MAROONED*

 * Not the new post advertised - which will be Part One in a series.

For the first time since living up here all roads to Whangarei are closed. We're marooned and hopefully not doomed.

The SH1 road across the Brynderwins has been broken so many times over the last year that fix-up jobs aren't working. A permanent alternate main route will need to be built. Who can afford that though.

The normal alternate route via Mangawai has been closed by slips, washouts  and fallen trees after yesterday's deluge.

Almost all side and minor roads in the area have suffered damage. The road from Whangarei to Whangarei Heads has been closed, fixed and opened many times after fallen trees, under flooding, over flooding, slips and broken bridges have made the road at times impassable.

The road from our bay (McLeod Bay) further around the Heads to where my sister has a house (Urquart's Bay) is seriously munted with, in addition to slips and fallen trees, has under flooding issues that have raised up the road in parts and slumped it in others. Some patch up work is going on now but it will take a major engineering effort to fix properly.

At the end of our road, a gravel extension road to the major jetty is seriously broken and will not be mended by quick fix jobs. It will require a major rebuild which I can't see as a priority. To compound the situation a house is perched at the edge of a cliff above this road after several slips have undermined its foundations.

While the main road from Whangarei to McLeod Bay is serviceable after fix-up jobs I fear that other bays might soon be cut off. If the main road (the only one) from Parua Bay to McLeod Bay goes the same way we will be marooned! We might have to invest in a boat ( or a hovercraft or flying car).

The Old Girl works for an engineering company and they sensibly predict a massive amount of work coming their way in road and other infrastructure building over at least the next decade. She should give up any silly ideas of retiring and keep working until she's 80!