Crashing Sea Waves At Kaikoura During A Winter Storm

The weather in New Zealand is not always great. To dispel a few myths: It is not always warm, it is not always dry, it is not always beautiful.

And it can sometimes get very cold when air from the South pole is blown towards New Zealand (polar blasts or cold snaps), especially during winter in New Zealand.

In July 2008 I went on a trip to Kaikoura for some winter photography. The day I arrived, it started raining, and kept raining for 48 hours non-stop. I had not seen so much rain fall in such a short amount of time in my entire life!

And all of that water that came down did good damage. There were floods everywhere, but worst of all, highway 1 North and South of Kaikoura got closed because of several landslides which had taken place.

This meant that there was no way in or out of Kaikoura. Since I was only to spend 4 nights in Kaikoura, I hoped and prayed that the highway would be cleared before I had to leave. Eventually I did get out, but I’ll spare you that story.

The point I want to make is the following: Be prepared for any type of weather when you come to New Zealand. While the weather in some places can be more stable than in others, it still remains pretty much unpredictable, especially during spring, autumn, and winter.

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