Swollen Waimak

After seeing the flooded Waimakariri River out east yesterday I decided to go to the Waimakariri Gorge Bridge for a look. The water was dirty and running high, but I have seen it much higher and wilder. The wind was rugged. You can see what it is doing to the cabbage trees.

The forecast for today was a nor’wester with gusts up to 120kph. They weren’t kidding. The gusts can knock you sideways, but it’s the ones that whump down from the sky that I find a bit disconcerting.