2019年5月29日水曜日

2019年5月29日水曜日 -

Christopher- NewZealand


Last February I decided to head south to New Zealand and escape the cold of a Japanese winter for a warm New Zealand summer. I left a chilly Osaka, around 3 degrees Celsius, and arrived in New Zealand to a ground temperature of around 28 degees Celsius! Perhaps not surprisingly, I got a few odd looks when arriving at the airport terminal building in New Zealand, as I was one of only a handful of people wearing long sleeves and winter clothes! I had a bit of body-shock, you might say, upon my arrival! I had gone from shivering to sweating in less than twenty-four hours!

The real benefit of my trip was to escape the cold, and to see my family, of course. I would gladly recommend New Zealand to any of you, whether you have been there or not, if you are keen to escape a Japanese winter. There are many things that you can experience in New Zealand that you can't experience in Japan. For example, you can try star-gazing and see the Southern Cross, which is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere. Other things you will be able to do in New Zealand that you can't do in Japan include eating Hokey Pokey ice cream and drinking Lemon and Paeroa, the popular soft drink.

Alternatively, if you want to escape the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer for a cool New Zealand winter, you can switch from swimming and surfing in Japan to skiing and snowboarding in New Zealand in June, July or August. Then you will get to watch live New Zealand rugby, and if you are lucky, you may get to see the famous All Blacks play! Their traditional pre-match Haka dance is world-renowned and not to be missed!

For those of you not sure of the geography, New Zealand lies in the Pacific Ocean to the south-east of Australia and consists of two main islands. The climate is basically temperate with hot summers and cold winters. There are four seasons, which occur roughly as follows: spring (September and October); summer (November to February); autumn (March and April); and winter (May to August).



chilly: 肌寒い
shivering: ぶるぶる震える
benefit: 便益
be keen to : ～するのに乗り気である
star-gazing: 星を眺める
the Southern Cross: 南十字星
visible: 目に見える
the Southern Hemisphere: 南半球
Alternatively: あるいは
Haka  :ニュージーランドのマオリ族の民族舞踊
world-renowned: 世界的に有名な