Normally, Dontae Kake needs to drive for hours from his Whangarei home to go snowboarding - yesterday, he just had to pop outside.
His wife Maheno recorded video of him snowboarding on hail alongside Matarau Rd at around 4pm on Wednesday.
"It absolutely bucketed down at about 2pm - just on that road, it was about half a foot deep," says Mr Kake.
"It was a little sketchy, I'd rate the rideability about four out of ten. I got very wet and muddy."
Mr and Mrs Kake say they normally travel to Mt Ruapehu or Snowplanet, north of Auckland, to go snowboarding.
Yesterday's video was recorded about a minute's drive from their home.
"We've never had anything like that here," he says.
Much of the North Island was struck by thunderstorms on Wednesday, with localised flooding in some areas.
Newshub.
