Electrical storm dazzles holidaymakers

Multiple strikes of lightning illuminate the sky above Omarama on Wednesday. Photo by Andrew Sise.

A spectacular two-hour lightning storm lit up the night sky in Omarama on Wednesday.

Greg Sise, from Dunedin, had been enjoying a regular family holiday in Omarama when the storm hit about 9pm.

''It was a very spectacular electrical storm and it went on for a long time. We could hear thunder in the distance during the day, but the lightning started about 9pm and it was still going strong when we went to bed about 11.30pm.''

Mr Sise said his 21-year-old son Andrew was able to get a picture of the storm from the west-facing balcony of their holiday home.

''It didn't cause any damage, and there wasn't a lot of rain. There were not any severe winds or anything, just particularly spectacular lightning.

''It was mainly just good to watch.''

He said his family had come to Omarama every year since 1998 and they had seen the occasional storm, but this was ''definitely the biggest''.

''It was huge . . . I could still hear thunder when I got up in the morning about 3.45am, so it went on for a long, long time.''