New Zealand
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
113,729km²
Area
4,525km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,797m
Highest point
Mount Ruapehu
3,519,800
People
20°C
Warmest sea
February
1,839km
To the mainland
When to go to North Island
Best to visit from January to February.
The sea is warmest in February (20 °C) and coolest in August (14 °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.
More northern, and smaller, of the two main islands of New Zealand
North Island is an island in New Zealand. It covers 113,729 km², with 4,525 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Ruapehu, rises to 2,797 m. About 3,519,800 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,839 km away.
Getting there
- Auckland International Airport (AKL)main airport (15 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at AKL airport (Auckland)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,839 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Februarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
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 North Island.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
North Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside North Island, each with its own numbers.
110beaches and covesCoastya
118lakesLakeyas
213waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
86m
Waihīrere Waterfall
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
612km²
Lake Taupō
186 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
248m
Lake Waikaremoana
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
25.7°C
Lake Rotomanuka
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
21.2°C
Umupuia Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
110 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Ohope Beach21.0°C
- Mairangi Bay21.1°C
- New Chums Beach20.9°C
- Hot Water Beach20.9°C
- Mission Baycove21.1°C
- Fitzroy Beach20.1°C
- Cheltenham Beach21.1°C
- City of Cork Beach21.1°C
102 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
118 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Taupō186 m deep612km²
- Lake Rotorua / Te Rotorua nui ā Kahumatamomoe79.8km²
- Lake Wairarapa2 m deep70.0km²
- Lake Waikaremoana248 m deep48.9km²
- Lake Tarawera87 m deep40.8km²
- Lake Waikare33.0km²
- Lake Rotoiti / Te Roto kite ā Ihenga i ariki ai Kahu32.6km²
- Lake Pupuke1.0km²
110 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
213 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Shine Falls58m
- Kitekite Falls40m
- Waipunga Falls40m
- Tarawera Falls35m
- Rainbow Falls27m
- Huka Falls11m
- Mōkau Falls
- Wairēinga / Bridal Veil Falls
205 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
- Auckland1,547,200 people
- Wellington381,900 people
- Manukau City362,000 people
- North Shore258,697 people
- Hamilton192,100 people
- Tauranga161,000 people
- Lower Hutt114,200 people
- Palmerston North90,500 people
- New Plymouth90,100 people
- Hastings88,300 people
- Napier66,400 people
- Rotorua65,901 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 21 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Night low (°C) | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Sea (°C) | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 56 | 63 | 77 | 79 | 93 | 89 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 58 | 79 |
| Wet days | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 |
| Sun h/day | 8.5 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
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 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | −0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.4 | +2.2 |
| 2022 | +1.7 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +1.4 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +1.7 | +0.6 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +1.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q118863) · 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit