Editorial: Sentinels shield us from nasties

The Hawke's Bay have two body guards called Kaweka and Ruahine.

You'd be forgiven for thinking we're bullet proof.

If it weren't for the enduring memories of Cyclone Bola in 1988 and the 2011 weather bomb, you'd swear this is a weather-free zone following the hollow threats of Cyclone Lusi.

Notwithstanding these two events, this region seems to evade the lion's share of nasty stuff hurled at the rest of the nation.

Without tempting fate, one could argue we're almost a tempest-free zone.

In the case of tropical easterly lows, we're at the mercy of nature. Luckily these big events of easterly persuasion are rare.

But in terms of the prevailing westerly nasties, Hawke's Bay has two exemplary bodyguards who go by the name of Kaweka and Ruahine. The two burly sentinels shield us from the inclement moods of the unremitting westie bad guys.

Consider what these two ridgelines endure for us. In the past 24 hours MetService tells me they absorbed 200mm of rain - and an indeterminate volume of wind.

I once stood with my two sons at the ridge just up from the Ruahine's Sunrise Hutt. At lifting our heads above the summit we were all but blown back to base camp. It's then you fathom what a substantial sum we owe this stolid shelterbelt.

Irishman Oscar Wilde said conversation of the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative. Cynically, I'd argue it's the first refuge. On the flipside, while I'm loathe to knock one of my literary heroes (particularly on St Patrick's Day), Mr Wilde was childless and a city dweller which, given I'm a parent and provincial, means this writer knows the impact the elements have on day-to-day life.

It's hard not to love a big storm's irreverence. Like Cyclone Lusi, the weather listens to neither forecast nor criticism.