The warmth of spring is here!

As anyone who lives here in Wellington will tell you, the title of this post is untrue. We did have a brief period of spring-like weather quickly followed by an extended wintry blast (included snow in the central North Island).

Lucky old me escaped from Wellington's weather to experience some lovely spring weather when I travelled to Australia a week or so ago.

It was wonderful to have some respite and be able to laze in the sun on the beach. My parents were on holiday and staying in a 2-bedroom apartment on the Gold Coast in Queensland - at a little place called Kirra. Our days started early (5am!) with a cup of tea and a walk of an hour or so on the beach. This was followed with breakfast and any chores before heading to the beach for a spot of sunbathing. We visited several surf clubs, sports clubs and RSLs (Returned and Services League) for drinks, meals and a little play on the pokie machines. The following picture is of the high-rise apartments of Surfers Paradise at about 5:45am as the sun was coming up on one of our beach walks.



We did have one day of wet weather but had planned to do a trip inland to see a natural formation called the Natural Arch (a very original name!). The picture below shows where the stream enters the arch having eroded a hole in the rock over the years.


While I was only away for 6 days it was a nice break and great to see and feel the sun. Spending time with my parents was fun and it was sad when I had to head for home (and back to the rain and wind!).

Maybe spring in Wellington will arrive soon! Sure hope so.