Winter Arrives Early

The storm that hit the bottom of the South Island yesterday continued to rock our van overnight and drummed hail on the roof to wake us up this morning.

Just as spring has apparently already sprung back in the UK, winter seems to be ahead of itself here in NZ and the temperature has plummeted below zero. This morning's readings were -3°C with a 'feels like' temperature of -13°C owing to wind chill. We have purchased matching woollen hats that mark us out even further as tourists and have started to put the heater on to warm up the camper van. It is astonishing to think that we were sunning ourselves on the beach only a couple of weeks ago.

Unlike its usual capricious switch in the middle of the day, the weather stayed resolutely wintry throughout, ranging between hail, sleet, snow, and driving rain for the entire journey. Given the forecast, we decided early to ditch our plan of visiting the Catlins - an area of outstanding beauty on the south east coast - and break from the Southern Scenic Route to head straight for Dunedin.

Reasoning that temperatures would be lower in the south, we headed north hoping it would bring more hospitable conditions, but it wasn't long before we saw snow-covered hills and a light dusting on the road. With the car heater blasting inside and the frosty vista outside, it put me in a decidedly festive mood.

We broke the journey at Balclutha - approximately half way between Invercargill and Dunedin. The name apparently means "Town on the Clyde" in Gaelic and reveals it and the region's Scottish origins. The glossy brochure we had picked up on the town promised an "excellent range of friendly retail and food outlets". These seemed conspicuous in their absence as the cafés we visited lacked any kind of welcoming ambience and subscribed to the 'tray bake' school of cake making, as opposed to serving up the decadent slices we have been fortunate enough to find thus far on our journey. A desultory cup of coffee, most of which was spilled into the saucer, was enough for me before I proposed that we moved on. I think the cold weather might be affecting my outlook.

Wet Dunedin

Our arrival in Dunedin was greeted by a fresh hailstorm. Driving through the city centre, we arrived at Leith Valley Motor Park, on the banks of the river by the same name. The weather had not improved any and we sat looking disconsolately out of the window. I felt guilty and regretful that we would not venture out to see anything that Dunedin has to offer.

Despite not really wanting to leave the warm confines of the van, I suggested that we visit a local bar only fifteen minutes' walk away for some colour. At Inch Bar, the owner was both friendly and talkative, while the selection of beer - predominantly from local Emerson's and North Island Tuatara - was good. I settled on Emerson's Bookbinder - an English bitter reimagined with a New World hoppiness, while K sank into a creamy bottle of Panhead Black Top Oatmeal Stout, which was kindly warmed up from its fridge-cold temperature by the proprietor in order "better to appreciate its flavour". While an unprecedentedly kind gesture, I wondered why he kept such dark beers on ice in the first place.

Back at the campground, K put together an Asian-inspired winter noodle dish with parsnip and red cabbage stir-fried with ginger and glass noodles. I thought the result was tasty and warming, but K was adamant that the weather demanded pie and mash.

Winter stir-fry

Fittingly, we settled in after dinner to watch the film Snowpiercer, whose frosty scenes failed to warm us up any.