Kaikoura in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Kaikoura sees average daytime highs around 10°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 268 mm of precipitation over about 35 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 10°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Kaikoura's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kaikoura's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 10°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 7°C
- Precipitation
- 268 mm
- 35 wet days
- Avg wind
- 15 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.3
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Kaikoura in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 10°C.
A typical winter day in Kaikoura reaches about 10°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
Kaikoura weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18° / 14° | 69 | 10.1 | 0 | 14.7 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 18° / 14° | 60 | 8.6 | 0 | 13.7 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 17° / 13° | 70 | 9.2 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 15° / 11° | 80 | 10.1 | 0 | 10.9 | 4.5 |
| May | 13° / 9° | 69 | 10.2 | 0.2 | 9.6 | 3.7 |
| Jun | 11° / 7° | 96 | 11.6 | 0.8 | 9 | 2.5 |
| Jul | 10° / 6° | 93 | 11.8 | 1.1 | 9.2 | 2.1 |
| Aug | 10° / 7° | 79 | 11.3 | 0.9 | 10.3 | 2.4 |
| Sep | 12° / 8° | 65 | 9.8 | 0.5 | 11.7 | 3.1 |
| Oct | 13° / 9° | 82 | 12.5 | 0.4 | 13.2 | 3.6 |
| Nov | 15° / 11° | 71 | 10.8 | 0 | 14.4 | 4.4 |
| Dec | 17° / 13° | 65 | 11.2 | 0 | 15 | 5.2 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Kaikoura gets around 268 mm of rain and snow over 35 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 15 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 06 min in early June to 10 h 54 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Kaikoura?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kaikoura.
What to pack for Kaikoura in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Kaikoura sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 35 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Kaikoura in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 11°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 10°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | Cool |
| Feb | 17 | Cool |
| Mar | 16 | Cool |
| Apr | 14 | Bracing |
| May | 13 | Bracing |
| Jun | 12 | Bracing |
| Jul | 11 | Bracing |
| Aug | 10 | Bracing |
| Sep | 11 | Bracing |
| Oct | 12 | Bracing |
| Nov | 13 | Bracing |
| Dec | 15 | Bracing |
UV index in Kaikoura in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kaikoura peaks around January 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 10 | Extreme |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 2 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 2 | Low |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 9 | Very high |
| Dec | 11 | Extreme |
Where is Kaikoura?
Kaikoura sits at 42.4°S, 173.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Blenheim, 103 km away.
Topography around Kaikoura
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kaikoura.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Kaikoura has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 131 m around an average of 13 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,593 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,828 m.
The land around Kaikoura is covered by water (64%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, water (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (42%) and water (33%) within 80 km.
New Zealand travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type I
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 86% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $49,591
- 2025
- Happiness
- 7.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 100%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.5
- per 100k, 2022
- Road deaths
- 9.6
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kaikoura (-42.4167°, 173.6833°, elevation 0 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.