‘Lovely’ lab rescued from cliff
A sharp drop in Wellington’s temperature has seen a steep increase in sales of heaters, electric blankets and winter duvets, and a surge in the amount of power being used.
Figures from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research show the minimum temperature for the capital dropped from double digits to single last week.
Snow fell on the Rimutaka Hill Road on Sunday for the first time this year, and temperatures reached a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius on Monday.
The abrupt start to winter came after an autumn where the city enjoyed much warmer temperatures than normal.
Briscoes had seen a 40 per cent jump in sales in Wellington, compared with predictions, over the past 10 days, managing director Rod Duke said.
There had been few sales of winter-related products until just recently, but people were now snapping up heaters, electric blankets, winter duvets and flannelette sheets.
Harvey Norman had sold almost a month’s worth of winter products in the past week, general manager of small appliances Evan Claxton said. The first three weeks of May had been very slow, but the rush in the past week had made up for it.
Last year saw a more gradual increase in the sale of winter appliances.
Duke said the increase in sales had been mostly consistent across the rest of the country.
Sales of stock pots and heatproof glassware from Briscoes had also gone up, as people started to cook heartier meals on colder nights.
The sudden change in weather had coincided with the Warehouse’s birthday sale, a spokesperson said. Stores across the country, and particularly in the lower North Island, had also seen a significant increase in the sale of winter items. Heater sales had led the way.
The cold snap also saw a surge in the amount of electricity used. The lower North Island used 5.363 gigawatt hours more on Saturday and Sunday than the weekend before, according to the Electricity Authority.
With an average cost of $0.23 per kilowatt-hour, the extra power used in the region would have cost $1.2 million.
Powershop’s Mark Soper said people budgeting for power would need to put more aside to account for the cold weather.
‘‘Households are about to be hit with their first significant power costs for the year. Planning for these extra costs now is important to avoid financial stress or debt later on.’’
Keep your gumboots and raincoats handy – gales, heavy rain and thunderstorms are on their way for many.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said more wild weather was forecast, as a number of weather systems, embedded in a westerly flow, crossed the country rapidly bringing cool temperatures and the wet stuff to both islands.
For Wellington though, the next three days will be mainly fine with a few wind gusts and the temperature topping 15 most days. A black labrador’s owner thought his pet was gone forever after he went missing on Saturday morning.
But incredibly, his four-legged friend Beau was rescued yesterday from a narrow ledge 30 metres up a steep hill in Esk Valley, near St Andrews in South Canterbury.
David Bain, a dairy farm manager, was on hand when line rescue firefighters abseiled down the 8-metre cliff to the dog, put it in a harness and hauled it up.
The 4-year-old canine had last been seen about 10.30am on Saturday when Bain heard him howl after making contact with an electric fence.
‘‘He just bolted. I looked for him but couldn’t find him.’’
Farmers in the neighbourhood heard Beau barking over the weekend but some dismissed it as a local farm dog.
By Monday, another neighbour, Peter Murphy, who had been away for the weekend, heard the barking and went through the Otaio River tributary and saw the dog on the ledge below pine trees and on a cliff area.
He could not get close as the terrain was too steep so local volunteer firefighter Marcel Pompa made a rescue attempt at 11.30am on Monday but only got within about six metres of Beau.
He could see he was a black lab with a red collar and and did not appear to be injured.
Eleven Timaru fire crew members were called in, including seven line rescue specialists, yesterday.
Bain only discovered it was Beau being rescued when his wife contacted him after hearing media reports about the rescue.
He described Beau as an awesome, lovely dog.
‘‘He’s one of the calmest dogs I’ve had. He loves to be a lapdog, but he’s 78kg dripping wet.’’
Timaru assistant area commander Michael Balmer said the whole episode had gone smoothly and was good practice for his team.
‘‘We are looking at it as a training exercise.’’