By Leanne Malcolm
The weather gods have dished out another mid-summer surprise for New Zealand with snow today in Queenstown.
Bleary eyed tourists could not believe what greeted them when they surfaced this morning when they woke up to mountains blanketed with white.
Holidaymakers headed to Coronet Peak to play in the snow though many of them were woefully under-dressed for the conditions.
Among the steady stream of sightseers to Coronet peak was a group of South African motorbike tourers.
“We’ve had rain, we’ve had a bit of hot weather as well and now, can’t believe it, snow! I mean, in the middle of summer! What’s wrong with you guys, you can’t get it right. But it’s really beautiful,” says one motorbiker.
Temperatures dropped dramatically yesterday ahead of a southerly front in the night which brought the snow and many of the North Islanders arriving at Coronet Peak to check it out were still in shorts and jandals.
That did not stop them revelling in the novelty of a summer time snow fall though.
Queenstowners are used to snow at odd times of the year but after the searingly hot temperatures lately this has come as a real shock - another example of our bizarre topsy-turvy summer.
The MetService says the cold snap will be short-lived though with a high approaching us this week.
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