Nor'wester Sunset

Every year we try our best to avoid the Nor'wester. I'm really not a big wind fan. I'm a very sensory sensitive person and wind in my ears plus the pressure gradient of Chinook winds back home drives me nuts. But, Chinook winds back home are put to shame by New Zealand Nor'westers. Nor'wester winds in New Zealand come as a result of the many low pressure fronts that steam roll the west coast. These systems are often intense and dump upwards of 20" of rain in a day out west. The thing is the fronts are stalled by the southern alps and the rains dry up by the divide. But, the weather pressures have to go somewhere and like a pressure release valve, the winds coming across the tops and screaming down the other side of the alps is intense. 120kmh sustained with gusts 140 to 150kmh isn't unheard of. This can happen several times a week in spring, as we've experienced on previous trips. And the tough part isn't putting up with wind in my ears, nor the pressure front, nor the dry heat packed in the winds, it's the fact that the streams on the east side of the alps flow west to east and the winds are almost always Nor'westers. Head winds. On one day last week we found ourselves caught in an area that is very like the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta - wind mill farms on the hillsides. We were looking to explore some new waters in Southland. And, in this area - the only one in NZ we've come across with windmill farms, we found ourselves stuck in a Nor'wester front. Thankfully we found some willow groves to fish as the winds howled. It actually wound up a quite successful day. But it wasn't until the evening that the full drama unfolded, as the peak of the front rolled through as the sun began to set. The winds knocked trees, whipped and bowed power lines, and the tussock grasses danced. It was amazing.