You may be able to hit the garden after work or have a late dinner outside - today is the longest day of the year.
WeatherWatch said December 21 is summer solstice in New Zealand this year, meaning today has the most sunlight hours of any this year.
In the lower South Island, where the days are at their longest in New Zealand, the sun is up for almost 16 hours.
``While technically the days do gradually start to get a little shorter in January, the sunset times barely change,'' WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan said.
``This is the true start of summer - with the hottest weather coming over the next two months.''
He said February was usually the hottest month, then March started to cool down.
``So - welcome to summer 2016, New Zealand.''
