Let the pictures begin!

All of our stuff was delivered and while much of it is now out of the boxes, it hasn't been put away yet. Part of the reason for this is that while the house is much larger than our old apartment, there is less closet space. Another part of the reason is that we don't have any furniture to put stuff in. But we're working on that!

This is one of our favorite pictures from a tourist sign. It reads:

Blame it on Cook Strait.

Our prevailing north-west winds accelerate through the straight, giving us 173 days of wind over 60kph (32 knots) each year, on average. Southerly winds also intensify through this narrow gap, giving Wellington the strongest winds on record in New Zealand.

During the 1968 Wahine Storm wind gusts reached 270kph (145 knots). That's double hurricane force! Wind measuring equipment at the airport was destroyed as Wellington faced the most intense storm ever recorded in New Zealand.

Force (kph) Description
2 (7.5-11) Leaves are in motion
3 (13-18.5) Gentle breeze. Raises light flag.
4 (20-30) Moderate breeze. Small trees sway.
5 (31-39) Fresh breeze. Large branches sway.
6 (41-50) Strong breeze. Whole trees in motion.
7 (51-61) Near gale. Hard to walk against.
8 (62-74) Gale. Large branches break off.

Did you read the best part? 173 days a year over force seven. To see some more pictures click the picture below:

Pictures