In the quiet expanse of Waiatai Valley Road, maize farmer Allan Newton found himself at the centre of an unexpected drama when Cyclone Gabrielle loomed on the horizon last year.
The initial warnings trickled in through emails from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, urging preparedness.
As the gravity of the situation became clearer, Civil Defence delivered a sobering message - this was going to be a significant hit.
Newton, the branch chair of Federated Farmers Wairoa, said he did his best to prepare other farmers and himself.
“Getting down the bottom of Te Uhi Hill, I could see a lot of people lined up from the marae heading into the township.”
Confusion was on the face of the farmer, chugging along Mahia Avenue near the 50km/h signs.
“People were cheering me on, wahooing, waving, I was wondering what the hell was going on. As I got to the 50km/h signs, I could see police and firefighters standing by the dairy with water up to their knees and I was thinking what the sh*t will I do?”
Told to go to Civil Defence, Newton learnt some members were going down Waiherere Road to help people.
“We went there and were rescuing people, picking up people and putting them in the trailer. There were probably 20 people in the trailer at one time.”
“I went to help one elderly lady and there was up to 250mm of mud that went through her home.
“My Red Bands were not enough to walk around in, it was a struggle.
“The lady’s name was Gabrielle, she was devastated and unsure on what to do.”
One year on, Newton’s biggest concern is the condition of State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier.
“It is costing the farmers so much money because of the extra time it takes to get between the two locations. To pay for a truck on the road is about $300 per hour and that road is taking an extra hour to drive on because of the state it is in, so that all adds up.
“I believe that the best thing to do is build a completely new alternative, it is only 59 kilometres to Tāngoio, build one straight road. Plenty of people use that road, the Government could put more of their road tax money towards building a better road on the East Coast.”