A witness sent the Herald a video showing a small part of the spillage, with a trail of animal parts leading to a large pile of offal sitting behind a truck.
“The spillage went for about 10km of a light scattering of it, then about 1km of a massive dumping,” they said.
“The smell was horrendous!”
Another person on a local community page warned it “stinks like anything”.
Witnesses say the stench is "horrendous" after animal remains fell out of a truck on SH3 near Hangatiki, Waikato on December 21, 2024. Image / Supplied
A Waitomo local, who lives about 100m up from the scene, said it was a grim sight, and the smell “absolutely reeks”.
“It’s probably about a 100m stretch of offal, like beautifully spread out along the road… It’s hooves and intestines and heads, skins.”
They said there was a bridge followed by a “couple of bumps” along that stretch of SH3, which they believed may have caused the truck’s tailgate to open.
“There’s people driving past, they’re driving next to it because it’s just the one lane.
“It absolutely reeks.”
The New Zealand Transport Agency has been contacted for comment.
