“On a Mish” #338 Significant Weather Event – Part One. Lake Clearwater Village. Hakatere Conservation Park. 11.7.2022. The weather is something you have no control over, therefore sometimes you just have to sit back and marvel at its magnificence. In my mind there is no such thing as ‘bad weather’, sometimes rain or snow is called ‘bad weather’ but what if you enjoy the delightful drips of rain or the sweet sight of snow falling. We are lucky here in Aotearoa as many times a year we receive a little bit more than a light shower, and to witness one of these significant weather events from a safe location may stop you referring to rain / snow as ‘bad weather’ ever again! The main thing is not to put a negative spin on it and maybe, just maybe, you might enjoy the simple entertainment that is on offer whenever the skies turn grey…
Due to a very stressed health system getting a CT Scan has been a real mish, and not one that I enjoy partaking in. This has left me in limbo while I wait to have my insides looked at. I’m not one to bury myself in a computer for hours or binge watch a TV series, therefore I need to find outdoor activities to keep me entertained or as close to it as possible. A location that has served as a base for activities close and far is my second home at Lake Clearwater Village. Recently the little crib has kept me sane as time has rolled on and no progress has been made in my recovery. As we are now deep into a rather chilly winter I have dreamt of heading up to the crib during a snowstorm as a way of filling in time while I wait for progress. Ironically all of the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, as a significant weather event had been forecast, but due to my normal mountain vehicle being at the mechanics I had no way of getting across the plains to the mountains. Luckily my old man held the key to mission success (literally), as the legend lent me his car and now I could head west into the storm.
Grey skies over Christchurch cleared as I made my way towards Mt Somers Village and any worries about the real world disappeared just like the reception on my phone. The remote bliss of Hakatere had been reached and it was time to sit out a couple of days of reality in the tranquil surroundings of Lake Clearwater Village. After winding and weaving my way through the foothills I got out into the open and saw the Ashburton Lakes area with a little bit more snow on it than expected. I had spent a few days up at the crib a month earlier, and on that visit the snowline was still high on the mountains that surround the lakes. As the tires of my father’s car crunched over the semi-frozen ground outside the crib I could smell the beginnings of a storm and a mish in the air, and a mish and a storm was definitely about to happen…
