NZ Weather

[Today's weather reminded me of this speech Asia made last year. We had a short summer, followed by a lovely fall, but winter in on its way. -- The Editor]

by Asia Baltzley

New Zealand weather really drives me crazy at times. Don’t you sometimes feel like you want to scream when it starts raining for the sixth time that day? I know in America people picture New Zealand as paradise on earth, with it’s beautiful beaches and rolling green hills, as they see in the countless movies filmed here. But I knew they were wrong when I first arrived in Aoteoroa. You see, they only saw 25% of New Zealand. That’s right: summer. I hate to say it, but the other 75% is: rain, wind and sometimes snow.

When I first came to New Zealand, I came in winter, so I saw the worst of it. I remember when I first heard the wild Kiwi wind. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard it howl like a crazy cat. Yeeeoooow! “What in the world is that?!” I half expected them to say, “No worries, that’s our pet tiger.” I also remember leaving the umbrella at home on what looked like a perfectly sunny day and paying for it later. But this winter is even worse than the last! I mean rain, wind and even, a power cut. You feel like screaming, “What did we do to deserve this?!”

Wouldn’t it be great if it stayed summer all year long? You could spend every weekend at the beach and never worry about getting caught in the rain again. But as we all know, every silver lining has a cloud (or something like that). And if it was summer all year long it would mean … yes, it would mean, THE ATTACK OF THE TOURISTS!!! Every beach and ice cream shop would be flooded with foreigners wearing cameras around their necks and socks with their sandals. Yes, we’d have tourists coming out our ears!

So maybe the winter isn’t so bad. I guess every cloud does have a silver lining. So welcome this winter with open arms, but be sure you are wearing a jumper and have a good umbrella.

2006