Cyclone Gabrielle: Images of Karekare now and then

By Leonard Powell of RNZ

Driving down Lone Kauri Rd to Karekare, the most striking difference one year on from Cyclone Gabrielle is how much quicker and smoother the trip is.

The thin ribbon of asphalt winds down the side of the valley, walled in by the dense native rainforest of the Waitakere Ranges.

Many small slips have been repaired. Damage is very visible to the road, but it is functional.

Local firefighter Toby Hyman pointed out one major slip that work started on about two weeks ago. Bright orange plastic fencing surrounded a huge cavity on the side of the road.

The road damaged. Photo / Leonard Powell

A big swath of bush and road had been gouged out of the hillside. More recently, a massive digger and other machinery had been pushing reinforcement rods into the dirt.

The road repaired. Photo / Leonard Powell

Hyman told First Up the structural repairs were all finished on Karekare Rd, the road closer to Piha. Work had since got under way on Lone Kauri.

“This is one of the sites where our locals got in their own bulldozers and diggers, and carved out the road to be wide enough for us to pass, and it’s been usable for everyone for 12 months. A lifesaver, really, for people’s careers and going to school,” he said.

Further down the valley, other huge slips had been sprayed with grass seed, which was already starting to grow.

Hyman pointed out two houses and a car still stuck up a hill.

“The owners said on a local Facebook page the other day that they’d been looted. Unfortunately, someone had been through there,” he said.

“There’s also a car parked in a driveway here, but the driveway has disappeared and that car has been there since the cyclone. So there’s no access to that house up there either.”

Karekare volunteer Toby Hyman standing in front of the destroyed homes on Karekare Rd. Photo / Leonard Powell

Signs on the road restrict access to residents only, but Hyman said many people were still visiting.

“I’d imagine these people are tourists, not locals,” he said, pointing to a passing vehicle.

“They want to come and see the beautiful waterfall and the beautiful beach. I don’t blame them. It’s an epic spot. Of course they want to come out here, but it does affect the road, the traffic, so it would be nice if they waited another year until that’s all fixed.”

Near the bottom of Lone Kauri Rd where the gradient eases, the scene was much tidier than one year earlier.

Bulldozers pushed through destruction to clear a path. Photo / Leonard Powell

In February 2023 after Cyclone Gabrielle, a whole house and its contents were scattered across the road. Bulldozers had pushed straight through the mess to clear a path.

Clothes, household appliances and belongings were everywhere. One year later, it was all cleaned up, but other buildings remained tipped on their sides.

“You can see not much has changed. The bottom house was cleared because it blocked the road, so the council were willing to pay for that. But the rest all relies on private insurance I guess. So they’re all still sitting there. One, two, three, four up the hill,” Hyman said.

'They're all still sitting there. One, two, three, four up the hill.' Photo / Leonard Powell

“I think a lot of people have a lot of different emotions about it. The majority of people probably feel pretty sick looking at it.

“It brings back the memories of that night and in the following weeks after it. The tears and the fear and the unknowns. Also makes me feel really sad for the people whose memories and lives were tied up in these buildings.

“I know this house was there for a hundred years, and had passed through the family... summer holidays were had there.

“It’s not there at all anymore, and that must be really hard.”

Despite the devastation in Karekare, Hyman said most locals have stayed put in the area. He thinks the lasting impact of the cyclone other than the physical damage, will be people taking warnings seriously.

“I think everyone’s now aware how bad it can be, and I think there was a lot of warning for that one, and people didn’t really listen to it because a lot of the time you’ll get warnings and they’ll fizzle. Or something fairly large will happen and they don’t tell you about it, so people don’t have a lot of trust in the weather forecasters.

“But this time they were right. So I think if they were to go as hard with the warnings as they did last time, people would listen now. And I think a lot of people would self-evacuate before the event, and they’d be more ready as far as provisioning for themselves for a couple of weeks without access on the roads.

“I think that’s changed a lot of people’s opinions, on how to self prepare and be more resilient.

“One of my best friends is an electrician... many properties here now have generators hardwired into their houses. Our power was out for a month, I think.

“So I don’t think people are thinking it’s a one-off. I think they’re preparing themselves that this is going to be happening more frequently.”

- RNZ