Brrrrr...

Well it's that time of the year again - winter!

The seasons here in NZ occur on the turn of a month, not like in the UK. So Winter officially started here on the 1st June and will end on the last day of August, Spring starts 1st September etc.

This time last year we were making posts on the weather and I remember this one - A Winters Tale - like it was yesterday. The snow scattered Rimutuka Hills are back and despite being cold, as written in that post all you need is some sunshine and you are sorted.

Of course we now live in Upper Hutt and despite only being 30 minutes away from the city, the change in climate can be dramatic!

We had a few summer months in our new home and we sweltered at temperatures near 40 degrees, and when we mentioned this to our friends they would give us this 'look' and tell us that although the summers were better, we should be prepared for the winter!

This morning we awoke to a -1 degree temperature. There was ice everywhere and Denver went out for a slide around on the decking instead of his usual old stroll round the garden. Everything was white and glistening and from our home we could see the deeply covered Rimutuka Hills in the distance.

After lunch we went for a drive into the valley to see the snow capped hills of the Mangaroa Valley. They were stunning!

One thing is for sure it's still warmer than it ever was where we used to live in the UK. I remember 5 inch thick ice filled paths and death defying walks to work on a morning. Snow laid throughout the town and getting stuck in the car was just a daily occurrence.

I must admit though I don't miss it one bit! I do however welcome the wonderful memories the snow brings, the amazing childhood memories of sledging, building snowmen and having snowball fights.

In some ways I feel sad for Bethany that she might miss out, but she will have more memories of other things that we could never have done in the UK, things that she would have never had and experiences she would have never share. I think that is worth more than a snowball fight any day.