By RICHARD SHEARS

Last updated at 21:57 14 December 2007

There's still a week and a half to go before Santa starts his rounds.

But, look up in the sky and you might just get a reminder that the reindeer are on their way.

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This cloud in the shape of Dancer, Prancer and co was spotted by amateur photographer Alan Blacklock on the North Island of New Zealand - which is known by the Maori as the Land of the Long White Cloud.

"It was Sunday afternoon and my attention was drawn to a cloud in the sky," said Mr Blacklock

"The shape started to look like a moose at the front end and a springbok at the rear.

"As time passed it became the shape you see and because it is nearly Christmas it wasn't a great leap of the imagination to see a reindeer.

"I was in the right place at the right time. It was a fluke, just one of those things."

The cloud was formed by thin, wispy cirrus clouds more than 20,000ft up in the atmosphere. These clouds are often the harbinger of changing weather.

Meteorologist Ross Marsden said that cirrus formations regularly form into tufts, which are nicknamed "mare's tails".

He added: "Cirrus clouds often form themselves into unusual patterns but this one is certainly relevant as Christmas approaches."

Britons hoping to spot something similarly seasonal in the sky should have plenty of opportunity, with today and tomorrow both forecast to be dry and cloudy.

Sadly, this reindeer's fleeting appearance Down Under was over in a few minutes. After all, you can't keep Santa waiting. . .