A mission to save my Port Waikato

10-year anniversary. A few cheap beers and a pot-luck feed. Brilliant.

That fairytale party is now just a dream. The hall is gone. Houses along the coast are being condemned and no- one outside of the community really cares. The council has basically told locals, ``Yeah nah, yeah, we got no money really…’’

The amount of Port Waikato coast that has been eaten away over the past decade is jawdropping. It’s affecting the entire town. The council has known for ages. They show up every now and then to cone off the carpark that falls into the ocean or to place some red tape over a homeowner’s front door.

A lot of the locals at risk were prepared to move their homes further back on their sections. Away from the rising sea levels. Surely council would be open to making that process as simple as possible given the circumstances? Think again.

Where to from here? Imagine if Taupo¯ homes started falling into the sea, or Beach Hop at Whangamata¯ was cancelled due to carparks disappearing into the ocean. What if the sea at Mission Bay rose up to tickle the toes of cafe´ goers? Instant action. An immediate plan of attack would be put in place and dollars would be allocated.

Port Waikato doesn’t have the popularity like these other must-see destinations. The locals have always liked it that way. Tucked away from the rest of the world.

But right now I think attention is what they deserve. Help on this scale shouldn’t come down to area code. This is a town – full of people – in New Zealand. New Zealand, the greatest get-it-done attitude in the world. Anything is fixable.

New Zealand – a country with plenty of brains and plenty of dollars. Right now the town is in limbo – waiting to hear more from council. Surely, `ah yeah na yeah’ can’t be the final answer.

While they wait, I’m going to start building a to-scale cardboard cutout of the Auckland Sky Tower. We can erect it out on the dunes. Maybe then this slice of disappearing paradise will get the attention it deserves. Watch this space. Or what’s left of it.

Seven years ago Jordan Watson got married in Port Waikato, above, but hopes of celebrating his anniversary at the community hall have been dashed by the rising west coast tides washing away the buildings he holds so dear.