mrspdm and I are not joyriders, rubber neckers or people who gloat at the misfortune of others. However, we do enjoy our Sunday drives, which being retired we can now do on any day of the week. Since mid February we have generally stayed well away from the main areas in Hawkes Bay affected by Cyclone Gabrielle on such drives.

Pakowhai Road between Napier and Hastings is a prime example. It is a regular route we have used when travelling between Hastings and Napier but, immediately after the Cyclone our son told us to stay away from it. Eventually, in about mid to late March, we went through it rather than take a lengthier detour. It was sobering to say the least even after the month or more that had passed as we drove through, a trip made longer because of very necessary 50kph speed restrictions and after initial attempts had been made on clean ups.

Late last week mrspdm had coffee with a long time friend, who with her partner owned an orchard in the Brookfields/Meanee area. They were between the Tutaekuri River and no more than 500 meters from Brookfields Winery which some readers may know of. While I don’t know for sure I think their orchard property bounded the stopbank. She in her early to mid 70’s and her partner early 80’s had to be saved from the roof of their two story house at the peak of flooding. To add insult to injury they were looted about 10 days ago but, fortunately had been able to get in and remove anything salvageable but the looting still distressed them. No way will they be returning to that property.

She asked mrspdm if we had been through the Esk Valley since the Cyclone and was told no as we did not joy ride to gawk at the misfortune of others, especially as we would be very limited with any help we might be able to offer. She said take a drive up Glengarry Road and then back to Napier down SH5 as it would be an eye opener – even 3 months after the Cyclone. As an aside Glengarry Road has long been known as the home of Hawkes Bay’s Nudist Colony.

On Tuesday 9 May we did that trip. Heading out from Taradale to the Puketapu Hotel. As we neared Puketapu damage on both sides of the road was significant with almost new houses totally destroyed – very similar to what wehad seen earlier on Pakowhai Road. We then went through Dartmoor where the Orchard Company our son works for had an Apple Orchard and a Vineyard wiped out. What a mess.

We then turned up hill to get to the start of Glengarry Road and up through there to SH5. A lot of scarring from slips on the hill country on either side of the road but no sign of irrecoverable damage just a lot of hard work to reinstate/repair fences and farm tracks etc. Did anyone see Country Calendar on Sunday 7 May? Patoka and Rissington are a few k’s further on from where we were and that Country Calendar programme is well worth a look.

We arrived on SH5, the Napier/Taupo Highway, about 30k’s out from Napier. The first 5 or 6 k’s were normal driving then we hit about 10 k’s (a guess at actual distance) of utter devastation the like of which I have never seen before or hope to never see again. In some ways it seems inconceivable that a small river that we had picnicked beside several times, including one Christmas Day could wreak such damage. Silt was piled up to and possibly over 2 meters high, yes still there now almost 3 months to the day after the Cyclone hit. I saw a tractor pictured somewhere on the internet this morning, we drove past that tractor which probably had belonged to the Vineyard or Orchard whose fence it was hooked up in on the road boundary. Still there 3 months later!!

What struck me the most was that people working on just about all of the property’s we drove past on our approx 60 kilometre drive through affected areas was that people were largely being left to their own devices to get the clean up done. There have been volunteers and family members out helping but we did not see any indication of a co-ordinated clean up organised and supported by Government Agencies, HB Regional Council and the two local District Councils – not to mention Civil Defence. It is fair to say the Civil Defence was in chaos for the first few days after the Cyclone – I know because we ourselves had two separate confusing experiences with Hastings Civil Defence people.

Of course the Prime Minister and other Cabinet flew in to display their new gumboots, hi viz jackets and say what they thought people wanted to hear – then they vanished never to be seen again. Napier MP Stuart Nash had his self inflicted problems, Tukituki MP Anna Lorck is plain useless on her best days and Meka Whaitiri – need I say more.

Apparently things are going to change very soon. I have it from an impeccable source (I was told this yesterday) that Fulton Hogan and two other big contractors are going going to sign a contract and come in and help with the clean up. I assume the contract is with the government who in their vernacular have `worked apace’ to get this set up – only 3 months after the disaster. My understanding is that Fulton Hogan have been waiting weeks, if not months for the government to get their collective arses into gear – my words not those of the person who told me.

There you have my views of what we saw and the position of the worst hit areas of Hawkes Bay three months after Cyclone Gabrielle. If you have seen the damage what do you think of the situation.