiencing of travelling during September- Would the north or south island be best weather-wise at that time of year? from what I've read the south has the most spectacular scenery but the north might be warmer? Given the time available we would probably focus on exploring just one of the islands, our main interest is exploring the outdoors and doing a bit of walking/photography/sightseeing but we wouldn't be doing any major hiking/trails.
Any time of year is a good time to visit the South Island. 2-3 weeks is a good length of time to explore the island. There are lots of micro-climates, so if one area isn't so great, you usually don't have to drive far to get some completely different weather.
The North Island is much more of a summer destination, as more of the attractions there are beach/water related. The North is marginally warmer than the South in general, but it's not a significant difference.
HI,
September is a good time to go to New Zealand. As said above the south island is more of an island for year round travel even if it does rain a bit more but being from the UK you should be used to it. There are still good things to see in the north island but 3 weeks is a decent length to explore the wilderness of the south island.
I did a trip around NZ by campervan a few years ago so my experience might help you. It took me 6 weeks in total so I spent about 3-4wks on NZ south Island
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