Forced isolation by ex-Cyclone Gita
wrecked the pile on the main access bridge. Dozens of volunteers have cleaned debris off fences and re-stapled wires. Milk tankers are driving up a neighbour’s cow race to collect from two dairy farms cut off by the storm and families will be walking across the sagging bridge for some months yet.
Forestry has been blamed for causing issues in some places, but this damage originated from Kahurangi National Park as the deluge of water resulted in slips and mature native trees swept down with the force of current.
Clearing paddocks will be a long term project. Up the Takaka Valley the Cobb River also raged, washing out one approach to the main bridge and causing multiple slips and washouts on the road to the Cobb dam. It will take months to repair and access to this beautiful corner of Kahurangi National Park will be limited. The dedicated maintenance team who travel daily to the Cobb power station now climb a ladder onto the bridge to walk to their ute on the other side.
The impacts of ‘‘The Hill’’ being out for five days, and now open for convoys only at 7am and 5pm, are many. Trucks can’t can’t tow trailers as the road is too narrow so milk tankers and local transport company are severely affected. Freight efficiency is seriously reduced and logistics and costs have significantly increased. Fewer tourists braving the trip makes for a quiet town, like 30 years ago, ago one local reckons. A courier van from each side meets at the top of the hill, driver’s swap vehicles and return the way they came to continue pickup and delivery. Fuel has been rationed and shop shelves are bare.
But it’s more about people than food and goods. Families were stuck on different sides, people were evacuated to emergency centres, a young dairy farmer was caught in flash-flood waters bringing cows to the shed, less people in the bay means less work and reduced hours for some ... and our story is just a minor part of the drama.
We missed appointments at Nelson hospital. One holiday group couldn’t come to Kaihoka while another couple couldn’t leave. They echoed the commonly heard comment that Golden Bay is such a great place they felt sorry for people stuck out rather than stuck in. We missed a farewell function for a friend who served many years in our topdressing company. No mail or papers were delivered for a few days. No panic buying for us though as we have meat, milk, eggs and vegetables.
What I was most sad about was not being able to be part of a wedding I was looking forward to. With the bride, groom, 60 guests, suits, dress, food and drink all on the Nelson side when the hill was closed and not many of us still in Golden Bay, the couple made the difficult decision to relocate their special event. Organising a wedding is a big exercise, but reorganising one in two days is huge.
They did it and celebrated at a new venue, with a new license and new celebrant while I stayed home.This momentous occasion is even more memorable for them and may their marriage be more calm than those few days leading up to the wedding.
Among all the many hassles the main sentiment is real gratitude for all the services and people who stepped up to make life go on as much as possible. Thanks to the barge operators enabling supplies to arrive the second day of ‘‘isolation’’. Credit to the passenger services running buses to Totaranui and ferries around Abel Tasman and well patronised plane services from Takaka out to the rest of the world. And especially thanks to the team who are working to rebuild Takaka Hill road. When I first drove this wonderful piece of highway years ago I loved it, enjoyed the views and promised myself that I would never rush and always stop at lookouts. But I rarely do. The scenery is stunning and I forget to appreciate it.
The engineering on the road is amazing and I take it for granted. Now there’s a major project to reconstruct reliable access over the hill again. My appreciation goes to the engineers, drivers, machine operators, traffic controllers and all the team working on repairs. Behind the small words of slips and roadworks in place is another long chapter in the wonderful story of our vital road link over the hill and with winter coming it may become a long saga.
Joyce Wyllie is a sheep farmer at Kaihoka in Golden Bay.