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A lone woman, armed with a shovel, was digging sand and weeds out of the river at Te Henga (Bethells Beach) on Friday.
The normally placid waterway that snakes its way around the road to the iconic West Coast beach burst its banks and changed course as Cyclone Gabrielle battered the region earlier this week.
“Where are all the boys?” she asked with a smile, before adding there were about a dozen out the day before, building up the banks of the Waitākere River.
Within an hour a digger was at work on the other side of the bank.
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LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Te Henga (Bethells Beach) locals work to route the Waitākere River back to its original course.
The bridge is closed to outsiders.
Two overseas tourists turned up and asked locals for directions. They wanted to go “hiking”.
They were told by locals that wouldn’t be possible today.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
The clean-up begins at Te Henga after cyclone Gabrielle.
Parts of the road have been nibbled away by the Waitākere River.
A short walk along the road, lines company workers are replacing power poles.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
The crook-shaped power pole at Te Henga.
One concrete post bent around almost on itself and appeared in a similar state to a tree on the Chatham Islands.
“We saw that one go,” said one man. “Welcome to the Wild West.”
The local surf life-saving club, established in 1958, has lost its entire deck to the river.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
A large slip has brough down mānuka and nikau, before landing in the Waitākere River
The iconic hills that overlook the untamed beach are now pockmarked from slips, exposing bare clay soil that was once covered in mānuka and harakeke.
On the way out of the settlement is the Bethells Fire Station. The big door is wide open, inviting locals in for a hot shower.
Parts of the settlement are still without power.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Once mighty trees tossed like matchsticks on the banks of the Waitākere River.
Locals spoke of a military helicopter landing recently.
They were initially worried someone had been injured, but the military personel were there to hand out bottled water.
“We’re all on tank water. I mean, come on,” said one.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
The Surf Lifesaving club lost part of its deck to the raging Waitākere River.
Surf lifesaving operations manager James Rea encouraged people to stay off the west coast beaches.
“Please stay away, the residents are just trying to survive… If you get into trouble, you’re on your own.”
He said Auckland’s west coast was hit hard by Gabrielle at a time when the ground was already sodden.
Lea said the surf club will be meeting next week to plan the clean-up and building work needed.
Te Henga takes its name from the sand dunes and their resemblance to the gunwale of an upturned waka.
One local told Stuff that thousands of tonnes of that sand is now in the gardens of local residents.
The clean-up may take some time.
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