Our first few days in New Zealand have been…interesting. Interesting to say the least. I have to confess, there have been a few times when I’ve asked myself, why didn’t we stay in sunny Sydney…?

It all started as we stood in line to pick up our campervan. We were in Christchurch, which is on the East Coast of South Island. An information board read ‘if you don’t know about Cyclone Gita, ask us!’ I didn’t know about Cyclone Gita – so I asked. And discovered that an evil Cyclone had wreaked havoc on Tonga and was now making a beeline for New Zealand, with torrential rain, floods and sea surges expected. A quick Google revealed that upper and central South Island was due to be worst hit, which is where we were. It seemed odd, as the weather outside was lovely. But over the next three hours – we had to wait in line for three hours to pick up our campervan – the weather deteriorated and by the time we hit the road, it was raining. We decided to abandon our plans to go North and headed South instead. We picked an inland campsite in Rakaia Gorge. On the way down, we stopped off at a supermarket and stocked up on enough food to keep us going for at least three days – just in case we ended up stranded or the roads were closed.

I’d like to tell you what Rakai Gorge was like, but the truth is, I didn’t see much of it. By the time we arrived at the campsite, the rain was torrential and visibility poor.  The site was basic with no wifi and no electric hook up so we couldn’t find out what was happening with Cyclone Gita. All we could do was cook some food and try to keep warm. As soon as it got dark, we climbed into bed. Miraculously, we slept well, but after spending seven weeks in tropical temperatures, we woke up feeling the cold.  The weather was wet and windy but nothing worse (yet!) so we drove back to Christchurch to pick up some supplies.

The first shop we hit was a camping store where we stocked up on  waterproofs, thermal underwear and sleeping bags. David tracked down a cheap mobile phone for use in New Zealand and a couple of torches. Now we felt ready for Hurricane Gita! We went to a café and checked the latest news reports.

The news was not good.

It seemed that since we came into Christchurch, a state of emergency had been declared. It was expected to flood badly. Other things had got worse – flights were no longer coming into New Zealand and ferries between South and North island were cancelled. Tourists were being advised to seek shelter and keep off the roads.  Hearing all this, we left Christchurch swiftly and headed back to Rakaia Gorge for another night, dodging the odd flooded road. The site was looking worse for wear, with large areas of grass flooded and most of the other campers gone. Despite the new purchases we were still cold and still unable to find out what was going on. Overnight the campervan was battered and buffeted, but we woke up to find we were all in one piece.

It was still raining cats and dogs. What to do? Sit it out for another night or take the risk of driving further North to a campsite which might offer something more than a cold, wet night indoors?

We took the risk and headed North to Hanmer Springs. Hanmer Springs is a small town which is best known for its thermal springs. Arriving in Hanmer Springs, the terrible weather continued but with some improvements.  The campsite had a kitchen, which gave us somewhere reasonably warm to eat and cook. And there was wifi!  We could let our families know we were still alive. Best of all there was a pub within walking distance. It was warm, and they had live music and beer, so we found a table and settled in for the night.

The next morning we woke up to find that the rain had stopped – hallelujah! We checked news reports and found that the Cyclone had not caused as much damage as feared. A few roads were closed, and some rivers flooded but that was about it. We headed down to the hot springs and as soon as it opened, we were in. It was wonderful to lounge about in the slightly smelly sulphurous spa water, at temperatures of 38-40 c.  As well as the various pools, there were three ‘flume’ rides which we couldn’t resist. The weather steadily improved, and soon the sun came out, chasing our ‘Cyclone’ blues away. I think New Zealand might be okay after all…