Hi Melissa

Depends very much on which part of NZ you are coming to. Jan/Feb is of course our summer and the further north you go, the warmer it is. Christchurch can go up to 25-30 celsius - Auckland usually averages around 25 celsius, Northland will go closer to 30. The further north you go, the more humidity, the further south, the air is much drier. Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier often get long, hot summer days with not too much rain, anything up to 30ish.

The sea is hardly ever warm - more a cool temp but at that time of year, not cold.

Hope this helps.

Sue

There's plenty to do on the water in the North Island, but not swimming. As the previous poster said, the ocean temperatures are cool to cold everywhere you go. Don't forget, New Zealand is the closest country to the Antarctic!

The previous 2 posts have said that the water is always cold in NZ. Not quite true! Around Tauranga/Waihi beaches in summer the water is lovely and warm - you can lie in it for hours with no hardship. In a perfect Northland day, the weather will get up to around the mid 30s. The summer just been was a very good one, and when I visited home in Jan for 3 weeks the warmest day I had was 37 degrees.

I agree with Jo (Kiwi)
Water is not always cold - refreshing when you first get wet but it is great and everyone swims - do try to get to the Coromandel Penisnula - we have glow-worms - bush - history - great scenery and endless golden beaches (all swimming a) and Hotwater Beach!!!
you can email f you wish and I can give some details - how are you travelling ?? I can give soem hints for you email me direct sharon@coromandel.net.nz
Kind Regards
Sharon