Opinion: Memories of summer camping - in the rain

Wet weather at Mount Maunganui campground. Photo/File

Let's face it, there are never any guarantees when it comes to New Zealand summers.

They can be scorchers, or they can be wet and soggy. Or they alternate between the two, literally day by day.

A "monster storm" is sweeping large parts of the country as I write this. Out my window in Rotorua's CBD the rain can be classed as somewhere between "bucketing down" and "cats and dogs".

For those of us already back at work, it's no real bother. For farmers, it's a blessing.

And it doesn't necessarily have to spell disaster for those on camping or beach holidays either.

One of my most vivid memories as a kid was a family camping trip to Mt Maunganui, back in the days when the Bay of Plenty was a distant and exciting land to this 'Naki born and bred girl.

I can't remember if we had warnings - this was well before the days of smartphones and weather apps.

But I do remember the moment my parents had had enough. I can still picture them braving the gale force winds and pelting rain in the middle of the night to pull down the tent and pack us all up, as we huddled in the back of the car. Cold and wet, we took refuge in a motel nearby. But what an adventure it was.

Likewise, New Year's Eve 1999 camping by a beach in the Abel Tasman National Park. It poured. But sheltering in a cave with a guitar and a singsong turned into the perfect way to welcome the new millennium.

So to all those camping or on beach or lakeside holidays, stay safe and enjoy the adventure. It may not seem like it now, but one day you will look back and smile at the memory.