Cyclone Gabrielle caused massive slips across the East Coast and Hawke's Bay regions. Photo: Supplied
Slips are greening over while new tracks and new fences have been laid - across the eastern North Island, many farmers and growers are making a slow but steady recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Two years ago Cyclone Gabrielle struck off the East Coast of the North Island, devastating part of Tairāwhiti, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa and killing 11 people.
While many have begun to move on from the cyclone, Ian and Helen Burgess remain in limbo.
The couple run a 660-hectare sheep and beef farm near the Hangaroa River, about 50km west of Gisborne. Ian's family has lived on the property for five generations so the couple knew how to prepare for the cyclone based on previous experiences.
The morning Gabrielle struck, they woke at 5am to what sounded like wind but then realised it was the river. The Burgess Bridge - the family's only access to and from town and which had been there since 1963 - had been washed away.
"That was a bit of a shock," Ian said. "Now we're back to a low level crossing."
"It's just a road coming into the river and a road going out the river," Helen elaborated. "We're on the river bed, we cross the actual river."
With their bridge having washed out in Cyclone Gabrielle, the Burgess family's only access to and from town is directly through the Hangaroa River via a low level crossing. Photo: Supplied
This leaves the couple vulnerable to being cutoff when it rains - if they get more than 10mm of rain in the upper catchment the rivers gets too high to cross safely.
It has made day-to-day running of the farm challenging, creating huge financial and animal welfare issues. The threat of isolation also presents significant safety concerns for the couple.
"We don't know how long it will go on and that of course totally affects the way we run our farm. At the moment we're just making decisions on the fly because we still have no clear picture of what the future's going to be like."
Helen said the situation was "extremely draining" as it's still unclear if they will get a new bridge built. While they are the only family which relies on the washed-out bridge, she said they knew of others in the region with similar access issues.
"The most wearying [part] is still being in limbo, not knowing."
Despite this, the couple are determined to stay.
Further south in Hawke's Bay there's also still progress to be made restoring access to all parts of the region.
Harry Gaddum runs a sheep, beef and deer farm in Kereru, about 58km west of Hastings in Hawke's Bay. He also runs a couple of lease blocks closer to town and in Central Hawke's Bay.
The Gaddum family at work repairing tracks damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Supplied
He says access to much of the farm and the local community was cut-off during the cyclone. Tracks, laneways and fencing were also lost through slips.
His focus during those early days was about prioritising the various jobs on farm and restoring access.
"Two years on a lot of the slips are greening over. And you tend to try and retire some of those paddocks with the worst slip. The scars will always be there but we're a long way away from where we were two years ago."
While there's still jobs that could be done, Gaddum said he's learned to be comfortable with it being an "ongoing restoration" effort.
"It just takes time, you can't do it all at once."
The slips are starting to green over though. Photo: Supplied
Gaddum was grateful for the community support in the wake of the cyclone.
He said the people of Kereru were "pretty positive" but restoring local roads damaged in the cyclone would be another milestone for them to celebrate.
Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer Sam Johnston echoed his sentiments and was grateful for the support he had following the cyclone.
The cyclone also damaged rural roads, some of which are still in rough condition. Photo: Supplied
The Tinui farmer found stock management was more of a challenge after the cyclone damaged much of his flats, with water systems, troughs and fencing also lost.
It was hard to know where to start but within a year he had made a plan and locked everything in.
"The help we got was amazing and I suppose I got enough done and didn't wear myself out that I can now keep going without wearing myself out."
Johnston said it had been "pretty tough" with other challenges like dry conditions, poor lamb prices and high interest rates adding to the pressure. He felt like he was on the other side now.
He said it was important to look back and reflect.
"Two years on you hope this is it."
Gaddum and Johnston also featured in Farmstrong's Getting Through book featuring stories of farmers and growers after the cyclone.
The Johnston family of Tinui a month after Cyclone Gabrielle first hit. Photo: Supplied
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