In the face of adversity, a sense of humour goes a long way and it's helping Kim Hodges get through the aftermath of Wanganui's weather bomb.
Yesterday Ms Hodges, who lives a couple of kilometres north of Te Rimu Rd on SH4, about 30km north of the city, waded throughmud and fallen trees to reach civilisation.
The Chronicle team met her as she bashed her way through a huge slip that has blocked the main road between the city and Raetihi. Latest NZ Transport Agency reports say the slip could take a week to clear.
The farmhouse she and her husband live in has been without power since Saturday but, Ms Hodges said, she had been able to contact her son, who drove out from Wanganui to meet her and get her to the city for much needed supplies.
"I'm making a run for it now because I've got medication to pick up in town as well," she said.
"We've been four days without power. I've had Powerco say to me it'd be back on at 11 o'clock, then midnight, 2 o'clock and then 6 o'clock. All I know is we've had no power for four days."
Image 1 of 17: Slit on SH4 at the start of the Parapara Road.
Ms Hodges said they had not be able to get out for supplies and she had been using what food they had in the farmhouse before being cut off.
Armed with supplies and medications she said: "I'll come back and traipse through the slip to get home."
She said the bright spot was news that contractors were due to start clearing the slip soon "but gee, they've got a mess to clean up".
Ms Hodges and her husband have been in their house for 11 years and before that had lived on a farm property at Kakatahi further up the Paraparas. She said weather events and access difficulties were a common occurrence.
"It's lovely up here until this happens."
She said her husband was stuck near Stratford, where he's working clearing railway tracks.
"He's got the four-wheel drive so that's why my son's come to get me"
SH4 remains closed but Ms Hodges had a word of caution for anyone else needing to head up the road
Logs washed down the valley on next to SH4. Photo/Bevan Conley
"If anyone's coming up here they need waders if they want to go walkies."
Also inspecting the damage was Waverley farmer Roger Byam, who owns a 740ha farm in the Te Rimu Rd area, a few kilometres north of the Aberfeldy School. With him was stock manager Justin Newland.
Mr Byam said the extent of the flooding from the nearby Mangawhero River was similar to that experienced in 2006. This time a few hectares of grassland between SH4 and the river is covered with silt but, fortunately, no stock had been grazing there when the river breached its banks.
Mr Newland said they were hoping the road would be reopened even to one lane within the next day or two because they had some ewes they needed to truck out.
Between the Te Rimu Rd slip and city boundary the Chronicle counted 24 major slips which had, at some stage, covered both lanes of SH4, with another 48 minors slips dropping on to the road verges.
The end of the Parapara Road about 200m north of Te Rimu Road on SH4. Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Wanganui Chronicle photograph by Bevan Conley.
And between the city boundary and Upokongaro, the flood-swollen Whanganui River has dumped silt over three stretches of the highway. Each of them is at least 100m long and restricts traffic to a single lane. Drivers need to take extreme care.
Meanwhile, contractors have started clearing a major slip on the Whanganui River Rd, from SH4 to Raetihi.
This one is about halfway up the climb to the Gentle Annie lookout and along with tonnes of earth dropped on to the road, there is a substantial drop-out below the roadway.
Ruapehu District Council said the road between Raetihi and Pipiriki would be open to four-wheel-drive vehicles within four to seven days.
Council contractors had carried an aerial analysis of two major slips blocking the road and at the same time dropped additional food and other supplies to Pipiriki residents.
