Next usable light
7:45 PM – 8:44 PM
Solar noonDaytime57.2° · 360° N
Queenstown, Otago · Mon, Oct 26
Evening golden hour · 7:45 PM – 8:44 PM
Weather, terrain, buildings, local access, and elevation are not included.
https://goldenhourly.pages.dev/queenstown-new-zealand/?date=2026-10-26
Morning
Evening
Where to point the camera
On this selected date, the sun reaches 57° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 251° WSW.
Pick the month before the day
Plan around the season: Queenstown's sampled golden window stretches to 1 hr 10 min in June and compresses to 57 min by March. Check the bearing column before trusting a remembered spot: sunset lands at 235° SW in December but 303° WNW in June, a 68° shift. December days run 15 hr 35 min; by June they shrink to 8 hr 47 min.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:18 AM | 9:32 PM | 15 hr 14 min | 8:48 PM · 1 hr 5 min | 238° WSW |
| February | 7:02 AM | 8:58 PM | 13 hr 56 min | 8:18 PM · 59 min | 251° WSW |
| March | 7:41 AM | 8:10 PM | 12 hr 29 min | 7:31 PM · 57 min | 266° W |
| April | 7:20 AM | 6:12 PM | 10 hr 52 min | 5:32 PM · 59 min | 283° WNW |
| May | 7:57 AM | 5:29 PM | 9 hr 32 min | 4:44 PM · 1 hr 4 min | 296° WNW |
| June | 8:23 AM | 5:10 PM | 8 hr 47 min | 4:21 PM · 1 hr 10 min | 303° WNW |
| July | 8:20 AM | 5:24 PM | 9 hr 4 min | 4:37 PM · 1 hr 8 min | 300° WNW |
| August | 7:45 AM | 5:57 PM | 10 hr 12 min | 5:15 PM · 1 hr 1 min | 289° WNW |
| September | 6:50 AM | 6:33 PM | 11 hr 43 min | 5:54 PM · 57 min | 274° W |
| October | 6:54 AM | 8:10 PM | 13 hr 17 min | 7:31 PM · 58 min | 257° WSW |
| November | 6:08 AM | 8:53 PM | 14 hr 45 min | 8:11 PM · 1 hr 3 min | 242° WSW |
| December | 5:54 AM | 9:29 PM | 15 hr 35 min | 8:43 PM · 1 hr 8 min | 235° SW |
Find the months when sunset faces your spot
Pick the direction your subject faces the sky. Months whose sunset lands within ±10° light up in the table above. Disabled shortcuts have no matching row in this visible mid-month sample.
Each row samples the 15th of the month at these coordinates, so dates near a month boundary can differ from the printed row — around here day length moves up to ~3 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow Pacific · Auckland, including any daylight-saving change.
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 4:44 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:25 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:04 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:16 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:35 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:30 PM |
| Sunset | 8:25 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:45 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 8:44 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 9:35 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 10:17 PM |
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Oct 26 | 6:16 AM – 7:15 AM | 6:35 AM | 8:25 PM | 7:45 PM – 8:44 PM |
| Tue, Oct 27 | 6:14 AM – 7:14 AM | 6:33 AM | 8:27 PM | 7:46 PM – 8:46 PM |
| Wed, Oct 28 | 6:13 AM – 7:12 AM | 6:32 AM | 8:28 PM | 7:48 PM – 8:47 PM |
| Thu, Oct 29 | 6:11 AM – 7:11 AM | 6:30 AM | 8:29 PM | 7:49 PM – 8:49 PM |
| Fri, Oct 30 | 6:09 AM – 7:09 AM | 6:29 AM | 8:31 PM | 7:50 PM – 8:50 PM |
| Sat, Oct 31 | 6:08 AM – 7:08 AM | 6:27 AM | 8:32 PM | 7:52 PM – 8:52 PM |
| Sun, Nov 1 | 6:06 AM – 7:06 AM | 6:26 AM | 8:34 PM | 7:53 PM – 8:53 PM |
The moon over Queenstown is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
The list supplies map-search starting points, not ranked recommendations. Confirm access, closures, permits, safety, and horizon obstructions yourself before setting out. For the selected date, the mathematical sunset bearing is 251° WSW. If the composition faces differently, use the bearing planner in the month table above to identify sampled months; the result remains a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
In Queenstown, the evening golden hour window runs 59 min on the selected date and approaches from 251° WSW. Arrive 15 minutes before its start when that window occurs, then choose a position with an open view toward that bearing. Don't rely on the generic “one hour before sunset” rule here — the real window shifts with the season, so check the computed times for your date.
See the calculation method and limits before relying on the estimate in terrain-sensitive or safety-critical conditions.
Common questions