So, where the bloody hell are you then?

I was warned that the winters down South were going to be pretty cold and expected to be up to my testicles in snow for half of the year. The truth is a little different - lowland Canterbury (the plains in other words) gets frost overnight but only when the sky is clear, meaning that the following day, it’s likely to get to 15 degrees or more.

What kind of a winter is that?

We had snow last week and that apparently only happens once a year, or less. Less ? How can you get less than sod all? The good news is that you do get plenty of snow on the Alps, otherwise the skiing would be a little disappointing, don’t you think.

To celebrate this winter-fest, we took our new monster truck over to Akaroa to soak up the sun, have a spot of lunch and a beer and to recharge our batteries after a challenging week at work.

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This one was taken from the pier looking back to Akaroa. You can buy fish caught that very morning from the pier and if only we had remembered to bring the chilly bin, we’d be eating that for dinner tonight, but it would have been less than fresh by the time we got it home, because “you know who” insists on having the interior of the motor at melting point.

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As the light faded and we took the long and winding road (cue The Beatles …) home, we pulled over to take this one, looking back towards Akaroa. You can probably see the wintery sky and cold looking sea that is typical for this time of year.

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And finally, a photo of our new toy, amongst the Chistmas trees and bogged down in snow - must be global warming or something, because it was about 18 degrees outside. Even Jackie had only one coat on …

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