Half-way through May I think we were all wondering when winter was going to arrive.
People were still swimming in the sea and daily temperatures were nudging 20 degrees. The duvet hadn’t made it onto the bed, the mountain remained bare, while most days we were treated to the most glorious sunrises and sunsets.
Then suddenly, in the second to last weekend of May, it was here.
Lightning strikes, tornados, 7 metre swells, driving rain and the first big dump of snow on our mounga that traditionally heralds the start of a Taranaki winter.
I, like many other locals, headed to Facebook page Extreme Weather Taranaki to check out the carnage around the region. It’s a site that has become an integral part of the community and is also our cover story for this issue. We relished having an opportunity to showcase some gnarly weather photos from Taranaki photographers, as well as feature some of the intriguing shots from contributors to the Extreme Weather Taranaki page.
The winter theme continues with Nick Walker’s interview with Paralympic Gold Medal winner, sit skier Corey Peters (P34) and Amber Mathew’s article on Comfort Foods (P66).
Then there’s the heart-warming stuff, like Caleb and Kendyll Haapu’s transformational story (P26) and body-builder Jake Stewart’s amazing triumph over teenage bullying. Further inspiration can be found in our 2022 Women In Business special, starting page 55, while our 10 page Entertainment section showcases some of the massive variety of events on during the colder months.
That’s another great thing about winter… there’s nothing like curling up on the couch with a good read.
Live life,
Irena Brooks