Winter weather turns Glinks Gully road into moonscape

A little dog could fall into the holes on Marine Dr.

Residents of Glinks Gully are "shocked" over the condition of their road - and would have contacted the local council more often to complain, had their phones worked.

At least one resident blames recent damage to his vehicle's shock absorbers on the narrow, sandy strip with the grand name of Marine Drive, which currently resembles a lunar landscape more than a road.

While the road is enough to have locals bemoaning a lack of infrastructure at the beach settlement, 20km south of Dargaville, salt was rubbed into the wound when an earthworks digger on a truck's trailer got caught in overhead wires, snapping poles and creating a tangle of wiring.

The incident was unrelated to the problem road; the digger was not being brought in for that job. But it meant Glinks Gully was "wireless" for eight days last month, with no phones or internet connections.

"That's a story in itself, as we talked all over the world to various call centres to get the faults notified and eventually repaired," said resident Peter Garelja.

Marine Drive runs parallel to and behind the sand dunes, providing access to about 30 baches.

Most are holiday homes but several are occupied all year round by the stoic folk who choose to live on the 100km long raw and wild Ripiro Beach.

Residents deal with roads with rough surfaces on an ongoing basis, although usually not as bad as Marine Drive has been lately.

Mr Garelja said he and neighbours have had several conversations with council staff to get the road made driveable.

"It looks like the road to Kabul," Mr Garelja said.

"The 30km sign is only a suggestion. Hit any of these potholes at 30km and you would know about it!

"Some of the roads around here in west Kaipara are in desperate need of ongoing maintenance.

"It is no coincidence, I suggest, that I have just had to have the two front shock absorbers replaced on my car."

To be fair, Mr Garelja pointed out, Kaipara District Council had carried out some remedial work on the lunar landscape in the past two weeks but the road is still crater-like.

A council spokeswoman said the unsealed, aggregate surface was vulnerable to windblown sand from the intruding dune system.

Other contributors included the narrow width, limited cross fall to shed water, shallow water tables and the inability to excavate dunes for a stormwater outlet.

Motorbikes being ridden along the dunes could also be a contributing factor.

The road was graded two or three times each wet season, depending on the need, the council said.

However, public feedback was welcome to bring attention to defects such as potholes.

"Not all of our district roads can be simply maintained through periodic programming as the road conditions can be influenced by increased activity, weather conditions and if additional maintenance is required influencing the surface performance."