Scouts trapped near lake after snow, slips

Snow has trapped trampers, including two groups of scouts from overseas, on the shores of a Hawkes Bay lake.

Slips have closed State Highway 38 and heavy snow on Thursday night damaged lines to Aniwaniwa and Kaitawa, which has been without power since Thursday night.

A helicopter was being used to check if anyone was trapped in their cars on the road from Waikaremoana to Ruatahuna, which was blocked by several large slips about half an hour's drive west of Aniwaniwa.

Unison engineers are also using a helicopter to get them into the most isolated parts of rural Hawke's Bay affected by power cuts.

Department of Conservation programme manager Dave King said the trampers included two groups of scouts from the United States and Australia, who set off on the Great Walk circuit of the lake on Thursday.

Other trampers who had departed on the Great Walk around Lake Waikaremoana and planned to tent, despite the snow warning, would have found their way to huts, where they would be "comfortable enough, but cold", Mr King said.

The track was in a poor state and Mr King said: "If anyone's thinking of doing the Great Walk - stay away for a few months."

Access had been the engineering crews' main problem in getting power restored to areas of Puketitiri and isolated properties off the Napier-Taupo road, Unison operations manager Nigel Brown said.

"It is reasonable along the main roads but getting to the properties up their access roads has been difficult."

About 65 customers were still without power this morning but Mr Brown said most would have their power back on by the end of the day.

Generators had been taken to areas affected by fallen poles and would be used until the poles were repaired.

One of the worst affected stretches was on Pohokura Road where 10 poles had been dragged down by snow- laden falling trees.

Sunshine and intermittent showers had thawed much of the snow but the result was slush which only well-equipped four-wheel-drives could pass, Mr Brown said.

He added that families and individuals without power had coped well.

"They are rural people ... they are prepared for these things."

While MetService had taken snow off the Hawke's Bay forecast menu for the next few days, conditions would still be cold and at times wet.

Showers, some heavy, were forecast tonight through until Thursday when sunshine was predicted to return.

- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY