Somewhere Over the Pacific

Wednesday 17 April 2019

One of the unexpected side-effects of living in New Zealand us that a lot of places suddenly seem ‘just around the corner’. Not that they are, of course, its just that to get anywhere else needs quite a bit of effort so places that may previously seemed far-off suddenly don’t. Or, to put it more succinctly, only one flight away. That’s why, with a few days off for Easter we ended up travelling to the other side of the Pacific and checking out Canada. 

It really couldn’t have been any simpler;  finish work at 4pm, a short drive to the airport, get on a flight out of Auckland at 8pm and wake up in British Columbia. The only troublesome aspect being that you arrive at 2pm almost exactly six hours before you left. Luckily I’ve always liked Wednesdays so that worked out all right! It certainly was a bit odd arranging to meet a friend at 6pm when we didn’t actually leave New Zealand until 8pm.

A while ago, when we first announced our plans for our Easter trip we were told, on more than one occasion, that Canada was just like a scaled up version of New Zealand. That is, sea, mountains, lakes and an over reliance on motor vehicles as a primary means of transportation. Whether or not this or the other unsolicited opinions we had been given were true, we were sure looking forward to finding out.

Summer’s Almost Gone

To borrow a popular UK advertisement for a moment, Carlsberg doesn’t do summers, but if they did they would probably look a lot like a New Zealand summer.

With average daytime temperatures usually hanging around the mid to high teens they are not particularly scorching. Unlike our neighbours across the ditch where thirty plus is not uncommon. Frankly, they can keep ‘em. 25 degrees is perfect for me. Warm enough to feel comforted and still be able to be active but without the feeling that you’re slowly being dried into dust. In fact, temperatures here are so consistent during the summer months that you need to make sure that you have plenty of shorts to wear because you’ll be wearing them every day.....and night. And this being New Zealand, no-one will take take a second look if you walk into a restaurant or bar in flip flops, a T-shirt and shorts. It’s all good.

Then there is the rain, or rather the lack of it. Even in Auckland, which is derided by the rest of the country for being a little damp, I can count on one hand the number of days rain this summer. Even though it’s pouring down as I type this, New Zealand summers are fairly consistent. Planning an outdoor event? No problem, just go right ahead. It’ll be fine. Even if it does rain, it’ll be intense, short and warm. And once that’s passed, the sun will be back and you get about getting about your business. No point wearing a coat, far too warm for that. Just get wet and dry out. 

With the sun popping it’s head above the horizon at 6am and settling down at night a 9am, at least up north in Auckland, the days aren’t fantastically long, but enough to get stuff done outside. And you’ll be outside an awful lot. Whether it’s in the mountains, on the beach or just wandering around. I do miss the long UK nights when it doesn’t get dark until 10pm but the Kiwi hours of daylight are a fair trade off for the more stable weather. And I certainly don’t miss the 4am wake up call of daybreak in the UK thank you very much.

But weather alone does not a summer make. Fortunately New Zealand is surrounded by water, which means beaches and sea. Plenty of them. Even in the most populated city of Auckland it’s absolutely no bother to find an empty beach. A little imagination and local know-how is all you need to get away from the popular spots and crowds. Just remember to take plenty of water, sunblock and a towel and your all good. There will almost certainly be a Pohutakawa tree to shelter under.

So it’s with great sadness, that I have to admit that summer is almost over. With the arrival of April comes the onset of Autumn. Darker nights are just around the corner, less stable weather and with that rain. Once the clocks are put back an hour tomorrow, it will be time to put away the garden umbrella, stow the beach towels for another year, turn off the anti-mosquito spays and give Bernie the Barbecue a clean down. Temperatures are not going to dip below 20 degrees for a month or two so it’s not all bad, and to be fair Auckland doesn’t get that cold. But it’s not summer. Pretty soon the sea temperatures will drop leaving only brave or foolhardy souls to endure being in the water without a wetsuit. Sure shorts are still ok but you might want a fleece jacket until the sun comes gets it’s act together.

It’s a long old haul to spring from here. At least if October seems like a long way off, there’s alway the option to escape to a South Pacific island for a few days. It’s the Cook Islands for us this year. A few days soaking up warmth mid-winter is just enough time to recharge reserves and set you up for the final push.

But that’s for later. Still time enough to enjoy the last hurrah of summer. Or Autumn I guess. It’s hard to tell. It has gone a bit cooler - last night was the first time in a long while that we didn’t have to sleep with the bedroom window open - shoulder seasons aren’t really a thing here. It’s sort of summer then it’s not. At the moment shorts and t-shirts are still ok and will be until they’re not. And by then a week in Rarotonga will be coming into view....and from there it’s only a short hop back to summer. And like I said, Carlsberg doesn’t do summers, but if they did they would probably look a lot like a New Zealand summer...,,