New Delhi, May 16 -- A tiny finger-like projection juts into the sea. Strong chilly winds buffet me from all sides. Angry waves lash the pebbly beach. Rays from a weak mid-May sun glint off the rippling ocean surface but hardly make a dent against the freezing cold. It is surreal. In 24 hours, Bengaluru's mid-30s temperature has been replaced by low single digits on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island, about an hour south-west of capital city Wellington. It is one thing to be aware of the earth's axis of rotation and seasonal differences in the hemispheres, quite something else to experience it.

Despite the frigid temperature, the seaside wilderness is invigorating and exhilarating. The whole place is deserted except for an oc...