More than a week after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke's Bay fruit growers are still assessing the damage and their futures.
Some have been wiped out completely, while others are working out how to harvest crops that survived the storm's fury.
At Leon Stollard's eight-hectare apple orchard, between Pakipaki and Havelock North, pumps can't work fast enough to clear the water. At one stage last week it reached about 300mm high, but has receded to leave stinking, stagnant pools.
Fortunately, it didn't touch the fruit.
"At the moment water is ankle-deep and the trees are still underwater," Stollard said.
"The experts and the consultants say that they can survive for 72 hours in water. We're now talking eight or nine days, isn't it?"
Leon Stollard still has stagnant water on his orchard. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
About four million apples are waiting to be picked.
"The varieties that I should be harvesting today are still underwater. You can't ask people to go in there and harvest apples when they're ankle-deep in water all day."
For now, Stollard is waiting to see what condition the trees are in.
"We're fortunate we don't have layers of silt around the base of the trees. Hopefully in another two days we can get rid of [the water]."
Leon Stollard is pumping water from Hawke's Bay orchard. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Stollard is applying for government assistance for his clean-up, under the $25 million package for primary sector recovery.
"I rang my bank manager yesterday and he goes, 'I haven't heard from you for a few years,' and I said, 'I think we'll be good friends now.'"
Yummy Fruit general manager Paul Paynter said the apple grower had about 53 blocks - a mixture of ones it owned and leased. Fifteen were completely wiped out and seven or eight were damaged, but could be recoverable.
"The worst is in the Esk Valley - a complete write-off, probably 1.5m of silt. There are some trees there, but they're unrecognisable, zombie trees covered in mud and sludge, and every bit of debris that came down the river.
"A totally unrecoverable situation."
The cyclone would cost the grower millions of dollars.
"It's an inverse lottery win and the problem, if you lose an orchard, the big challenge for us and people worse affected is you lose your crop for this year. Then you lose your trees and it's possible you lose your soil, with too much silt on it and an inability to remove it.
"If you lose your trees you lose your income for this year and for next year and for the year after that and the year after," Paynter said.
"It's probably a seven-year workaround to get into production again."
Even undamaged apples posed challenges.
"Royal gala's our number one export variety. It's ready now. We've got silt in the orchards. We've somehow got to get that into shape and get the fruit off the trees."
Paynter isn't sure yet how that will work.
Orchard owner Paul Paynter. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
He would like to see the government package extended to a wage subsidy for four weeks to give the industry confidence at a time of year when growers were often in overdraft, waiting for their harvest to bear fruit.
Riverside Cherries owner Jerf van Beek and his staff were looking after seven hectares of cherry trees at Twyford, near Hastings.
"We're working now with 14 staff just to save [the trees]. Oxygen to roots is really important. We've been given advice from the Hawke's Bay Fruit Growers' Association and other consultants about what to do and how to repair, and we think we'll be alright.
"Unfortunately, we're going to have more rain coming again. That's a real concern. The initial water has drained away where it could drain away, so we're in a good place, but more rain makes it even worse."
The 14 hectares of leased apple operations on his land was mostly destroyed. Where just 10 days ago rows of apple trees stood, there's now a wasteland.
Jerf van Beek and Riverside Cherries staff are working to save their cherry trees. He is standing in front of what used to be an apple orchard on his land. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Van Beek has piled silt and damaged household items in one section of a former orchard.
Often there's no sign trees were there, because they've had their roots pulled clear out.
It's early days in the recovery, and growers - like all affected residents - have tough times ahead.
"Thank you to the community. They've been excellent," van Beek said.
"It's going to get tough. I've heard that when it happened in Christchurch during the earthquake, it's like grieving. Everyone's there to support, but at some sage we'll be on our own, and I'm a bit afraid of that."
The apple export industry is worth almost $1 billion, and most of it comes from Hawke's Bay.
