Waimarama Chalet owner remembers floods

George Ashcroft's property in Waimarama is no longer a foot deep in mud, but like the landslide tracks dotted around the surrounding hills, the mud stains are a constant reminder of the flooding which caused chaos eight months ago.

The owner of the Waimarama Chalet, Mr Ashcroft has spent most days "from dawn to dusk" this year attempting to clear the mud and silt which covered the property in the April floods. He remembers it vividly.

"When we woke up in the morning, we could only see the rooftops," he said. "We evacuated for most of the day then came back in the evening.

Lost and uninsured was $20,000 of tools, along with an estimated $15,000 of his partner Marina's art equipment. They found some of her jewellery later in a pile near the road, and among other pieces of debris, CDs and shampoo in the backyard.

"The clean-up has been major. We dragged plenty of stuff up here. Chris Tremain organised a heap of people to come up here to help, work I was really grateful for. Alistair Wakefield has been brilliant around this area. He just kept on going."

The volume of mud and silt that slid onto his property was so enormous he has since used it to create a bund where his land backs onto the creek. The idea is to provide some protection against any future flooding.

"You're doing daylight to dusk, just trying to keep on top of things, and we've been trying to re-plant and get things back in place. And keep your sanity."

The majority of work he now faces is landscaping the property which was completely filled with water and mud in April, and cleaning the mud stains off the buildings and fences.

Mr Ashcroft has lost income from the damage to his accommodation units. Three units previously available for rent are out of business until sometime next year.

"We'll maybe open the chalet towards the end of the [next] year but basically the action period is from now until the end of February. It's not a real high earner but there is a period where you make a bit of money and that's now. We've missed the boat."

For the meantime, Mr Ashcroft will continue to keep working. Mud stains what used to be a laundry room and the chalet. Mud is packed underneath stairwells, and mud is coated across the shed. Despite this, he remains optimistic and has an attitude of just getting on with what is required.

"I'll just carry on. You don't give up. Well, I don't anyway."