Golden hour in Wellington in January

Wellington lies at 41.29° S, in the mid-latitudes, where the seasons reshape the light noticeably. Its longest measured day falls on Sat 19 December 2026 with 15h 10m of daylight, and its shortest on Sun 21 June 2026 with 9h 11m — a difference of 5h 59m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Wellington runs for roughly 42 minutes at the height of summer, 36 minutes around the March equinox and 44 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 301° WNW in late June and toward 237° WSW in late December, a shift of about 64° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Wellington, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.