That famous phrase ''it's deja vu all over again'' seems a fitting description of the weather afflicting the so-called ''summer holidays'' in Otago.
Early January last year was plagued with bad weather.
Now, as every camper gazing out of their caravan window knows, the weather is again windy, wet, cool and unpleasant.
On the plus side, a heavy rain warning for northern Fiordland and southern Westland was lifted yesterday afternoon as a front moved north and some patches of blue sky were reported overhead late in the day.
But on the negative side, the MetService is predicting a mixed bag for the next 10 days.
An improvement is expected on Friday and Saturday but a return to rain and cooler temperatures is due on Sunday and the days following - the only difference being the weather will be coming more from the west than the south.
Wanaka
For those who towed boats to the Lakes District from all over the South Island, the choice since New Year has been boating in the wind, or in the rain, or both.
Stuart Wylie, of Invercargill, and his boys Tom (16) and Scott (14), managed to get in a little fishing at the more sheltered neck of Lake Hawea yesterday morning.
But, after half an hour or so, they were on their way back to camp.
''We just caught two salmon so I said, `right that's it. Let's go. Mission accomplished'.''
They had one week of ''lovely boating'' before Christmas.
''But for the last eight or nine days it has been terrible.
''Just wind and rain every day.''
They spend every holiday in the Wanaka area and have one more week to go this year.
The King family, of Christchurch, said they appeared to have Lake Hawea to themselves when they went ''biscuiting'' yesterday morning in a brief patch of slightly better weather.
''We just wanted to go for a blat because we've come all this way,'' Paul King said as the family headed back to their tent in the rain.
The first-time visitors to Central Otago had one reasonably good day on Lake Wanaka and were keen to make as much use of their boat as they could.
''It's just an expensive trailer otherwise.''
Mr King said they had been camping at Lake Hawea since January 2 and it had been ''very windy - to say the least''.
Queenstown Lakes District Council harbourmaster Marty Black described conditions as ''pretty grotty'' and things were ''all quiet'' in his area.
Mr Black said he would much prefer good weather and people out on the water enjoying themselves.
Wanaka Yacht Club commodore Quentin Smith said the club managed to run five of its eight scheduled New Year Regatta races despite winds at the ''upper end'' of the limit for events and despite a ''quite heavy chop''.
''I don't think it's been horrendous for sailing but it hasn't been ideal.''
Mr Smith said it was quite common for conditions around Lake Wanaka to be ''unstable'' over New Year.
Alexandra
It may have been a somewhat wet summer holiday period but it did not seem to bother many campers in Central Otago, camp ground owners reported.
Alexandra Holiday Park owner Janice Graham said the park was just starting to empty out, but not necessarily because of the weather.
''I think the weather was better here than anywhere else,'' she said.
The Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park did have a few campers ''up and leave'' though, co-owner Catherine Woods said.
She said the weather ''has put a bit of a damper on things'' but she had not heard too many complaints from campers.
The park was yesterday preparing for its second wave of holiday-makers.
Fruit growers around Central Otago have been battling the rain, with some using helicopters to help dry off vulnerable cherries.
All those spoken to by the Otago Daily Times reported some damage, specifically to early cherry varieties. As Earnscleugh orchardist Harry Roberts said, ''It's just a bit early to be counting our chickens.''
Cromwell orchardist Mark Jackson said apricots, which can develop brown spots after too much rain, were ''loving the rain''. He said the summer weather had been similar to last season's.
Oamaru
In North Otago, since the start of December more than 90mm of rain had been recorded at the Otago Regional Council rainfall site at the Dasher, west of Maheno, and more than 110mm at Danseys Pass.
Despite that, campers holidaying in North Otago for the most part still enjoyed themselves, according to camping ground owners.
Waitaki Waters Holiday Park owner Derek Chapple said although some people had left the Oamaru holiday park early, others had stayed longer than they had originally planned.
''We have had a much quieter time over the last two days. They have all been clearing out, so it's all back to normality now.
''Our numbers were up over this period last year; overall, everything was up. It was unfortunate with the weather but people still seem to be enjoying themselves.''
Otematata Holiday Park co-owner Kirsty MacLeod said the Otematata township had escaped most of the wet weather and the campsite still had ''a good crowd''.
Yesterday was the first time it had rained during the day since Boxing Day, she said.
''Thankfully, a lot of it just goes right around us, so we have missed quite a bit of it.''
However, Environment Canterbury warned the rain had resulted in increased water levels and ''significant spill flows'' would continue for at least several days from Lakes Benmore, Aviemore and Pukaki as Meridian Energy spilled excess water.
Queenstown
Heavy rain in Queenstown yesterday, which eased in the late afternoon, capped off a week of inclement weather that had put a dampener on some summer celebrations.
The Otago Regional Council's website showed that in the 24 hours to 4.30pm yesterday, 37.5mm of rain had fallen at Paradise, near Glenorchy, with 154mm falling there in the past seven days.
At the Shotover River at Peat's Hut, 9mm of rain had fallen in the 24 hours to 4pm, with a total of 44.5mm in the preceding week.
Rain has been a feature of four of the past seven days in the resort, affecting the one-day international cricket match between the Black Caps and West Indies on January 1 and keeping many holiday-makers indoors.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times from the warmth of a caravan at the Arrowtown Camping Ground yesterday, Rohan Russell, of Christchurch, said she and her husband, Matt, had spent 10 days in Twizel before coming to the resort.
While the weather had not been fantastic, she was not fazed by the rain.
''It's nice to have a wet day - you can just loll about.''
Ngai Tahu Tourism southern regional general manager David Kennedy said the rain had been a ''bit of an issue'', with operations suspended on Friday due to high river levels and operating intermittently yesterday.
However, it was far improved on the same period last year, when heavy rain caused the Shotover River to flood, forcing a closure lasting several days.
''It's been more patchy, but it's definitely better than last year.
''It's frustrating, but there's nothing you can do about weather - it's just part of operating in an outdoor environment.''
