What to pack for New Zealand in April (weather + travel tips)
Crisp sunny days mean April is an excellent month for hiking and other outdoor activities.
April in New Zealand is the swan song of summer, with pleasant days and cooler nights. This month is usually when fall colours start to show and the temperatures start to drop.
It’s one of my favourite months to travel New Zealand (although there isn’t really a bad time to visit). With several public holidays landing in April, I’ve spent a lot of time travelling the country during this month.
Here’s what you need to know about the weather in New Zealand in April.
Is April a good time to visit New Zealand?
April is a great time to visit New Zealand, thanks to generally settled weather with plenty of sunshine, and mild temperatures across the country. Aside from the Easter holidays, April is also a quieter time to travel than in the summer months.
April is also the middle of autumn/fall in New Zealand, which means crisp days and in some areas, gorgeous golden colours.
New Zealand doesn’t have as pronounced seasons in other countries. In the North Island, sometime around the end of April, the temperature drops and it feels like New Zealand goes from summer to winter overnight.
Unlike many countries, fall in New Zealand isn’t marked by a significant change in tree colours. Our native forests are all evergreen, so there is little difference between summer and winter foliage.
However, the South Island has a longer autumn/fall period, and more introduced tree species like willows mean you’re more likely to see fall foliage painting the island in reds and golds.
Autumn colours are most visible around Queenstown and Central Otago.
This part of the South Island is also where you will feel the crisp, clear autumn weather, if you’re a fan of the season.
Further north fine days are still common in April but in my experience there isn’t the same distinct autumn feeling you get in Otago.
New Zealand weather in April
A Wanaka mountain sunrise in early April
Here are some of the average high/low temperatures across the North and South Islands in April:
Auckland: 20° / 13° Celcius, or 68° / 55° Fahrenheit
Wellington: 17° / 11° Celcius or 62° / 52° Fahrenheit
Christchurch: 17° / 7° Celcius or 62° / 44° Fahrenheit
Queenstown: 15° / 4° Celcius or 59° / 39° Fahrenheit
In New Zealand, April temperatures swing between warm days and cool nights.
In my home region of the Coromandel, I’m usually still swimming in rivers in April.
Attending a wedding in Cromwell, Central Otago, in the middle of April, I was comfortable outside in a thin silk dress.
However, in the week prior, I had been hiking on the Routeburn and temperatures dipped below freezing at the Lake Mackenzie campsite.
I spent all of April ‘22 travelling the South Island in my campervan, and I was never too cold — my van didn’t have a heater, but I had good blankets and a hot water bottle.
As with most months in New Zealand, you should be prepared for a range of temperatures. Pack layers, and always be ready to strip off in the sunshine or throw on a warm, cosy jumper on cooler days.
The temperatures begin to cool down as winter approaches. In the North Island, average daytime temperatures range from around 15°C to 20°C (59°F to 68°F), with milder evenings.
In the South Island, average high temperatures range from about 10°C to 15°C (50°F to 59°F), with cooler nights.
In early April, the hour also changes in New Zealand. This means it gets dark earlier and days start to get shorter. Less light in the evening means you have to plan a little further ahead, especially if you’re camping.
I like to be all set up for the night before the sun sets, which is between 6pm and 5.30pm in April.
April is a top month for hiking in New Zealand. The days aren’t too hot, and the nights aren’t too cold, which means perfect hiking weather.
While you can wake up to a frost on the ground in the South Island in April, sunny days still warm up enough that you might consider a late summer swim.
I have hiked in Mount Aspiring National Park in April and had a glorious week of blue skies, when I hiked trails like Cascade Saddle, which is notoriously dangerous and requires a streak of dry days to attempt.
I’ve also hiked Kahurangi National Park a lot in April, enjoying clear days at the peak of Mount Owen and places like Sylvester Hut in the Cobb River Valley.
However, I have also huddled in my van in Golden Bay as April showers drenched the area.
So, expect a bit of everything — as is typical of the weather in New Zealand.
What to pack for New Zealand in April
If you’re visiting New Zealand in April, you’ll want to pack a mixture of summer and winter clothing.
In Auckland and the upper half of the North Island, you can get away with wearing summery clothes most of the time, with one pair of jeans, a warm jumper, and a rain jacket.
Further south is a different story — even Wellington can be a lot colder than Auckland.
One of my most worn items of clothing while travelling New Zealand in April was my Patagonia fleece, which I bought when I arrived in Wellington from Auckland.
Living out of a van, I spent a lot of time outside, so having a snuggly fleece to throw on in the evening was a lifesaver.
If you’re planning on visiting the South Island in April, I would recommend at least one cosy, warm layer as well as a wind/waterproof jacket to throw over that one.
An insulated puffer jacket is a good idea when visiting any part of the South Island at any point in the year, and especially from April onwards.
If you do any higher altitude hikes, or even activities like a jet boat, you’ll want a warm layer and a woolly hat to keep warm.
Warm, woolly socks, merino base layers, and a beanie are all great basics to have in your autumn wardrobe.
Travel tips for visiting New Zealand in April
While April is shoulder season in New Zealand, between the highs of summer and the ski season in winter, Easter and school holidays often land in April, as well as the public holiday Anzac Day on 25 April. This means a lot of New Zealanders take time off to travel in April and soak up the last of the good weather. If you plan on travelling between the North and South Islands on the ferry, it’s a good idea to book your spot in advance.
Outside of the public holidays, April can be a nice and quiet time to visit. It’s the last month of the Great Walks season, so it’s worth checking to see if there are any open spots in the huts in late April, which is a less popular time to tackle these hikes.
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