Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A warm day in Wellington has renewed the debate on whether to a shift the summer break later in the year, to make the most of the best weather.
At beaches in Wellington and Eastbourne on Tuesday, locals were out enjoying the windless, 25-degree day - and after the coldest average start to the season in 10 years, many in Wellington were just happy to see the sun.
"This is primo - it's about time," said one. And another: "Probably the epitome of Wellington on a good day."
One student said they would normally be doing assignments, but the sunshine had pulled them into the outdoors.
The relief was tangible: "It's a feeling of - finally!" said one beach-goer, and "Summer's finally here!" said another.
But in a cruel twist of fate, most of the capital's workers experienced the sun through glass in air conditioned offices, back on the job after the Wellington Anniversary holiday on Monday.
A seagull above Wellington's Oriental Bay on a warm and sunny anniversary day. Photo: Adnan Rao
Sam Boland said her husband was among them - and he was not stoked about it.
"He's pretty gutted," she said. "He's going to try and finish work early so we can go to the beach."
The sunshine might have renewed calls for a rethink on when we take our longest break of the year - an issue close to the heart of former Ohariu MP Peter Dunn.
He said after a similarly disastrous start to the summer eight years ago, he decided to kickstart a campaign to better align the holiday period to the summer weather by shifting it later in the year, into February.
At the time, a petition garnered several thousand signatures, and Dunne said the logic still stood.
"We've got to be realistic, there will be good years and bad years," he said. "But more consistently than not, we get better weather - more settled weather - in February and March."
As it was, working people and families who looked forward to a summer break in the sunshine were often met with patchy weather.
"I think it's still an idea that's alive, and still worth considering."
Would he once more be leading the charge? "No, I'm not planning to - I'm hoping to be able to benefit from it though!"
Beachgoer Gavan Riley, who looked forward to any opportunity to spend time with the grandkids, agreed there was merit to the idea.
"It would make a lot of sense for school children - but I love it that I get the real holidays when they're all back at school," he said.
"But I remember trauma from childhood that finally, you're back at school, and the weather suddenly turns beautiful."
Metservice meterologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane told RNZ it was not just a feeling - the data backed it up.
"The warmest time of year for Wellington would be February," she said. "The average maximum temperature in December is about 18.7 in Wellington, for January it's about 20.3, and February, not too much warmer but warmer nonetheless, around 20.5."
It was mostly thanks to the moderating effect of the ocean.
"Typically, ocean water takes longer than land to warm up, which means by the end of summer, the surrounding ocean would have warmed up enough for us to start feeling the effects."
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