Waimarino boss faces $90k flood loss but remains positive as community chips in

Waimarino Water and Adventure Park director Blair Anderson. Photo / Mead Norton

The owner of a Tauranga adventure park submerged in metre-deep water estimates the business has lost about $90,000 due to the weekend’s floods but maintains “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.

Clean-up efforts were under way yesterday at Waimarino Water and Adventure Park, which became blanketed in thick mud after the Wairoa River breached its banks during Saturday’s storm.

Roads and events throughout the Bay of Plenty and wider North Island were closed because of dangers posed by the extremely heavy rain, prompting rescue attempts in Tauranga, Te Urewera Forest, and Auckland, where four people died.

At Tauranga Airport, Metservice recorded 184.9 millimetres of rain between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon. By 10am that day, the Wairoa River had burst its banks and flooded neighbouring properties such as Waimarino.

The water reached such heights in the park that it submerged family picnic tables and engulfed the volleyball court area.

After the water subsided, about 50 people armed with shovels, water blasters, and brooms removed what mud they could yesterday morning and cleaned out areas such as the kayak storage building, which had been inundated with flood water.

Owner Blair Anderson said he found out on Monday the business was not covered by insurance, because it had been affected by floods 10 years ago.

The news was a blow to a business already badly impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

Anderson said he and his team were “a bit heartbroken” when they first saw the extent of the weekend’s flooding.

“We’ve been flooded before but nowhere as big as this,” he said.

The clean-up at the Waimarino Water and Adventure Park. Photo / Mead Norton

Anderson estimated the loss of revenue was about $80,000. “It’s no small amount.”

He anticipated the cost of the clean-up was “at least $10,000″.

Anderson said they prepared as best they could for a flood “but we didn’t think it would be this bad”.

“It’s just collosal.”

Waimarino was already trying to recoup after the impact of Covid-19 restrictions devasted the business, which relied heavily on international tourism.

Last year, the business was still operating at 90 per cent lower than pre-Covid-19 levels despite pivoting its services to better adapt to a post-Covid world.

“The last three years have probably been the hardest I’ll ever have. But, as the old saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I’m still alive and kicking,” Anderson said.

He said he and his team were trying to stay positive regardless, and the generosity of the local community had helped immensely.

Waimarino Water and Adventure Park director Blair Anderson cleaning up after the flood. Photo / Mead Norton

Community volunteers, Tourism Bay of Plenty staff, and parents of the park’s after-school Oscar programme were among those helping the park’s team clean up.

Anderson manned a blue digger to help move much of the mud away from roadways and footpaths.

He said the volunteers who showed up to help knew “what Waimarino means to them and the community”.

“It’s been awesome. We’ve had people who can’t be here drop off shovels, wheelbarrows, water blasters.”

Volunteer Al Cook was busy shovelling thick, heavy mud into wheelbarrows navigated by his son Archie, who is part of the park’s Oscar programme.

Cook said offering his help “just seemed like the right thing to do”.

“They are a great team here, a great family. It makes you want to do your bit to help out,” he said.

“It just takes a few people not very long to make a massive difference. You feel like you are doing some good.”

The Waimarino Water and Adventure Park's kayaks were pulled out to assess what damage had been done by the flood. Photo / Mead Norton

It was hoped Waimarino would be mostly back to business as usual in time for this coming long weekend, despite predictions of bad weather expected to hit again.

Wet weather was forecast to swamp the Bay of Plenty from todaywith MetService issuing a red warning for the region west of Kawerau from 3am to 9pm when up to 150mm of rain is forecast at rates of up to 25mm/h.

Parts of Auckland - which remains in a state of emergency - and the Coromandel were also issued red warnings, meaning rain was expected to cause dangerous river conditions and significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters were likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities.