Ingrid Tiriana: Nostalgia cracks gloom of 'the big dry'

We're having the mother of summers this year and it's hard to know whether to feel guilty about enjoying the fact or embrace it.

New Zealand must look far from a lush paradise from above - our landscape is brown for as far as the eye can see. There appears to be not a blade of green grass left on our farms and the lawns of those of us who do not have sprinkler systems and aren't inclined to stand outside with the hose for hours after dark are just as barren.

Coming down the Skyline Rotorua gondola the other night, the effects of "the big dry" were laid out before me - brown back yards, brown sports fields and parks and beyond them, the brown hillsides of farms on the city outskirts.

A part of me is loving this weather. It seems so long since we've had what we could really call a "proper" summer.

This is like the summers of our past. It reminds me of how summers used to be when I was a child and I remember my parents taking photographs of our parched and cracked lawn during what may have been our first summer in New Zealand, back in the early 1970s.

Being new immigrants, they had never seen such a thing - the earth so barren and brown, so lacking in moisture that it was cracking up.

I keep reading that we're experiencing the driest summer for decades. It's certainly the most "summery" summer we've had in a while. The past few we spent most of the time complaining about rain and yearning for a "real" summer - we're definitely having one this year.

And it's a bit of a double-edged sword.

Sun-lovers and those who enjoy the beach and playing in the water have been enjoying a fine time.

Meanwhile farmers are feeling the pinch while growers are enjoying a boon although eventually they will also feel the pinch if this dry weather continues.

Coincidence or not, local tourism, hospitality and accommodation operators I've spoken have been enjoying an extremely busy January and February with things just starting to taper off now. There appear to be a lot of overseas tourists around.

Some people are just loving these long, hot summer days while others are pretty much over it now. I'm not sure I'm over it but like many, I am relieved that it is a little cooler in the early mornings and evenings now, which means we're getting more beauty sleep.

The Bay of Plenty has now been added to the list of regions officially experiencing drought conditions which means they get some government-funded assistance to help them get through. We will get through, as we always do, but it's the last thing we need in terms of the economy.

All of these weather-related and natural disasters that happen around the world with seemingly increasing frequency do make you wonder what's in store next. What's normal anymore? Everything seems to happen in extremes now.

What should we be bracing for next summer - another drought, perhaps flooding, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or perhaps all of the above? All are possible given the unpredictability of the climate these days. You just never know what Mother Earth is going to dish up. I guess that means we should be prepared for anything.

According to the local weather forecast, we're in for more dry summer weather in the coming days, but as much as I'm enjoying reliving the summers of my childhood, I would be okay with a decent dose of rain right now. I do prefer green to brown.

Ingrid Tiriana is a freelance writer living in Rotorua