Weather in February-March?
We are scheduled for the Grand Australia and New Zealand small group tour leaving in late February and now I am concerned that we perhaps chose the wrong month to go in terms of weather. Has anyone been there during Feb-March and can you advise how the weather was?
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This would be the equivalent of August / September in the northern hemisphere. Weather will vary substantially with location. Expect hot weather in northern locations and the outback. Use a website like weather.com to check average temperatures for each location and date.
We split this tour up and did NZ in February, perfect summer weather, we knew Australia would be too hot so went in August and it worked out well for us. For example we did not encounter the flies at Uluru that the summer people report that are so bad they need to wear netting over their faces. Touring in extreme heat is difficult for us, as is very cold weather so we always research typical weather before booking a tour. Of course global warming makes all trips a gamble.
Took this tour in Feb/Mar 2022. Australia was warm/ hot. Beautiful weather except for rainy day in rainforest when we were flooded in and could not leave, costing us a night in Sydney. New Zealand was much cooler but geographically different, (Auckland warmer than Queenstown) so have layers. But cooler air is better for walking.
I know you are looking for reassurance, but we went in mid-March 2019, and encountered Hurricane Michael on the northern coast. We left Uluru a bit early (which was fine) so Tauck's plane could drop us off, then go help with the evacuation efforts. The roadway to Silky Oaks Lodge was flooded, so Tauck and the hotel actually helicoptered us over the flooded area to get to our destination. On New Zealand, it bucketed the day we went through Marlborough Sound, but that just made the thousands of waterfalls visible. Through all that, it's still our favorite adventure ever. You can't control the weather, so enjoy the sunshine, whether dry or liquid. The main thing is to GO!
Thank you so much for your comments. For the last two commenters who went in Feb/March, were the flies in Uluru bearable? I am assuming this time of year i need not bring warm clothes? Maybe a sweater or two for the nights in New Zealand? Any lather advice much appreciated!
BrendaAnderson, sounds like you had quite the adventure!
Baronal, yes, it was pretty exciting. And yes, the flies were horrible at Uluru, and we had to wear the VERY (snort) attractive headnets some of the time!
Sorry for the sideways photo!
Great picture! Thanks!
BrendaAnderson, did Tauck supply the VERY attractive face nets??? 😁
We were there in October. Tauck gave us the face nets, but we never had to use them.
If you don’t go in the Australian summer, there are no bugs at Uluru
AnyHeit, you bet they did! I posted a photo earlier.
British, we were there in mid-March, and the flies were horrendous, so not just summer.
But March is summer in Australia. Isn’t it cyclone season too? We went in August I think, it was a while ago.
British, Google mentions that summer months in Australia are December, January and February.
This from a trusted website.
The flies at Uluru are at their worst during the hot Australian summer months of December, January, and February, however they are also present in the shoulder seasons, with flies more noticeable from September right the way through until April.
All I can say is, we went in the Australian winter, there were no flies and none were expected. It was very pleasant to walk around Uluru in the temperatures we experienced.
British - Different people like different temperatures. True the average daytime high during winter in Uluru is in the mid-60s, in Melbourne at that time of the year the average daytime high is only 55. Some people may deal with some flies as opposed to fairly cool temperatures. You don’t go to Australia only to visit Uluru. You have to make compromises here and there when you visit such a large area like Australia. You can never get ideal weather for everywhere in Australia during any given month.
We spent the whole month of November in Australia. We may have dealt with a few flies, but not many, but I know I would take that and be able to walk around everywhere in shorts and short sleeve shirts as opposed to having to put on winter parkas.
There is no one best fits all time of the year to visit. You just have to be prepared for what you may encounter during the time of the year you visit.
We were in Australia the last 10 days of this past October. It was hot at Uluru (80’s) but absolutely no flies; we had a very few when we arrived in Sydney but no need for netting. The weather everywhere was perfect, considered to be their spring (US east coast late April weather). New Zealand was a bit chillier the first 10 days of November but still great weather.
Well, now we've thoroughly frightened the original poster! Ha ha ha! To the original poster Baronal, Smiling Sam has it right. There is no perfect weather anywhere. It was, however, for us, the trip that spoiled us on Tauck forever. Not even the flies and those VERY attractive (NOT) fly masks for a day could dampen the enthusiasm of our tour guide, the breathtaking and amazing things we saw, petted, ate, drank and experienced. Enjoy your adventure, and we look forward to hearing your remarks.
Brenda - You are right about being spoiled. Aus/NZ was my second trip with Tauck. After that, I expected all trips with flights to have private planes. Little did I know, at the time, that was the only one, and for all the others, we're stuck in crmped seats as close as possible to the rear bathroom
Oh, BKMD, I feel so sorry for you! I could think of a million people who would love to go to on a Tauck tour and sit close together near the toilets but they can’t afford it.
We did this trip end of January into February. It was hot in uluru, but there were no flies (huge spiders, but no flies😂).