Top 5 best places to visit to see autumn colours in New Zealand

Learn when is the best time to visit New Zealand for seeing fall foliage and what are the 5 best places to visit to see autumn colours in New Zealand.

OK, so I’ve decided to spill the beans about the 5 best places to visit to see autumn colours in New Zealand, and in particular leaf peeping locations on the South Island of New Zealand. And here’s why…

The following comment I once received from a visitor to my nature and landscape photography website made me realize that there are many people out there who also want to enjoy the places I’ve traveled to:

I m 82 years old, and have been taking care of two sisters for 13 years. I always wanted to travel the world before I die. I may not be able to, but your beautiful pictures make up for a lot of places that I may miss seeing. Wish I could past them all on a wall. They give me great pleasure. Thank you.

In addition, I myself have been in the same position where I’ve seen photos taken by other people and got the incentive and desire to visit those places, so I know personally what that’s like.

Back in 2004 before I visited New Zealand for the second time as a tourist and when New Zealand was still pretty unknown to me, I emailed a New Zealand photographer, who shall remain unnamed in this article, to ask him what the best time was to visit New Zealand for seeing the gorgeous fall foliage I had seen in some of his photos.

Photographers tend to be secretive and protective about the places where they’ve shot their images, so not surpringly, the photographer totally ignored my email and I never got a reply.

So, as usual, I went on to do my own research and came up with some of the best locations for viewing autumn colours in New Zealand, which I’ll share with you in this article.

I’ll tell you exactly where to go and when to come to New Zealand for fall foliage, whether you want to take your own pictures or just go for long scenic drives admiring the yellow autumn leaves. This will hopefully save you some time from having to do the research for yourself like I did.

General info about seeing autumn colours in New Zealand

Trees in New Zealand turn yellow in autumn. While you will see occasional reds and oranges, those colours are most likely to be found on trees that have been planted in people’s front yards or in parks within cities like the red tree shown in the 2010 NZ autumn foliage report spotted while I was driving through Fairlie.

Many of the yellow autumn trees can be found next to water such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and wetlands, but there are many exceptions to this assumption. For example, the entire sides of the hills surrounding Arrowtown light up in yellows and oranges during autumn, unlike anywhere else in New Zealand.

As a general rule, you can expect the colour of autumn leaves on trees to be better and more plentiful on the South Island than they are on the North Island of New Zealand.

If you’ve ever been to Northeastern America (Quebec and Ontario in Canada, and New England in the United States), you’ll know how spectacular fall foliage can be. We don’t have that kind of spectacular fall foliage here in New Zealand, though, but you’ll find the spectacular in the sharp contrast between mostly yellow and blue colors.

As mentioned in an article I wrote about the best time to visit New Zealand, the seasons here in New Zealand are the opposites of the ones on the Northern hemisphere. This also goes for when the fall foliage season starts.

While predicting the exact start of autumn colours is as difficult as predicting an earthquake taking place, because it’s up to mother nature to decide, you can follow the same "rules" as you would on the Northern hemisphere.

Peak time for fall foliage on the Northern hemisphere and especially in Northeastern America starts around October 7. So if you translate that to New Zealand, that would be around April 7. The peak generally lasts for 1 – 2 weeks, so this gives you a leaf peeping period from April 7 to April 21.

However, these dates are not written in stone. In the New Zealand autumn in April 2010 for example, the good autumn colours started to become visible around April 12, while the peak arrived after April 15. I attribute this somewhat late arrival of autumn to the variable weather conditions in the year leading up to autumn.

There have been times that I’ve got good colors up until April 25, but afterwards, the brown colors start to set in. March is too early to visit New Zealand for fall foliage color and May is too late. So your best bet for the best autumn colours is April.

There is a second "rule" about the peak moving from North to South on the Northern hemisphere, but up until now I have not been able to relate that "rule" to the same thing happening here on the Southern hemisphere, that is, the peak moving from South to North.

A third "rule" would be that colors set in first at higher elevations before they do at lower elevations. This might be the same here in New Zealand, because I’ve seen lower lying regions such as valleys display peak fall colors, while higher lying regions such as the Mackenzie Country were already past their peak.

You can take these two last rules into consideration when planning your trip, but I’d suggest making sticking with the optimum period for peak fall foliage your primary goal.

The 5 best places to visit to see autumn colours in New Zealand

1. Mackenzie Country
The area running from Tekapo to Lake Pukaki to Twizel to Omarama is a good region to visit for leaf peeping in New Zealand.

In Tekapo there are several lakes that are dotted with yellow trees during autumn. The most obvious lake is Lake Tekapo of course.

There are lakes (Lake Alexandrina and Lake McGregor) that are a short drive from SH 8 and accessible via the Godley Peaks Road, where you’ll also find more yellow trees.

2. The Waitaki Valley
The area running from Omarama to Kurow is also a good region to visit for seeing autumn colours in New Zealand.

Again there are lakes that are surrounded by yellow trees, in particular, Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore.

There is a loop road that takes you around the Benmore Dam and Lake Aviemore, which allows you to enjoy and get a good view of the fall foliage around the lakes.

3. Wanaka and the Cardrona Valley
Next up as we move down South are Wanaka and the Cardrona Valley.

You’ll find poplars here and there and everywhere in Central Otago. The shores of Lake Wanaka in particular, and especially near Roys Bay, are dotted by yellow poplars in autumn. And a drive down the Cardrona Valley will also reveal some patches of poplars here and there.

Poplars are not native to New Zealand, and as many of the trees that display red, orange, or yellow colors in autumn, have been brought into and planted in New Zealand either as decoration, for shelter, or for controlling erosion.

4. Arrowtown and Queenstown
Arrowtown is a little town with a distinctive character.

The trees in Arrowtown are a feast for the eyes and senses in autumn. Unlike anywhere else in New Zealand, you’ll find the most and richest fall foliage color in Arrowtown.

If you have time to visit only one location in New Zealand for fall foliage, Arrowtown would be the best place to visit.

Fall foliage is also good around Lake Hayes, not too far from Arrowtown. And a lakeside walk in Queenstown is a joy during autumn. While not overly abundant or spectacular, during autumn, there are yellow trees on the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

5. Central Otago (from Lake Dunstan to Roxburgh)
Central Otago is the last region I’d recommend for leaf peeping. Starting from Lake Dunstan all the way down to Alexandra, and Roxburgh, you’ll find good patches of colorful fall foliage.

I highly recommend driving to the Clyde Dam lookout on the hill where you can look down upon Clyde and Alexandra; you’ll get a nice overview of the abundance of autumn color in this area as shown in an article about autumn colours in Central Otago.

The leaves on the many fruit trees in Central Otago add to the display of colours during autumn.

You’ll also find many farms lined with poplars, and thus see more yellows.

If you do head to Central Otago, I’d suggest you stick with the line of towns I’ve mentioned and not venture more into Central Otago by traveling towards Dunedin.

While you will find patches of color here and there, it is not as good as it is from Lake Dunstan down to Roxburgh.

Enjoy your autumn scenic drives, the autumn colours in New Zealand, and take lots of fall foliage pictures.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

• Fall foliage report Mackenzie Country New Zealand
• South Island autumn yet to start in April 2010
• Fall foliage at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
• Lake Tekapo accommodation NZ
• Fall foliage at Lake Benmore, Waitaki, New Zealand

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