Invest 94P started forming in the Coral Sea northwest of New Caledonia, and the forecast models were all over the place. Some had it spinning up into a proper cyclone, while Google’s Deepmind models weren’t buying it. What they did agree on was that this thing was heading straight for New Zealand with a serious dump of rain in tow. On January 20th, MetService dropped a rare Red Warning – 300 to 400mm expected, mostly targeting the Coromandel and East Cape. With another trip lined up for the following weekend, I had to pick my spot quickly. I chose the Coromandel and hit the road early on the morning of January 21st.
My first challenge was actually getting there. Rain was already hammering down, and I was genuinely worried that SH25a would be closed by the time I arrived. Fortunately, it was still open, so I made a split-second call to push through to Whangamata. The road out to Tairua has a reputation of flooding, and the last thing I needed was to get stranded.
Even before I rolled into Whangamata, the flooding was getting serious with flood water covering the road and nearly cutting it off completely. The town itself was underwater, with multiple properties already inundated. The road heading south, right next to Mum’s Corner Store, was flooded too, but I managed to push through the water to check out the situation further south. I only made it about 15 minutes before the flooding became completely impassable.
Flooding in Whangamata
Flooding south of Whangamata
With the very real risk of getting trapped between two flooded rivers, I made the call to head back to Whangamata. If I was going to get stuck somewhere, it might as well be in a proper town with services. By the time I got back to Mum’s Corner Store, the flooding had gotten significantly worse. I wasn’t keen on driving through it, but I didn’t have much choice. The water was deep…like really deep, but I went for it anyway. Turned out I was one of the last vehicles to make it through.
Flooding outside Mum’s Corner Store
Locals rescuing a flood stricken vehicle
Back in Whangamata, I decided to check the situation north of town. It was no better with extensive flooding everywhere. The road was completely impassable, which meant I was officially stuck. No way in, no way out of Whangamata. The rain kept coming, getting heavier, and slips started popping up all over the place.
With the prospect of being stuck for a while, I was ready to sleep in the car. Not that it mattered as there was zero accommodation available anyway. The parks were packed with other people in the same boat, sleeping in their vehicles. I kept driving around that night as the storm raged on. It’s always a bit sketchy doing this, but I stuck to a safe distance from the center of Whangamata.
The rain finally let up around 2am. I managed to get some sleep before heading out to assess the damage. Slips had come down all over the place, blocking both the northern and southern routes out of Whangamata. But the real problem was a massive slip on the southern road. It was absolutely huge, and I knew it would take days to clear.
There were also slips out at Opoutere
Huge logs left on the road
With a flight to catch on Saturday for another trip, I had to find a way out somehow. The northern road was the best bet, but NZTA is painfully slow at dealing with these situations. Even worse is their complete lack of communication. We waited all day Thursday – nothing. Friday looked more promising when a notice went up saying the road would reopen at 6pm. Cars started lining up from 3pm, with the queue stretching back for kilometers. We could see trucks and other vehicles going through, but the road was still officially closed. Why? Nobody had a clue. Then, just before 9pm, the road finally opened and we were out of there.
