In case actually showing up to your morning lectures was bad enough, a recent streak of icy mornings have left Otago tauira shaken and embarrassed. Students were falling like dominoes and cars were slipping and sliding around the roads, much to the enjoyment of wise students who didn’t leave their flats.
Two students were braving the treacherous conditions to face their lecture and encountered a piece of cheese stuck frozen to the window of a nearby house. Too shaken to be named, one of the students told Critic that the incident “shook me to my core” and that he was “worried I might catch the cheese touch”. All individuals involved escaped unharmed, and reports tell us the cheese endures these conditions and remains in place. It can be spotted on Cumberland Street opposite the Science Library.
Those thinking that the ice would melt quickly were mistaken too, even catching people with later lectures. As late as 10am, two unsuspecting drivers on London Street found themselves at the mercy of the ice beneath them. As temperatures dropped overnight, the tarmac slowly turned into a slip-n-slide, sending both vehicles spinning gradually out of control. No injuries were reported and, despite the dangerous nature of the incident, Otago students found it to be an entertaining watch.
Some local residents have taken matters into their own hands. A man living on Dundas Street, on the corner of Castle, was spotted defrosting the nearby pavements with a leaf blower. The incident was reported early on July 23, and he has not been spotted doing the same since. While reportedly proving effective, the lack of leafblowing on the following icy mornings puts the rogue strategy into question. Tried and true strategies were also adopted – anything to avoid the embarrassment of a tumble on the sidewalk. Many tramping boots and socks-over-shoes were spotted on campus.
Cushla, a third-year student, was also a victim of the cynical ice. Hustling to make it to her 9am, she met an untimely demise across the ice rink that was Dundas Street. She told Critic, “Despite being unable to reach my door due to the slope some mornings, my ultimate enemy was the Dundas-Harbour Terrace intersection. Despite impeccable timing, I found myself feet up on the road, with a parade of high schoolers watching. Strangely none of them laughed and some even offered a hand. I guess kids are getting nicer.”
Humans aren’t the only species affected by these extreme conditions. Local ducks faced ice upon attempting to land on the Botanical Garden pond. Several quackers were spotted looking confused and bewildered when met with a solid surface upon attempted landing.
Dunedin City Council did not reply to our request to yarn about the ice. Despite nobody in North D being safe from the ice, streets with bus routes appear to be prioritised to have grit laid on them. Critic Te Ārohi advises bringing your flat’s communal salt grinder to lectures if another blast comes.
After a week of many bruised bums, students will be crossing their fingers this was the last ice Ōtepoti gets this winter. That being said, slipping on ice outside while heading to Central might still be preferable to getting hypothermia inside your poorly-insulated flat.