Local watersport vendors have felt the effects of the cooler weather, with some having lost income due to lower client numbers.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said the coldest maximum temperature of the summer was 14.4°C, recorded on February 16.
‘‘The average climate for what you would expect on a normal February day to get up to for a daytime high is 23.6°C.
‘‘That 14.4°C is almost 10°C below average, which is quite remarkable,’’ he said.
Mr Corrigan said the highest temperature was also recorded in February — 28.3°C on the 12th.
‘‘The overall lowest temperature was 3.4°C which was recorded on both the 20th and 21st of December.’’
The cold, wet weather did not stop for the festival season.
January 1 had 19mm of rainfall.
‘‘That’s wetter than any day in December.
‘‘The wettest day of the summer in Wanaka was New Year’s Day,’’ he said.
Deep Canyon director Ross Goulding said the cold conditions had affected the number of people taking part in water activities such as canyoning.
‘‘The increase in rainfall this summer season resulted in high water volumes and very exciting canyon tours, with some changes and cancellations.
‘‘With some warm days forecast in March, we encourage folk to join us on an adventure,’’ he said.
Skydive AU & NZ business development and strategic planning manager Li Li said weather naturally played a role in operations, but Wanaka continued to attract visitors seeking unique adventure experiences.
‘‘While we’ve certainly experienced more weather-related disruptions this season, we’re pleased that the overall demand for Wanaka skydiving has remained strong.
‘‘We’ve seen positive growth in bookings year on year across February, and while we’ve been affected by adverse weather, we’ve remained net positive on the number of tandems jumped in the month,’’ she said.
Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism chief executive Mat Woods said both Wanaka and Queenstown had surpassed pre-Covid levels.
‘‘While the unsettled weather will undoubtedly have affected some tourism operators, particularly aviation, the statistics show overall it has been another strong summer for Wānaka.
‘‘Across December and January, there were 241,400 guest nights, which is on par with last year, with a mix of 149,000 domestic visitors and 93,000 international,’’ he said.
Earth Sciences New Zealand meteorologist Chester Lampkin said summer 2024-2025 in Wanaka was much drier and hotter than the most recent summer.
‘‘Inland Otago region is part of the west of the South Island climate forecast region and the forecast for that area is for average to above average temperatures for March-May 2026 and below normal rainfall for March-May 2026.
‘‘However, even a warm and dry autumn will have cold and/or wet days,’’ he said.
