Wind back with a vengeance

ROSS GIBLIN/The Dominion Post

HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE: "I was in danger of losing my beanie into the sea a number of times,'' says John Silvester of his windy walk.

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Hold on to your hats, those winds are set to continue.

Wellington winds returned with a blast on Tuesday night and look set to bluster on until Sunday.

Wellington man John Silvester took a helping hand from runner Bernie Portenski and her friends when he was caught in high winds on his morning walk yesterday.

The 64-year-old has been walking 10 kilometres a day, from his Mt Cook home to the Evans Bay Yacht Club and back again, for the past two weeks.

"It was at Pt Jerningham where the wind was worst ... I was having some difficulty and I was crouched down really low behind the wall.

"I was in danger of losing my beanie into the sea a number of times, which is why it looked like I was hanging on for dear life."

Mr Silvester recently recovered from a nasty tumble and has been using a walking stick to keep himself stable.

"Then the runners came up behind me and said, `Would you like some help' so there I was with a woman on each arm."

Mr Silvester said it was the strongest wind he had encountered on the point.

He plans to walk 10 kilometres every day for 35 days and has a personal rule to be "out the door by four" every morning.

He began his walks after hearing about 350, a climate action group.

On October 24, International Day of Climate Action, he hopes to organise some sort of group walk to raise awareness.

A front pushing a heavy band of rain passed over Wellington between midnight and 4am yesterday, dumping 30 to 35 millimetres of rain over the region in about four hours.

Wind gusts reached up to 159kmh on Mt Kaukau.

The Rimutaka Hill summit and Kelburn endured gusts of 120kmh and 110kmh, and most of the region was hit by gusts of more than 100kmh.

MetService forecaster Cameron Coutts said strong winds of up to gale force were likely to continue until Sunday.

"It's typical spring, equinoxal weather, lots of wind but pretty fine."

- © Fairfax NZ News