Whangamata residents were rudely woken by the tsunami siren sounding at 2am.
It wasn't until turning on their cellphones and seeing earthquake reports, or turning on radios and hearing the shocking news of devastating shakes in the South Island and Wellington that they took the news seriously.
I leapt out of bed in my two-storey apartment, quickly threw on some clothes, abandoned the dog, grabbed the camera and headed for the hills.
I leapt out of bed in my two-storey apartment, quickly threw on some clothes, abandoned the dog, grabbed the camera and headed for the hills.