Plan Your Trip

When to Visit

Hurunui works in every season. Hot pools and ski fields in winter. Cellar doors and long lunches in autumn. Wildflowers and river swimming in spring. Trails and coast in summer. Here's what to expect, month by month.

Winter
in Hurunui

Winter in Hurunui

June

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July

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August

Cold air, hot pools and snow on the tops. Two ski fields, an alpine village that slows right down and the largest winter festival in the South Island. The pools are better when it's freezing.

Spring
in Hurunui

Spring in Hurunui

September

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October

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November

Blossom on the vines, lambs on the high country stations and the Waipara Valley waking up for the season. Cellar doors come back to full hours. The trails dry out. Everything gets easier.

Summer
in Hurunui

Summer in Hurunui

December

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January

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February

The coast is warm, the cellar doors are busy and the trails are at their best. Cathedral Cliffs at Gore Bay, river swimming in the Hurunui, long evenings in the Waipara Valley. The whole district opens up.

Autumn
in Hurunui

Autumn in Hurunui

March

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April

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May

Harvest time in the Waipara Valley. The vines turn gold, the cellar doors run long lunches and the nor'west wind brings the last of the warm days. The best time to visit for food and wine — and the trails are quiet.