New Zealand north island in September clothes?
August 16, 2016 10:51 PM   Subscribe

I'm going with an active four year old to NZ for 2-3 weeks and will be mostly in Wellington and Auckland. We're coming from Singapore, so I imagine we'll need some additional kit, but what do I really need to (tight budget) buy or borrow? Hats, mittens, boots or just cardigans and warm socks? Do I buy it over here at Uniqlo or hit the secondhand shops when I land in Wellington?
posted by dorothyisunderwood to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total)
 
It won't be seriously cold, but be ready for industrial strength winds (in Wellington) and rain (in Auckland). Not sure whether the currency rate at the moment makes things expensive from Singapore, but compared with UK/US it's much more expensive here.
posted by tillsbury at 11:12 PM on August 16, 2016


Looking around Wellington today, a few people are wearing hats, but not many. I'd say consider bringing a light woolen hat if you have one, but don't buy it if you don't. Mittens wouldn't be necessary.

Wellington will be windy, so if you're not used to that, a windbreaker or jacket would be helpful if you'll be outside a lot. There's a risk of rain in both cities, although Metservice data shows September is one of the drier months (e.g. Auckland). Weather, especially Auckland, can be changeable - a day that starts fine can turn rainy quite quickly, and then back again.

That said: i just looked at long-term temperature averages for Singapore. It's going to be colder than that, by quite a bit. So you should probably consider dressing more warmly than locals would.

I suspect prices would be cheaper outside NZ - we're a long way from everywhere so shipping costs mean goods are often quite expensive.

(Also you should consider calling a meetup while you're here :) ).
posted by Pink Frost at 5:53 PM on August 17, 2016


Response by poster: We bought several Heattech tops from Uniqlo, borrowed some wool leggings from friends and fleeces and were set. The only thing we really needed were wool socks, and those were easy to get at either The Warehouse (kids) or op shops ($0.50 for adult ones!) The small child and I both treasured our gloves and hats for the Wellington part, and very much needed several layers to wear for the entire trip.

The prices in NZ were surprisingly decent controlled for equivalent quality (outside of Farmers, in small boutiques and regular shops with sales), and definitely for children's clothes, the op shops were brilliant and small child loved shopping to her heart's content in them.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 2:05 AM on November 7, 2016


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