The worst of winter is behind us

In build up to my big move to Oz, I sold an abundance of my belongings; including most of my large coats and other winter attire.

I did not imagine Western Australia would be this cold.

I broke my golden rule in life - never, ever assume.

My naivety came after experiencing a blistering hot summer in Perth last December, and having numerous people bang on about how warm WA is all year round compared to New Zealand.

Before leaving Christchurch, I told my peers that one reason for my departure was because I couldn’t bear another freezing cold winter in the South Island.

My ears perk up every time I hear people in the South West mention how cold it has been this winter in particular.

At first, I would say: "Pfft! That's nothing compared to Christchurch".

But then when I thought about it, I probably wear as many layers to bed here as I did in NZ.

They call it "Fridgetown" for a reason, that’s for sure.

Nevertheless, an analogy that warms my heart is hearing that Bridgetown is as close as you can get in WA to being in NZ.

With chilly weather, plenty of greenery, and friendly folks - I can see why.

If I were to compare winter here and winter over there, I reckon I wear as many layers to bed in Bridgey as I did in Chch.

I remember being sick for a week, two years ago, when I lived in Wellington, and wore about seven layers of tops and slept under two duvets.

Everyone has their own method of keeping warm at night: get the fireplace going, heaters, insulate the house, bulk up on clothing etc.

I made the mistake of sleeping with a heater on during my second chilly NZ winter; I unknowingly sweated in my sleep, which led to terrible acne for almost a year.

My face resembled a pepperoni pizza.

I now opt for an electric heat blanket.

I caught up with 62-year-old Kevin Hornby, a man who has lived in Bridgetown his entire life.

He reckons this sort of winter was the norm 25 years ago.

"Obviously it's much colder and a lot wetter [this winter]," Kevin said.

"This is the way it used to be. Which is good because it will put water in the underground water table and the dams, and will flush the river and creeks out."

Kevin's go-to on a chilly evening is to get a fire going.

It helps that his house is fully insulated.

Manjimup Community Resource Centre manager Ranui Harris said we should be used to the seasonal extremities by now.

As "a Kiwi girl who has lived here for 18 years", Ranui knows what to expect.

"I think our weather is as cold and wet as it usually is," she said.

"This time of year people forget it's winter."

Ranui grew up in Tuatapere (aka "the sausage capital") - a town at the southern tip of the South Island of NZ – where she used to pour boiling hot water over her water pipes to defrost them.

"I haven't seen it hail once this winter. It isn't that cold, people!"

It’s not only us – towns and cities across WA have shivered through some fairly brisk nights with temperatures dropping below zero.

One night last month saw Perth's lowest winter temperature since July 25, 2012, when the mercury dropped to 0.4 degrees – and on another day, Perth's maximum reached only 14.2 degrees; its coldest July day in five years.

Plus, we’ve had our fair share of stormy weather warnings over the past few weeks.

We can all look forward to welcoming spring next month! The heat of summer is only a few months away…

– Matthew Lau