Winter

Last week I learned that it was winter in New Zealand. Normally, I can tell that it's winter by the freezing temperatures and snowbanks by the side of the road. But it was sunny, there was no snow, and it was 55F. Not really like my past winters, but one that I certainly don't mind getting used to.

Classes ended last week for winter break so Jon and I decided to get out of town to celebrate our anniversary (11th, for those who are counting). After hearing about the wonderful time that Andy and Adam had had visiting the west coast, we decided that that's where we'd go. We looked forward to driving across the plains, over the Alps and into the sub-tropical forest -- all in a little over 3 hours! It wasn't meant to be, however (this time at least!). The weather forecast was calling for heavy rain so we decided that we'd go to Hanmer Springs instead. This is Christchurch's resort town, located about 2 hours northwest of the city. The town was built up around hot springs that the Europeans re-discovered in the 1800s, after the Maori had discovered them centuries before. 

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and spent a couple of hours exploring the hot pools. There are about ten of them, some 35C - 37C and then the sulphur pools at 40C. Finding the hotter pool became kind of a quest. At first 35C felt wonderfully warm. Until we tried the 37C one. After we'd been in the 40C pool, the 35C one felt almost frigid! Our favourite though was the one with the large faucets spraying water from the sides of the pool with various intensities. If you'd like a gentle massage, try the one over there. A stronger massage? Try that one.  This was all totally up my alley. Massage, hot pools, pampering. Yes, please!!!!

Jon, not so much. Generally, that is. The pools may have done the trick though. I think I even heard him say that it was good. (It really was. :)

When we arrived at our hotel earlier in the day, the desk clerk mentioned that they were expecting snow. Cool, no big deal. Wrong. It snowed and snowed and snowed. So much so that the town lost power and the roads were closed. Now this is the kind of winter I'm familiar with! It brought back fond memories of being at the cottage in Thornbury two years ago and being snowed in for three days.

The snow was magnificent. It draped the trees and mountains, and glistened in the sun. Being snowbound in Hanmer for an extra day, we decided to go for a walk up the hill along the snow-covered roads. A man in an SUV stopped along side us to ask if we needed a ride into town. We let him know that we were just out walking and then reflected on how nice it was to have been offered a ride. A few people further up the road eagerly accepted the offer and hopped into the truck.

We ended up heading back to Christchurch the next day. It had apparently been a record snowfall. The university was closed for a day and a half to allow maintenance workers to clear the snow and clean up the many tree branches that had sadly broken from the weight of the snow.  People were out clearing sidewalks and driveways -- with rakes and brooms. Love it, love it, love it. A very good sign that snow is not a common occurrence.

55F today. Back to the winter I'm looking forward to getting used to.

******

p.s. A few shots of a trail at Governor's Bay, just a short drive from where we live. We took the dogs for a walk/run the week before the snow arrived. In the one shot, Jon is drying Tatum off before she gets into the car. The pictures don't do justice to the beauty of the area. Will try to get better shots another time.