Sea surface temperature (SST) observations from 16 coastal sites around New Zealand are analysed along with some corresponding air temperatures. Day-to-day variations in SST show weak periodicity over an 8-16 day range. Air temperatures are generally cooler and short-term fluctuations have 3-4 times the standard deviation of the SSTs. Seasonal SST variations are described and coastal SSTs are compared with offshore SST data. At Farewell Spit the coastal SSTs were always cooler than offshore SSTs which supports the view that upwelling is persistent in the Cape Farewell region. Inter-annual variations in SST are found to be correlated with Southern Oscillation atmospheric pressure anomalies. In particular we find that the El Nino phenomenon which is accompanied by warm SSTs in the central and eastern tropical Pacific is also accompanied by lowered SSTs throughout New Zealand's coastal waters.