Where is summer? In Wellington it has been
almost non-existent, like much of the rest New Zealand. It has been windy, cool and often wet. The only places that have been relatively nice
have been Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay.
On
the other side of the Tasman they have had a heat wave. Record daytime temperatures have been
recorded in much of New South Wales through January and February. Bev was very happy to spend the three weeks
over Christmas New Year in a much cooler New Zealand. However, when she returned she cooked for
the following two months.
I was over there for a couple of weekends
during this period. It was hot. So hot all I wanted to do was find the
nearest air-conditioned room. I have
discovered that any temperature over 30 degrees is not pleasant although more
bearable than when it is closing in on 40 degrees.
At the same time Wellington was struggling
to get above 20 degrees during the day.
During the weekends there would either be lots of wind or rain or
both. So riding my bike was not a
frequent affair. Of course, when it did
stop blowing and raining we had these wonderful but rare days when one would
forgive oneself for living in Wellington.
The weather was a major topic of
conversation whether it be the scorching temperatures in Australia or the lack
of sun and more than ample rain.
To give some idea of the temperatures when I was in Sydney for a long weekend at the beginning of February it was scorching,
I had suggested that before I came over we go for a picnic so Bev was determined that we should. I made a rather nice salad and we popped that into a picnic kit and headed off a to a place called Somersby Falls which is about forty minutes north of Asquith – on what they call the Central Coast. As we drove along the outside temperature got as high as 43 degrees, according to the car. I have never been in temperatures so high. The air-conditioner in the car was very good and at least kept us cool. We thought that we might not get our picnic and certainly by the time we got Somersby Falls it was still hot but a cooler 40 degrees. Since it was so dry it wasn’t as bad as one might imagine. The falls had only a little water going through them but they were pleasant enough and we found some shade in the forest where it was probably about 5 degrees cooler – but still hot. We lasted about an hour before heading back to the relief of the car air-conditioning. Remarkably there others there as well.
