We drove to Arthurs Pass which is right in the Alps. We knew the weather today would be bad but thought we might get in a short walk in the afternoon and a good hike the next day. The views on the way were ok but clouds obscured the mountain tops.
The DOC officer on duty in the info office in Arthurs Pass village said that it would not rain on Tuesday but it was 50-50 whether there would be low cloud or blue skies. We parked on the DOC site at about 3pm and the rain was coming down. We treated ourselves to a hot chocolate in the village cafe but didn't spend long there as their internet was down. By now it was hailing and did so for the next few hours. We went back to the van, got the duvet out and read our books. It was freezing and with no power we couldn't have the heater on. At about 5.30 I thought I would cook - it would give me something to do and it would heat the van a bit. Ah - I had forgotten to take the mince out of the freezer section! Another night it wouldn't have been a problem we would have had salad etc but we really needed hot food and the cafe had shut. There was a YHA hostel nearby so I donned the waterproofs and walked up there. I showed the manager my membership card, explained the problem and he allowed me to defrost the meat in their microwave.
The night was absolutely freezing and we put on our thermals, several layers and our woolly hats on to go to bed.
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