“Everything from Norsewood has to go through here.”
Blair said the trouble was really due to the easterly, so the heavy rain from Cyclone Gabrielle hit the ranges and then came down.
“The easterly will always hit us up here on the Manawatū River.
“As soon as the eye of that storm was in Gisborne, we knew we were in strife.”
About three-quarters of the property was flooded.
While they were surprised by how quickly the river rose, it dropped fast as well, although they knew if there was another heavy downpour, the river could have easily flooded again.
The couple said about 75 per cent of the farm was underwater, bringing down fences and destroying tracks.
Within hours the offers of help were pouring in, from manpower to offers of baking.
“The day after it happened, mates were here with tractors and trailers and we had the diggers going,” Blair said.
They had to deal with holes and culverts blown out, cutting off access to the lower paddocks.
“Our first job was to repair tracks so we could get access.”
“They brought their own tools, four-wheelers, utes and water pumps,” he said.
Naomi and Blair looking out over the damage beside the Manawatū River. Photo / Leanne Warr
Blair and Naomi can’t say enough how grateful they were to the community.
“It was just pretty humbling,” Blair said.
The couple said that if it hadn’t been for the help they received in the first two weeks after the cyclone, their farm would not be where it is now, which they estimate is about “95 per cent there”.
With just them and their staff, they would probably have cleared only 10 per cent.
“We would have probably had to dry the cows off, to be honest,” Blair said.
Not being able to milk the cows could also cause significant problems for the herd.
“If you can’t milk them for three days, you’re just going to have a herd of mastitis … [which] is bloody expensive, and it can really be harmful.”
They had offers from farmers to graze some of the milking herd for a couple of weeks, which would take some of the pressure off, and had phone calls from those they had business dealings with offering assistance.
Naomi and Blair don’t want to single anyone out, because what was more important was that everyone pitched in in some way.
“It’s all sort of one community when it comes down to a national state of emergency,” Blair said.
Naomi said she wanted to let people know just how much of a difference it made.
“We really appreciate everyone’s support. The transformation of the farm was amazing and the result of the hard work of many. People gave up a lot of their time to come and give us a hand.
“The community effort meant we were able to quickly get back up and running.”
They still have a bit of work to do, even as farming work carries on.
“When we get time, we just go down and chip away and do a little bit,” Blair said.
The damage to the stopbank. Photo / Leanne Warr
Much of it will be ongoing, for instance on repairing stopbanks, where there was a lot of damage.
“I’m hoping to get it done before winter, because we’re a sitting duck with no stopbank there. But that’s not a two-minute job to fix.”
