New Zealand · Southland · May

Southland in Mayhow the month reads

May is a solid shoulder month for Southland inside New Zealand, with cooler than the yearly mean by 2.0°C. The safety bulletins below apply.

Rank: 5 of 12
Score: 25/100

May match

25/100

Free-tier default preferences.

What’s open · May

Things to do in Southland in May

Limited
The Great Walks (Milford, Routeburn, Kepler)
out of season the alpine sections carry snow, the side-stream bridges are removed for the winter, and the crossings are for experienced trampers only
Sources: doc.govt.nz, doc.govt.nz, doc.govt.nz, newzealand.com

Opening seasons are checked by hand against the operators and parks themselves, not derived from the climate figures on this page. Last reviewed 2026-10-26. Dates move — confirm before you book.

Temperature
11°C
−2.0°C vs. yearly mean
Month rank
5 of 12
for Southland
Best months
January · February · March
highest regional score

12-month temperature · Southland

May in context

Temperature°C

View data table

Month	Average daytime high (°C)
January	17.8
February	17.6
March	16.1
April	13.3
May	10.9
June	8.4
July	7.7
August	8.8
September	10.4
October	12.3
November	14.9
December	16.5

Safety · 6 governments

What the governments say about New Zealand

Combined advisory · most-cautious-wins

Exercise normal precautions

Highest level across 6 governments · Advisory last changed 2026-10-18

See breakdown by country