Waioweka Gorge: Swiss family separated from belongings after slips cut off road

From left, Maliya, 9; Matthias and Maja Hugli and Mael, 11, were stranded in the Waioweka Gorge and had to come back in a NZDF chopper. They are pictured at the Marokopa Falls in Waikato.

A family of Swiss tourists separated from their camper van and most of their belongings for four days by slips in severe weather hope to soon get them back.

Maja Hugli, husband Matthias and children Mael, 11, and Maliya, 9, recounted a tale of uncertainty after being stranded at the Manganuku conservation campsite in the Waioweka Gorge as slips and flooding closed State Highway 2 on Friday.

They were eventually flown out by a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) chopper but had to leave their rented camper van behind.

Maja Hugli said they had been staying at Manganuku from Wednesday en route to Gisborne for the First Light Marathon on January 24, and at first the weather was “not too bad”.

“Thursday it began raining and it didn’t stop. It got worse.”

Overnight they heard cars and trucks driving on the road, but it was quiet by 8am.

That all changed within the hour as cars started entering the campsite “like refugees” after being stranded by slips and flooding along the highway.

“There was no mobile connection and nobody knew what was going to happen,” she said.

Police were contacted by phone through a satellite connection and others stranded along the route were dropped off by helicopter at the campsite.

They were later flown out by a NZDF helicopter to Matawai and from there were driven by police to Gisborne.

They had a lot of personal possessions, but could only take one bag per person.

The family spent their first night in Gisborne with a local family, then shifted to a hotel.

Maja Hugli and her family were stuck in the Waioweka Gorge. She is pictured with her children, Maliya, 9, and Mael, 11. Photo / Anne-Marie de Bruin

After the marathon this Saturday, they will head to the South Island before flying home to Zurich from Christchurch.

Hugli said while it was an ordeal, she was grateful that “no one was injured”.

“And we got to see the new chopper from the New Zealand Defence Force.”

Locals had been very helpful after she posted on Facebook about potentially getting back their left-behind possessions.

She said her husband was being taken back to the campsite today and it was hoped he would be able to drive it to Gisborne to continue their holiday.