Learn when it is spring in New Zealand, what the weather is like in spring, what to do, and where to go to see spring blossoms in New Zealand.

General information about spring in New Zealand

The months the make up spring in New Zealand are September, October, and November.

While spring is not a very busy time of the year to visit New Zealand, there are school holidays that fall in spring.

So if you do not like crowds, you may want to avoid those dates.

Because spring is not a very busy season, accommodation prices tend to be reasonable, especially from mid-October to mid-November after the ski season but just before the busy summer season starts.

Temperatures and spring weather in New Zealand

Spring is the time of the year when the weather starts to stabilize for summer so is very variable and unpredictable during this period of time.

Temperatures start to increase coming out of winter, but there is still a chance of a cold snap and snow well into November. You can still expect to get sub-zero temperatures at night, especially on the South Island.

Average daytime temperatures range between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius (50 – 68 degrees Fahrenheit) in spring with the warmest month being November, the wettest month October, and the driest month September.

As temperatures slowly start to increase, so does the amount of daylight hours. September starts out with approximately 11 hours of daylight. This increases to 14 hours in October and then to 15 hours toward the end of November.

All in all, spring is a very unpredictable time to visit New Zealand; be prepared for anything.

And if you are lucky, you may even experience a day as warm as summer.

In terms of clothing, always try to wear clothes in layers when holidaying in New Zealand because that is the best way to deal with the fluctuations in temperature and the weather, especially in mountainous regions.

Where to go in spring in New Zealand

Because the weather is still cold and snow may still fall, mountains usually still have snow on them in spring.

This is particularly true for high mountains like Mount Cook on the South Island and Mount Ruapehu on the North Island, although lower mountains may also have a dusting of snow well into November.

So good places to visit in spring would be places that have mountains with snow either on the North Island or on the South Island of New Zealand.

On the North Island that would be either the central plateau south of Taupo or Mount Taranki in New Plymouth.

And if you do decide to visit the central plateau, you may also want to go for a walk in Tongariro National Park, since it wouldn’t be too hot to walk among the volcanoes in exposed and open terrain.

Just watch out for and prepare to walk in snow on higher ground if you walk up the volcanoes.

Spring is a great time for walking, although you must keep an eye on and plan ahead for bad weather conditions.

Also keep in mind that some trails such as, for example, Mount Roy in Wanaka and other trails that go through farmland may be closed for lambing or other reasons.

Another popular activity other than skiing and sightseeing is visiting gardens to see spring blossoms. There are several places on the South Island where you can see spring blossoms and spring blossoms can generally be seen everywhere in New Zealand on trees in people’s yards.

You just have to get the timing right, which can be as tricky as the timing for autumn colors.