at Rarotonga
p. 45 · Read in the full issue
Unpleasant Weather Conditions at Rarotonga
From Our Own Correspondent
Rarotonga, Jan. 20.
VERY harsh things have been said about the weather here, particularly during December and the early part of January.
Heavy showers have fallen almost daily.
The persistent showers have deepened the green in the trees and vegetation over the whole island. Many flamboyant trees about Avarua which but a short while ago looked as though they would never again bear leaves, much less flowers, have blossomed with al most miraculous suddenness.
On January 13 the weather took up and we realised once more that we were living under the tropical sun. Despite the cooling effect of trees and vegetation, the tempera ture rose to 88deg. F. in the shade, and has since hovered at about this point.
Our highest temperature for the island Is 91 degrees. This perhaps is not to be com pared with the heat registered in parts of Northern Australia—124 degrees—but the hur ricane season here is nevertheless trying for for women and children accustomed to New Zealand conditions.
The three o’clock closing of shops and offices, which extends from January 1 to March 31, has come as a welcome relief.