Let it Snow- Methven, Canterbury

Catch-up (mid-July)

A major snowstorm had been forecast a couple of days after our arrival at the Methven Camping Ground, it was one of the reasons I was keen to stay in the high country. I say there's no point in spending winter in the south if you don't get to experience a snowfall or two, right? We waited in anticipation for the first signs of snow, checking the weather apps and local weather Facebook pages regularly. Well I'd waited in anticipation, David waited in trepidation. 

And then finally around 5pm and right on cue, after one very cold afternoon, the snow arrived. Silently and softly it began to settle...

A steady fall gradually coating all in sight...

Then falling faster as the wind picked up...

...and night fell.

Then down it came much heavier and with lots of big snowflakes.

I wasn't the only mad one out enjoying the snow, other campers were gathered in groups or running about, laughing and chasing each other with snowballs. For some it would have been their first time in snow. It was cold and damp and it was getting dark but there was no way I was going to miss out either! I don't think it's just me who gets a thrill from snowfall, and no matter how many times I experience it, it's still a wonder.

In the end the snow just got too heavy to take decent photos. My camera is shower proof but the snowflakes kept getting blown in and settling on my lens, even with the lens hood protecting it. I took this one from the van door- my assistant wasn't too keen on following me around with an umbrella to keep the snow off my camera so I left it behind...

...and took a few with my phone; I was rather pleased with the unintentional slo-mo effect here. 

It snowed on and off overnight, the soft splatter of snow on the roof lulling me to sleep more than a few times. 

I was up early the next morning to take some photos before the snow was disturbed. I was a little disappointed to see that not as much as had been predicted, had fallen overnight. And also that others had been before me!

The campground has quite a number of cabins, they're named after South Island ski fields which I thought was rather cool.

I came across the Russell family having a hot drink beside their bus; they were on holiday from their home in the Coromandel, visiting the South Island to experience winter and snow and were thrilled that it had snowed overnight.

This snowman was made as a surprise for one of the boys in the motorhome who was celebrating his birthday. 

Only in New Zealand- where do old jet skis end up? 

Riding invisible waves in children's imaginations...

I left the camp behind... 

...and headed down to the village to take some more photos; the Blue Hotel, now looking more in keeping with its alpine village location...

...and the Brown Hotel, behind a similar coloured, slush covered main street.

Methven- famous in New Zealand. TV One's Breakfast programme was broadcasting from the village. After all the media hype around the advancing snowstorm, I think viewers would have been a little disappointed with the (snow) coverage.

Out and about around Methven- as you can see the weather hadn't quite finished with us, black storm clouds were heading our way from the south.

Living up to her name- Our Lady of the Snows, Catholic Church.

Mt Hutt and the surrounding farmland had a good covering of snow...

And here's Mt Hutt, taken from the same road just 24hrs earlier...

I headed home as the weather closed back in. The camp kids were still enjoying the snow; having snow ball fights and making tracks as they rolled great bales of snow about.

By mid morning the snow had started to fall again. Snow bales lay abandoned where they fell (and continued to provide an obstacle course for vehicles coming and going over the next few days).

The snow got heavier and the temperature dropped sharply

Campers hurried home from the village...looking at me sideways as I took shelter in the nearby car shed while taking photos.

A winter whiteout adventure...

It snowed on and off  for the rest of the afternoon and some of the night and then the rain arrived, turning the snow into slush and washing much of the campground snow away.