Time to Rethink Summer?

Remember that chat a few weeks ago about some academic business-y dude saying NZ’s summer shut down is too long? I actually agreed with him - there is absolutely a sense if you dont have your professional ducks lined up by mid December, nothing will get traction until mid Feb at the earliest. As a contractor, this is literally the most painful time of year, never mind those who are out of work and need the wider machine to keep turning to retain hope of meaningful income.

Then - throw in the mix that it seems, every year for the last 5 years or so in particular, there’s a new story about wild weather hammering camping spots and music festivals turning into mud baths. Do we all agree the weather around December and January has always been a mixed bag? And that it feels like it is becoming increasingly more volatile?

There certainly was a time where the weather was more predictable and stable at this time of year but like all seasons have done in recent years, there does seem to be a push on the traditional seasonal windows. If one is a camper or a music festival goer, it must surely be disheartening to get washed out or be under threat of one, year after year.

That original article did make a point that in the US and the UK where the summer holidays and school holidays for that matter, fell in the middle of the year, professionals and family holidays were staggered (the UK give 4 and upto 5 week annual leave in the public service, ex US, similar entitlement to NZ). I understand our summer break is tied up nicely in a bow to fit neatly within a 12months period and connected to school holidays.

So why not shift the school year slightly - maybe more inline with the financial year - April to Feb with March off? Would that be such a bad thing? Might also be nicer for our summer and tourist hotspots to enjoy a steady period of trading, rather than a gold rush, also allow families greater flexibility to choose where they might want to go without FOMO cause everything is booked out across a small number of weeks as they currently are. Seems to be a lot advantages for a rethink no?

TD:Dr the weather is getting shitty, nothing happens for 3 months, is it time to rethink our holiday period?