Rissington residents have been using boats to ferry essential supplies across the river. Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington
Residents of a rural Hawke's Bay town cheered for repair crews arriving to fix their power after more than two weeks in a blackout.
But there was still a long way to go before life in Rissington returned to normal, a community leader said.
The small farming settlement, northwest of Napier, was cut off from the rest of Hawke's Bay when Cyclone Gabrielle blocked roadways and knocked out a vital bridge.
Fire Commander Patrick O'Rourke is using the local station as a hub for residents to access donations from around the country.
He said spirits were high, but it had been a complicated journey.
"Some days are a little bit one step forwards, half a step backwards," he said.
"When it rained the other day, everyone was a bit down because all the silt turned back to mud. But then on a day like today, when it's sunny, [it's more positive]."
Slips and foliage block a one-way bridge in Rissington. Photo: Supplied / Adam Hedley
The highlight of Rissington's week was the much anticipated arrival of maintenance crews.
"It's been good news today, the power has been reconnected," he said. "Last night some people got power, and today a whole lot more got power."
A few households in harder-to-reach areas were still waiting.
"There's probably six to eight families that still don't have power," O'Rourke said.
But the majority were enjoying a taste of normality. Being able to turn the TV on, he said, was a huge comfort.
"Three trucks came down the road today," O'Rourke said. "When we saw them come down the road there was a big 'yay' from a lot of people."
For the last two weeks, residents have been relying on generators and daily fuel deliveries to keep the lights on.
"From the early stages we endeavoured to get a generator to every house, and to the water supply, so they've all had some form of power for a while," O'Rourke said.
"The key thing was keeping the fuel up, we had a team going around each day just giving enough fuel for a couple of hours."
Meals being delivered to cut-off Rissington locals, with most now no longer needing to rely on generators for power. Photo: RNZ / Maja Burry
O'Rourke said he would not miss his generator.
"We were getting a bit over the noise of the generators right outside the window," he said.
"And how at night you have to put a headlamp on to go to bed because you've turned the generator off and it's all dark."
Access to power was a huge step forward, he said, but it would take many more to cross the finish line.
"There's still a way to go, really," O'Rourke said.
"The power is a biggie, then once we get some sort of river connection in then it'll be easier to get into town and stuff, right now we're doing it all by boat across the river."
Even children on their way to school were using inflatable boats to cross the river, he said.
Contractors were hard at work on a temporary bridge, but it was slow going. O'Rourke said the process could take six weeks because the damage to the previous bridge was so vast.
"The Rissington Bridge, which was about 44 metres... there's now a hole nearly 80 metres across," he said.
Setting up a pair of Bailey bridges, which were typically just 33 metres long, would require substantial effort.
"The contractors are just going flat out to get that done," he said.
Although the crisis was far from resolved, O'Rourke said the community was staying positive and were "really cheerful."
"All our needs are being met," he said. "So it's going quite well, really."
