Helen Ngawhau drove over powerlines and led her horses through burning bushes in order to get them out. Video / Sarah Gallichan
A Kaikōura resident drove over powerlines and ran through burning paddocks so hot she thought her gumboots were going to melt to save her horses from the raging fires.
Helen Ngawhau recounted her devastation when she first saw the smoke coming from where her horses were.
She was at acafe grabbing coffee with her husband and elderly mother yesterday, when she saw a fire engine racing past and smelled smoke in the air.
Looking out of the window, her heart sank when she saw the huge plumes of smoke.
The worker at the cafe confirmed the fire was raging in the same spot her horses were kept. Ngawhau said she raced out of the cafe and into her car, determined to get to her horses before the flames did.
“And so panic just set in for us … there were power lines down. There were caravans blowing over. We had to go around.
“My husband and I couldn’t get through. We tried to go in the back paddocks and we got blown off our feet twice with tin flying past us.”
She called her daughter Savannah the “hero of her story”, as she quickly arrived equipped with wet clothes for their faces, buckets of water and water bottles.
Helen Ngawhau watched as sheds burned while she led her horses away from the danger.
They sped over powerlines, passing locals desperately trying to get them to turn around away from the danger.
“We just had to yell, ‘Sorry, my horses are there, we have to get through’.”
Finally arriving at the location, she found her horses unpanicked, standing on a dry creek bed with large orange flames surrounding them.
“I think it was a matter of five, maybe 10 minutes, and then we would’ve been too late … it’s a true miracle.”
All her rolls, bridles, helmets and other gear had melted in the heat. She said she thankfully had the forethought to throw a few in the car and was easily able to catch the horses.
Helen Ngawhau drove over powerlines and led her horses through burning bushes in order to get them out.
“We walked them through the burning bushes along the fence, the ground was so hot I thought my gumboots were going to melt.”
She said many people stopped for them once they reached the road and walked them down, offering up their paddocks to keep them in. Ngawhau also said she had already had an outpouring of messages from the community offering their support.
