Farewell to Spring.... Brrrrrh!

 New Zealand may be the only country in the world where, regardless of what the weather looks like when you leave the house, you should always take along a sun hat, a hooded raincoat, sandals, and boots - and you'll need all of them at some point. If you have ever heard Crowded House's song “Four Seasons In One Day” that's exactly what it's like here (they are a Kiwi band, after all).

With spring a distant memory of several days ago and summer finally here, the weather turned so hot we had to take the duvet off the bed; then it went back on the next day because we were so cold. We put the laundry out to dry in the brilliant sunshine, an hour later we were frantically dragging it inside out of the downpour. And so it goes. The most inexplicable weather is New Zealand's “liquid sunshine.” You'll be walking along under an (apparently) cloudless sky, no coat on because of the heat, and suddenly you'll be pelted with hundreds of tiny drops of rain.

But who can complain when millions of flowers are in bloom, the air is thick with bird calls, and every field and farmyard is filled with baby lambs, ducks, chicks, piglets, and calves - and the roads are covered with......Mini Coopers. Which brings us to our first installment of “Things Common to New Zealand (that you will seldom, if ever, see in Santa Monica).” Starting with: a Mini Cooper Convention. Ah, but not just any convention. This was a vast migration that clogged the roads throughout both the North and South Islands as the doughty little cars convened like a gathering of the clans.

I gave up counting after reaching 300....

.....and this is why they call it a "Mini."












But there's more going on along New Zealand's motorways than caravans of classic cars. There's also livestock - and lots of it. That's why you'll see sights like this to remind you of who really rules the roads:

 
Yes, they may seem all fuzzy and innocent, but you haven't seen the cars that have had a "run in" with them at 100 kph. We've found ourselves - suddenly and literally - in the middle of a cattle drive on several occasions, but this is the best shot I've ever been able to get. For some reason, Jim was never too keen on my either getting out of the car for a better shot or using the flash. I can't imagine why.

It isn't all technology and livestock, though - there's also a spiritual aspect to New Zealand's roadways. When the first European settlers arrived here in the 1800's they looked beyond their basic physical needs to their spiritual comfort as well. The small population in any given area and the high cost of building materials, however, led to this country's becoming the world's undisputed #1 location for  miniscule churches. As the population soared to thousands, however, new larger churches were built that could seat more than a couple of dozen parishioners. And that's where Kiwi ingenuity has come in. Instead of letting these little gems that sparkle along NZ's roads decay and be torn down - they have been repurposed.

Yes, they now serve their communities as museums, fruit and veg shops, art centers, antique stores, pubs, and - of course - clothing stores (in case you can't read the coffin, it says "Clothes to Die For").

We didn't do any decorating this year, but nature took care of that for us - this is the Pohutukawa - a.k.a. the New Zealand Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays to All!

Next Post: You can tell what season it is by the road kill...