The bright side: Landslip victims feeling positive

Pam and Jim Greenaway have not yet returned to their home. Picture / Simon Baker

Five months ago Jim and Pam Greenaway were forced from their Ohiwa home after heavy floods left it teetering on the edge of a cliff.

The couple in their 60s, at present on holiday in Christchurch, are looking forward to moving on in the New Year.

"It's nice to put a fairly difficult year behind us and get on with the next stage of our lives ... so we're feeling positive," Mr Greenaway told the Herald.

Since the devastating flood damage, the Greenaways have been living in an apartment at Ohope.

Mr Greenaway said they would decide on their property's future when they return from holiday. Regardless of whether they went back to their house, he said they loved the Eastern Bay of Plenty and would continue living in the area.

The July landslips also claimed pohutukawa trees from the section of Mike and Meg Collins, neighbours of the Greenaways.

But some spectacular recovery work had happened since, Mrs Collins said.

"They've been fixing the roads and replanting huge pohutukawa trees and they're all in full flower around Bryan's Beach. They look really fantastic.

"The pohutukawa that fell down in our place was moved to the harbour and it has actually sprouted ... and the one next to it, half of it has broken branches but the other half is bright red."

Mrs Collins said although they had lost parts of their section in the slip, the house was still stable. She and her husband would continue to live in their home, where they had remained despite the floods.

They were looking forward to a quiet Christmas with friends at home after what she described as "a really dreadful year.

"But we're very positive and we're getting a new wall under the house to prevent future landslips."