Day 9: Stuck in Papatowai with the Invercargill blues again

Left about nine and drove along the coast, stopping at beaches and viewpoints and waterfalls. Maclean Falls in particular was quite dramatic and very busy -- so much so that it seems to support a restaurant/cafe and small motel at the turnoff to it. And here I had my first real coffee for several days.

Repeated my Monday drive west and north until I came around the corner at Fortrose and up the hill, and saw a cluster of about twenty cars and camper vans by the side of the road. The two other roads leading off from that point were blocked, and from the high ground there was a grand view of water spreading across the road and off to the horizon. Despite the positive report from the NZ Transport Authority, the road was blocked -- and not just that road, but all other roads into Invercargill. 

No sign of police or traffic authorities -- just a poor harassed woman from the Conservation Department trying to keep order. And according to her the high point of the floods was yet to come. It occurred to me that if that happened the road at Fortrose could easily go under, and if it did we would all be basically just stuck on a hill. So I drove back to the next township, Tokanui, filled up with expensive petrol, and went into the pub for a meal.

This was gradually filling up with other stranded people, and the story at that time was that the road out through Balclutha was blocked, leaving us all stranded in the Southland with no supermarkets. I'm not sure if that was ever actually true, but they were calling in helicopters with bedding and making arrangements to sleep people in the local community hall. So I contacted Karen at the accommodation I had stayed at in Papatowai and asked if she had a spare room. She said she did, so I headed back down the same road for the fourth time to Papatowai.

The separate cottage was booked, but Karen and her dog Boss put me up in a room in the house and gave me dinner. I fitted in another walk on the beach, and turned in fairly early, not knowing what was going to happen next. 

Intermittent rain overnight, but the official NZTA report is that there is now a road open to Invercargill, so I'll see if that can be trusted. 



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