[Glenda]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122207

Been caught on the Desert Road once before ... stuck in snow in a car without heating :eek and had to be towed by a tractor ... but that was in June. Bit of a shock for those in Christchurch and Queenstown too???

Just know we are going to what will be one of NZ's coldest winters on record. :roll: :roll: :roll:

:?

[Diny]

Just read that report ..... looks like my first job when I arrive is a trip to The Warehouse to stock up on those electric heaters :nice1

We're always moaning about the weather in this country, but I reckon it's just the fact that while we're freezing our nads off over here it's summer in NZ which makes it seem so much worse, but we need to remember it cuts both ways.

I spent the afternoon sitting in the garden with my sister, wearing a T-shirt and sipping some plonk ........ and it isn't even even May yet :nice1

Diny

[freeflyer]

Cool !
the snow , the wild weather warnings and the road closures , are one of the best bits about NZ (so exciting and romantic.)
I just love waking up to fresh snow , or driving out to find some, obviously I am very immature though. :laugh
Enjoy it you lucky ones who are out there :nice1
Anna

[Babette & Andy]

Wow, that's quite incredible :eek My parents are in the Canterbury region at the moment, hope they've packed some winter woollies. Can't wait to hear their stories.

Like Diny, we had a wonderful sunny and warm day here in Cheshire today. Managed to do lots of gardening, all in preparation for putting the house on the market.

I must say though, I am looking forward to some really cold wintery weather, oposed to the 'allmost wintery weather' we've been getting in this region over the past few years.

Babette

[Kim39]

Hmmmm.......last friday night was driving in the early hours from Milton Keynes and it was SNOWING quite heavy, and a good friend of mine was on his way to Glasgow, was just past Carlisle and was caught in a blizzard. Snow was coming down thick and fast and was settling. Went over Beattock and it was a complete white out. Thought this was spring?

After the warm weekend we have had in the North West i'm now beginning to think that NZ can wait for a couple of months.

Kim

[Babette & Andy]

Wow Kim - sure you were awake behind the wheel ???? Amazing how quick the weather can change.

Back in March they had some extreme temperature changes in Holland too - it was -20 degrees followed by +20 degrees only 2 weeks later :eek Needless to say many people subsequently suffered with colds and flu etc.

Babette

[Gran]

We never get snow here thank goodness, Hibiscus Coast, but it went from tee shirt to sweaters overnight yesterday, it is a lovely sunny day today but cold, so I will wrap up and go for a walk on the beach.

[wilson182]

The weather here seems to be much more exteme than the south of England. The wind is alot stronger, and that storm the other night :laugh Hubby and I were standing at the door watching and laughing like a couple of kids :nice1 It really brings home the fact that you are living somewhere completely different, and its quite a good feeling.

It seems to me that winter arrived at about 11.30pm Saturday evening, and the temps have dropped quite a lot here. Just your typical bank holiday weekend really :nice1

[Moorf]

Bring on the snow :clap :clap :clap

I don't suppose there is much chance of us getting any here so close to the sea :? but the mountains are a stones throw away :clap (or should that be a hailstone throw away :roll: )

Bring on the chunky jumpers, skidding down the drive on frozen puddles, leaping out of bed to make the first footstep in the snow and icicles hanging off trees *sigh*

Can't wait for our boards to turn up in a couple of weeks - rang the slopes to see when they open.. they said "when it snows" :roll:

[Robert Dazzler]

It`s still nice and sunny around Hamilton, about 16°c
or 17°c but getting a little windy. There was a frost the other morning though.


Bobby.

[Singel]

I still feel very strange having winter in the middle of the year, dunno whether is it just me. :oops:
Nearly one year ago, when we just arrived, we were so busy with finding house, jobs and working on immigration stuff that we didn't have time to sit down to reflect on things and think about the season. :roll: :uhoh
Last night, my hubby said that he always had his birthday celebrated in the garden during the long daylight. Now, we are on the other side of the world and he has to celebrate his birthday inside the house on a short daylight. It really takes a long time to get this sink into our mind that our life is now totally change, not just with lifestyle but also the season.................... :eek

[Diny]

I must say though, I am looking forward to some really cold wintery weather, oposed to the 'allmost wintery weather' we've been getting in this region over the past few years.


Too true !!! I'd much rather have extreme winter than the wishy washy, can't make it's mind up, kind of weather we get here.

Bring on the chunky jumpers, skidding down the drive on frozen puddles, leaping out of bed to make the first footstep in the snow and icicles hanging off trees *sigh*



I know what you mean. Is this childhood memories thing something that gets more intense with old age or were the winters of our youth so much colder and snowier?

Diny

[sarahw]

I think we've had all the seasons in 48 hours here in Welly - flip its cold! We've had full sunshine, torrential rain, hail, thunder & lightening (pretty amazing storm!) and fierce wind!

I finally gave in yesterday & went to Bunnings Warehouse & bought an oil filled radiator - put it on last night - took ages to heat our lounge.

Today spent quite a while working out how to use the heating (yes we have heating here!!! but have been putting off using it due to the cost of elec/gas compared with income) - have it on now & nearly all my clothes on (plus wool blanket & sleeping cat on my lap - still cold) - It must only be about 11/12 degrees C outside but it feels like -5 due to the Southerly wind & the fact that the house (wooden job) has no insulation & single glazing. Gosh I really didn't realise just how cold the housing is here. Lets hope we have a winter with lots of sunshine to heat the house!

If you're about to come over - bring jumpers!!!

[Moorf]

Is this childhood memories thing something that gets more intense with old age or were the winters of our youth so much colder and snowier?

:laugh :laugh Quite possibly! But alot of my youth was spent up near Inverness so possibly we had colder winters than most! :laugh

When we moved down south it was the opposite - everyone said the summers were hotter when they were younger although personally I think the summers have been hotter in recent years :?

I'll tell you when I'm older :laugh

[GeorgeM]

It seems to me that winter arrived at about 11.30pm Saturday evening

Thank goodness it wasn't about three hours earlier. Our seats in the West Stand at the Jade aren't under cover. We can (and did) take a bit of rain, but golf balls being fired from on high would have had us running for cover I think!

I still feel very strange having winter in the middle of the year, dunno whether is it just me.

This is one of the more difficult things to cope with in NZ, I think. At least in the Northern Hemisphere Christmas intervenes to split up the grotty part of the year - for a month or so you seem to either be planning for it or celebrating it. Here in NZ it starts to get cold and if it's a bad year it can be a long slog before you come out the other end in Oct/Nov.

We had a week in Queensland last year to break it up and it was so good we're going again this :clap

[sarahw]

Ooh good idea! :cool