March 16, 2014. Christchurch, New Zealand. The Weather.

We have been blessed with good weather in New Zealand. For the whole three weeks, the sky has been blue and the sun has been bright…..until now. In the middle of the night we could hear the wind, then the rain. It has not stopped yet. The rain is pelting down so hard that the wind blows the rain sideways and looks a little like snow or fog. This is the tail end of typhoon Luci, who hit the North Island yesterday. We are getting just the edge of the storm as it heads out to see. We were delighted to experience the end of a typhoon as it is a first for us. Gill went for a walk this morning and reported that the temperature is moderate. The streets are flooded and the Avon River is very high. In some places it is overflowing it's banks. No one was out on the street. She wore her river sandals and rolled up her pants. Tonight we had reservations to take our guide and his wife out to dinner but they cancelled as their house is surrounded by water so they can not get out. Instead, we three will dine out together and Tuesday evening we have rescheduled our dinner all together. Tonight, I intend to wear my river sandals and a skirt. Both Ken and I brought excellent rain coats so we are pleased to be getting them out of our cases. The gardeners will be happy for the rain. Tomorrow, we will walk over to check out the flowers to see how they have survived the heavy rain. For us, we are having a wonderful day watching New Zealand television and the rain, all from the comfort of our suite at the YMCA.