New Zealand
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
150,437km²
Area
3,888km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
3,724m
Highest point
Aoraki / Mount Cook
1,115,800
People
16°C
Warmest sea
February
1,434km
To the mainland
When to go to South Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in February (16 °C) and coolest in August (11 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the two main New Zealand islands
South Island is an island in New Zealand. It covers 150,437 km², with 3,888 km of coastline. Its highest point, Aoraki / Mount Cook, rises to 3,724 m. About 1,115,800 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,434 km away.
Getting there
- Christchurch International Airport (CHC)main airport (9 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at CHC airport (Christchurch)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,434 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on South Island.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
South Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside South Island, each with its own numbers.
89beaches and covesCoastya
213lakesLakeyas
229waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
836m
Browne Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
333km²
Lake Te Anau
270 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
463m
Lake Hauroko
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
24.5°C
Washdyke Lagoon
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
19.6°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
89 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Ocean Beach14.2°C
- Boulder Beach14.2°C
- Tunnel Beach14.2°C
- Victory Beach14.2°C
- Wharariki Beach18.5°C
- Tomahawk Beach14.2°C
- Bushy Beach15.2°C
- Tahunanui Beach19.6°C
81 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
213 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Te Anau270 m deep333km²
- Lake Wakatipu420 m deep291km²
- Lake Wānaka300 m deep195km²
- Lake Pukaki176km²
- Lake Hāwea148km²
- Lake Manapouri444 m deep132km²
- Lake Tekapo120 m deep94.2km²
- Lake Hauroko463 m deep67.8km²
205 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
229 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Browne Falls836m
- Sutherland Falls581m
- Bowmar Falls425m
- Heads Leap200m
- Kilmarnock Falls152m
- Paulin Falls150m
- Purakaunui Falls
- Humboldt Falls
221 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Christchurch419,200 people
- Dunedin132,800 people
- Invercargill58,000 people
- Nelson54,400 people
- Rolleston34,100 people
- Blenheim29,800 people
- Timaru29,300 people
- Ashburton21,600 people
- Stoke20,260 people
- Richmond19,950 people
- Rangiora19,300 people
- Mosgiel14,800 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 13 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | -3 | -4 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Rain (mm) | 144 | 114 | 125 | 135 | 151 | 147 | 128 | 133 | 137 | 156 | 146 | 164 |
| Wet days | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 7.8 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 7.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | −0.4 | −0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +1.7 |
| 2022 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +2.2 | +1.8 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.7 | +1.7 |
| 2023 | +2.5 | +2.4 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +1.3 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +1.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q120755) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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