“I’ve been in some pretty hairy spots.”
Watson, who lives on the Purerua Peninsula, Northeast of Kerikeri, lost part of his roof in the storm.
Taking stock of his property today he was happy to report the damage wasn’t as extensive as he first thought.
“Other than a little bit of roofing material and some flashings … we’ve come off pretty well unscathed.”
Watson was even able to put a positive spin on the waves encroaching on his much-loved and well-manicured grass.
“I’ve got a bit less lawn that I have to mow.”
He estimated he’d lost around 35,000 plantings along with part of his lawn but that was “a niggle” compared to what farmers were facing.
“It’s these guys’ livelihoods. For me – I’ll get the lawn back again eventually.”
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Watson has owned the property for over 12 years and reckoned the weather had definitely become more extreme recently.
“This last 12 months, we’ve probably had more weather here than the other 11 years combined.”
He said he had experienced more easterly and north-easterly gales which were affecting his day job.
“We used to hope we could go out fishing on the West Coast a bit more but there’s definitely been a massive change.”
He’d also noticed a difference in sea temperatures.
“The water’s just so bloody warm.
“I’ve been in some storms up in the tropics and the air feels the same. It’s definitely more of a tropical-feeling event than [the] typical storm than we’d get once upon a time.”
Watson’s property is currently running off a generator and he faces a power outage for a week.
However, he was feeling more positive today, he said.
“It’s a whole lot better … I wouldn’t say the sun’s shining but hopefully there’s enough coming through the clouds to put some juice through my solar panels, cos it looks like we’re going to be running on battery.”
He even remained pragmatic about his late-night dash to the boatshed, despite being spooked by the powerful winds.
“Everything’s scarier in the dark eh?”
