South Island autumn yet to start in April 2010
Written on Thursday, 8 April 2010 by NZTravelInsider
Learn how the autumn colours on the South Island of New Zealand are currently unfolding if you’re planning a trip or holiday to Canterbury New Zealand to see autumn leaves.
The weather was great today. There was some cloud on the East coast of the South Island when I was flying into Christchurch, but most of the South Island got clear blue skies during the entire day today.
I also saw a dust of snow on the Kaikoura mountain ranges on my way in. Other than that, there isn’t currently much snow on the mountains, except of course for Mount Cook and a few other peaks that always seem to have snow on them.
I landed in Christchurch around 10 a.m. and picked up my rental car at the domestic terminal of Christchurch airport.
This time I got a white Toyota Corolla. Actually, it is the first time I’m driving a white car. I like it, though. It only had around 8,200 km on the meter when I got it, so it’s a pretty new car.
Regarding autumn colours… The leaves on some trees have started turning color (approximately 10% of the trees), but overall it does not seem to be unfolding in a good autumn colors season.
On my drive from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo I saw many trees which have just gone from being green to being brown. In addition, the autumn colors in Christchurch are currently not as good as they are in Ashburton. Hopefully the autumn season in New Zealand will pick up as we approach mid-April.
At Lake Tekapo, many of the trees around the lake are still green, as you can see from the picture of my rental car at Lake Tekapo.
While some trees have begun turning yellow, it will take a few days or even a week more before an abundance of yellows set in, that is, if they set in. However, there are already colorful red trees in people’s yards.
The weather forecast is looking good again for tomorrow, so hopefully I can go on my first hike.
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3 Responses to “South Island autumn yet to start in April 2010”
Posted Friday, 9 April 2010
Ever since I read your article ‘Top 5 best places to visit to see autumn colours in NewZealand’, I have been following your website, I am always a big fan of autumn colours, and I have been searching for the autumn color in NewZealand for a couple of years, I googled a lot, and finally I found your website! So excited, that exactly what I need! So, I asked my friends, and we decide have a autumn color trip. Our trip is finally schedued on 24th April, according to your article, that could be the last chance to see the colorful autumn leaves. We will follow your route, fly to Chch and drive all the way down to Queenstown, we will visit all that 5 places in your article. And I am very glad to read your updated article which describe your current trip, thank you very much, hope you can give us some more advice, so we will be able to see more.
Best regards,
Xin
Posted Saturday, 10 April 2010
Hi Xin,
Thanks for your comment. Your trip for April 24th is looking good at this moment. The yellows haven’t set in completely yet. I’ll be heading to Queenstown next week, so will give you an update on the colours then.
But I think you’ll be fine; the autumn colours are pretty late this year, but then again, autumn colours are dependent on so many factors, including the type of summer we’ve had, the amount of rain that has fallen, the amount of sunny days we’ve had, and whether it gets cold at night.
I’ll be writing another article when I get a chance and my internet connection speeds up a bit.
Posted Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Thanks so much for your information. I am looking forward to reading more of your articles.
Xin