Couple living a day at a time

By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE

Like their Ohiwa harbourside home, the Greenaways have spent the past few days in limbo.

Catastrophic flooding in the Eastern Bay of Plenty has left their house teetering on the brink.

It has become one of the symbols of the flood, with a picture of it poised above a mudslide appearing on the front page of Monday's Herald. The picture also appeared in newspapers around the world.

The couple, in their 60s, said last night that they were taking one day at a time and awaiting engineering reports before making any decisions.

"We will take guidance from the experts. Although we are sad about the devastation, we are very grateful we're okay," said Pam Greenaway, an aged care and disability services consultant who also does audit work from home.

Her husband, Jim, is a retired Anglican priest who keeps busy with voluntary work.

Mr Greenaway has owned the Ohiwa Harbour Rd property for three decades and they have lived there permanently for 17 years.

"It's a very, very beautiful area," Mrs Greenaway said.

Although there had been a "tremendous amount" of rain at the weekend, they did not feel unsafe.

"On Saturday night we were watching the rugby [All Blacks vs Australia] by a lovely warm fire and then we slept well and heard nothing," she said.

"In the morning we pulled back the curtains and the very large pohutukawa tree out on the bank simply wasn't there. On further inspection, far more than the pohutukawa had been lost."

With their access cut off by water and mudslides, they telephoned the appropriate organisations and gathered a few possessions in case they would have to evacuate in a hurry - although that didn't prove necessary.

"I looked at the things I wouldn't be able to replace," said Mrs Greenaway. "Photos, special sentimental objects, warm clothing in case we had to dash ... We were lucky we did have time to prepare, but it was our choice whether to stay or not."

Earthquake Commission staff and insurers visited the pair yesterday.

"We have had very good service from the authorities, the local community and friends. Now we feel the process is under way. We are trying not to cross any bridges until we have the right information."

Their neighbours, Mike and Meg Collins, whose house is also perched precariously on the edge of a monstrous landslide, have just returned from overseas. They could not be contacted last night.

Opotiki civil defence officer Ian Castles said about 10 houses in the Ohiwa Spit-Bryans Beach area were still in danger from further slips.

Experts from the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences joined Opotiki District Council engineers yesterday to assess land stability.

Most of the 40 permanent Bryans Beach residents evacuated at the weekend have been allowed back.

Mr Castles said unofficial sources had reported 450mm of rain in the area in 60 hours.