New picnic spot
Volunteer Lincoln Paul has co-ordinated the building of three new picnic tables at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi. They are at Te Akatea ki Kapiti, a pasture area being newly revegetated that has an ocean view toward Kapiti Island. Also, Whanganui artist Des Bovey's poster of the sanctuary's wildlife is available for sale.
Pre-Christmas rain
Rain is expected in Whanganui from today onwards but MetService is still predicting a dry Christmas Day. Meteorologist Lewis Ferris said a low pressure system was forming in the Tasman Sea. "That's going to wrap around the country around that Wednesday and Thursday period, and it's looking like it'll bring some wet weather to Whanganui on both those days. "On Tuesday there'll be bits and pieces of rain throughout the day, more likely in the afternoon hours. The rain will get more substantial as we go into Wednesday." While it would remain relatively wet up until Thursday evening, Ferris said winds would turn around to the southwest overnight and things should clear up around the region. "There's the chance of an early shower on Friday morning, then fine spells with temperatures of 20C. The westerly winds will be slowly dying out through the day. The low will be moving pretty quickly across the country and away to the east." There could be a little more wet weather on Boxing Day (Saturday). Temperatures would remain at around 23-24C through to Thursday, Ferris said. "The most intense rain this week is expected to move through pretty quickly. It will be heavy for a time, but at this point it's not looking like we'll reach any warning criteria."
