Can you swim in the ocean around New Zealand all year round? Do you need a wet suit? Lots of sharks??

Question

Can you swim in the ocean around New Zealand all year round? Do you need a wet suit? Lots of sharks??

Answer 1

hehehe. i'm a new zealander. yay! well... it's bloody cold in winter in the sea, as you can guess. we never really wear wetsuits unless you're going to a surf beach to actually surf or diving. we don't have sharks that much. never heard of a shark attack in new zealand in my life. good luck, and welcome to NZ when ya get here.

Answer 2

You can, but whether you will want to or not is another story. If you are in the Bay of Islands, it can be warm enough year round.  In Invercargill it can be awfully cold, especially in the winter.  So it varies a lot.  Never heard of a shark problem while I was living there.  Hot pools on the other hand, they are certainly great year-round :)

Answer 3

just watch the bad polution in some areas around auckland wellington and the central north island lakes

Answer 4

Yes you can swim all year around in NZ - but it does get freezing in Winter, so yep, a wetsuit would come in handy.

Personally when I lived there I would never jump in at winter!

Summer is beautiful though.

Sharks are very rare - eg:  During the past 150 years in New Zealand, there has been an average of just 2.6 Shark attacks per decade and only one fatal attack every 13 years

- for more info though on Shark attacks in New Zealand see http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/...

Answer 5

don't bother about the sharks but do watch out for stingrays!

Answer 6

It probably partly depends on how much you feel the cold. Some people swim year round.The water gets pretty cold, and the further south the colder.

So yes I would suggest a wet suit was a very good idea.

There are sharks, but usually not lots close in. Especially if it is colder water. There were more than usual last summer close in because it was warmer than usual.I would not say we had a shark problem like Australia. But we do have them.