Weather in Wanaka in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Wanaka. You should expect rain on 16 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 4 of 12 in Wanaka: past the worst of the year but short of February, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 16 days, 4 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 27.7 °C and the coldest night fell to 1.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 65 mm — roughly 48% of the month's rain in one day.

December is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest December on record still delivered 263 mm against 58 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 136 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 9.7 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 16.8 °C in November, 19.2 here, 20.7 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Wanaka's year: 15.5 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 15.2 °C in December — cold — a quick dip rather than a swim, and a wetsuit if you are in for longer. The sea peaks at 17.1 °C in February and bottoms out at 12.6 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Wanaka versus nearby

If Wanaka is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Queenstown is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 3 days more rain. Te Anau is the weaker option in December — 2.3 °C cooler, 5 days more rain.

So: December works, with February the better month by 11 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Wanaka

See all twelve months in Wanaka, or where else to go in December.