For several hundred metres, from the water's edge up into the dunes, the beach was blanketed in hail.
© David BishopFor several hundred metres, from the water's edge up into the dunes, the beach was blanketed in hail.
Two Northland fishermen stumbled on a scene resembling a winter wonderland after a freak hail storm left hundreds of metres of a remote beach blanketed in ice.

David Bishop, of Kerikeri, and his mate Bryce Taylor, of Glinks Gully, had been fishing at the entrance of Kaipara Harbour on Saturday when they decided to call it a day around 5pm.

Their route home took them around Pouto Point, past the historic lighthouse, and north up Ripiro Beach towards Dargaville.

A few hundred metres north of the lighthouse they saw something that had them rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

"When we were fishing we heard a bit of thunder, but no rain or anything, so sweet as, we finished fishing and come around the corner past the lighthouse, and then it was like, 'Holy s***!' We just couldn't believe it."


For several hundred metres, from the water's edge up into the dunes, the beach was blanketed in hail.

"There as not a soul there, all the fishermen had left. What a sight. It looked like snow at first but it was definitely hail. A lot of it. In places it would've been a good two inches (5cm) deep."

Bishop said it had clearly just happened, and was confined to one area.

There was no hail around the lighthouse or further north on the beach.

"So it was just in that one random area, which was weird. It was really eerie," he said.

"I spend a lot of time fishing on the beach but I've never seen anything like that before. I've seen some beautiful dawns on Ripiro Beach, but nothing as spectacular as that."

(More here)