The South Island is unseasonably cold and wet. In the last few days we have had the sort of rain that filled the river so quickly that it got in the way of George getting home from a difficult lambing. Our braided rivers are fed from the Southern Alps and melting snow and consistent rain has swollen them to bursting point. At times like this you realise why the river beds are so wide – they really do fill with water, creamy torrents carrying debris and causing a mist to form above the churning water. Truly an amazing sight!

Here’s the report of the day’s flooding in Otago, a little further south than us, but territory with which Sophia and her family and friends would be very familiar.

https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/highways-closed-flooding-hits-south