Hot Hot Hot!!!

Tonight, at least, I have a reasonable excuse for not being asleep at 2.39am it is HOT - 26 degrees Celsius in fact according to the weather website.  Half of Queensland (those without air conditioning anyway) must also be awake probably tossing and turning and cursing every so often.

How typical is it that, on the day before the hottest day of the summer so far, the air conditioning starts blowing only hot air out and not the icy cold that keeps me sane?

Ironically I am one of those Kiwi's who, when asked how I cope with the heat, says 'Oh the heat doesn't bother me, I love the heat' when what I should really say is 'I look forward to 30 degree days with no humidity and a light breeze' so all Aussies can smirk at my naievity.

One thing heard and said by many a wannabe Aussie contemplating a permanent move across the Tasman is 'it's a different kind of heat over there', well all I can say is Hot is Hot and if you have difficulty coping with the rare 28 to 30 degree day of a New Zealand summer then you've got no show of enjoying the 34 degree plus days of an Australian summer.  

Some hot days are easier to cope with than others, I agree, for example, my husband (less crazy than myself but also less sensible) spent one 42 degree day chain sawing logs on our rural property (an hour south-west of Brisbane) during our first inhabitation of Australia and coped quite alright because there was far less humidity that far from the coast.  Admittedly he did dive into the pool clothes and all when he'd had enough.

On a positive note, it is actually warm enough for me to swim at the moment, I've even contemplated moving into the pool area on a more permanent basis these last few days.  I can't remember submerging in anything other than a hot pool in NZ since I was a wayward teenager, when it was more important that my bikini looked fabulous than how many goose bumps covered my body.  Hot pools, as in swimming pools heated until steam rises, are one of the few things still unique to New Zealand, as far as I'm aware.

I do feel for the tradies (that's trades people or blue collar workers for you Kiwis), the builders, road workers etc who don't have a choice but to be out in the heat all day.  My tradie at least has an air-conditioned lunch room and a swimming pool at the workshop to escape to.

I also feel for the mother's with grumpy and bored children, I'm sure there are plenty thanking God for movie theatres, ice skating rinks, bowling alleys and shopping malls during these school holidays - some shopping centres are so big that you can easily waste a day there revelling in the modern wonder of air conditioning and still not get around all of the toy aisles in every chain store. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure I would still far rather cope with an Aussie summer than a New Zealand winter as long as I have the necessary survival tools on hand, that being a working and large air conditioning unit, a large unoccupied swimming pool, ice cold water, a large hat, sunnies and the all important cabana boy to lather sunscreen on my back - just kidding, I must be heading for dream land again.

Until next time......