Winter in Sydney

I'm fed up with the winter. The trouble is that winter in Sydney is quite complex. In the Netherlands it is much easier to endure. When you wake up in the morning you know it will be another cold day and you prepare for that by putting on a lot of warm clothes.

In Sydney it's also cold but not the whole time. It can be really nice and sunny or freezing cold depending on the time of day and the weather.

The Australian winter officially lasts from 1 June till 31 August. We are now half way and luckily the coldest period is already behind us. In August the average temperature is 17.7 degrees compared to 16.2 in July. At night, the temperature drops to eight degrees.

The past few weeks the temperature was a little below average. One night it was almost below zero which is very unusual (and cold!).

Our house only has a small gas heater in the kitchen. The rest of the house, including the bed rooms, is not heated. As I write this, I'm wearing a coat to give you an idea how cold it is.

So far we have never had the heater on during the day. A few hours in the morning and in the evenings. Somehow it doesn't feel right to turn the heater on when the sun shines.

We are not the only ones with a badly heated house. Everyone complains. "Sydneysiders" believe they live in a warm country and when they build a new home they forget to install proper heating. "Uhhhh, why do we need that?"

In the city you see a great variety of winter clothes. Some people exaggerate and seem to think they live on the North pole wearing woolen hats and gloves. Others wear shorts and thongs as if it's mid summer.

It is not easy to put on the right clothes and a mistake is easily made. One day I went for a walk along the beach wearing a winter coat and three layers of jumpers while people were sunbathing in bikinis and shorts. Ouch.

I JUST HOPE IT WILL BE SPRING SOON!