The tropical ‘Top End’ of Australia sees more variation in humidity and rainfall than temperature. During the ‘wet’ November to April humidity can become uncomfortable, and some transport links are made impassable by rainfall. Central Australia sees little rainfall at any time of year, with very hot summer days and pleasantly warm winters. Further south, the weather becomes more like ours (though with austral seasons), but with milder winters and hotter summers.
New Zealand has four seasons (broadly opposite to ours, with summer from December to March and winter from June to August). It is generally mild and temperate, with warmer weather in the north than the south, and drier weather in the east than the west.
French Polynesia has a fairly stable, warm, tropical climate, with temperatures varying between 20ºC-30ºC in the ‘winter’ (May to November) and 24C-33ºC in the summer. Tropical storms tend only to occur as a result of El Niño.
The Cook Islands have a wet season from December to March, when the warmer, humid days often see rain and even the occasional storm. However, ocean breezes temper the stickiness, and apart from this period the weather is usually pleasant.
Fiji is that the western islands are drier than the eastern islands, though there is some regional variation. The tropical climate means rain can fall at any time, but usually comes as a short, spectacular deluge that clears quickly. Temperatures usually stay between 25ºC and 30ºC, but the drier months from May to September are the best time to visit.
In Samoa, as with much of this area there is a distinct wet season between November and March, while it is drier from April to October, but it does tend to be fairly hot and humid most of the year. As both main islands are mountainous the interiors can often be shrouded in low cloud and as a general rule more rain falls in the south of the islands.