THE cold snap sweeping across the state has had us all reaching for that extra blanket at night.
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At 9am Thursday morning, the temperature in Nowra was 9.4 degrees and felt like 6.1.
Spare a thought for our neighbours in Kangaroo Valley, who battle heavy fogs and icy winds throughout winter.
Tom and Elizabeth Scott have been living in the Valley for a few months now, but have already developed some tips for staying warm in the winter.
“Forget about fashion and go for the ‘I'm wearing every item in my closet’ look, Mrs Scott said.
“Need a shower? Consider whether you really, really need a shower. Because unless you blast every heater you own in the bathroom with the door closed for at least 45 minutes beforehand, removing all of those layers is just not going to fly.
“Our fireplace does a great job at filling up our home with warmth during winter, but it does make it hard to justify going outside until spring.”
She said they did use a clothes dryer and “try not to think about our next power bill” or dry clothes in front of the heater.
The cold doesn’t bother them too much however.
“Personally, I enjoy cold weather more than warm weather … snuggling up in front of the fire, rocking jeans and boots and big cosy coats, drinking copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate,” Mrs Scott said.
“Also, I'm seven months pregnant, so the little snuggler inside me keeps me extra warm.”
Catherine and Bert Nieuwendijk have been in the Valley since November 2010, having moved from Sydney where they lived for 20 years.
“I was a bit concerned [about winter in the Valley],” Mrs Nieuwendijk said.
Need a shower? Consider whether you really, really need a shower.
- Elizabeth Scott
“But honestly it’s not that much colder than Sydney. Bowral is certainly colder.”
One of the first improvements the couple made to their home was to have a wood heater installed.
“We light the heater about 4pm and it’s so lovely and warm,” she said.
On a sunny day, winter temperatures in the Valley can reach 18 degrees, she said.
“The only thing I don’t like is the fog,” Mrs Nieuwendijk said.
“On a bad day it can hang around until 1.30pm. You’ve got this hat of cloud over the Valley and the temperature doesn’t rise. At first I thought [the fog] was quite lovely, but then you just want to wake up to the sun.”
While the couple have no clothes dryer, they said they dry what they can in the sun and leave the rest on an indoor line in front of the heater.
“What I do like is getting to do really wintery things, like Christmas in July and everyone getting dressed up.”
Elaine and Logan Apperley have lived in the Valley for 14 years and thought this winter had been colder than others.
“We do get a few frosts, it depends where you are, but maybe 15 a year,” Mr Apperley said.
They keep warm in their home with underfloor heating, produced by a wood fired boiler.
“So the house is always nice and warm. If you go outside you do have to put on an extra jersey.”
Mr Apperley said far from finding the cold weather depressing, he enjoyed it.
“I find it quite beautiful,” he said.
“Where we are, it is above the fog and we can look out over the Valley.”
The Apperleys also dry their clothes on a line or inside.
Wyn Grant has been in the Valley for four years since she moved from the outskirts of London.
Adjusting to the cold was no problem for her as England was much colder, she said.
“It is entirely different here, but it’s nice,” she said.
“I have a good heater.”