Thread: Getting back to living off the land.....

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings All,

Some notes on surviving Gabriel.

It has been an interesting week. We were without power for almost a week but have survived the cyclone without loss or significant deprivation. We bought our 8 ha block, about 20 km out of Hastings, in 1992 and built the house in 1999. The house design and location incorporated a number of features to make it liveable and I thought I would share these in case they are of interest.
The house is located on a low knoll at the end of a ridge. This provided nice views without the need for a steep long drive and kept the site reasonably safe from slips. Water supply is from a well pumped to a storage tank further up the ridge which gives 3 to 4 weeks of supply without power. Both a gas fired hob and a wet back on one of the fires supplies hot water and cooking. This kept us reasonably comfortable
The bit that needs improvement was a power supply for the deep freeze and fridge. I took a chilly bin of meat into my son and a friend lent me his generator so we have not lost any of the meat that remained. The easy fix for this would be a petrol generator but this might never be used in our remaining time here so am looking at a small solar and battery system that could run the fridge, freezer and a little lighting.
Communications were a problem. We had no phone or cell phone reception for about 5 days and were physically cut off from town for about 2. I had a wee tumble shortly after the power went out. No lasting damage was done but it could have ended rather differently.
Finally there have been a number of both urban and rural subdivisions done recently that have left me scratching my head. I drove past one this morning with a row of near new houses each has a pile of sodden ruined belongings piled outside. The developers will have made their money and the current owners are left to carry the can.
Regards to you all, Grandpamac.

Thank you for your post.

My lot up the Hokianga survived with no major damage apart from a bit of freezer food.

Like you, houses on hillsides in spots that look like, they're where they should be.

In other words not on a cliff or bluff or gully edge. Also not on a flood plain or down stream from any potential flood.

I feel for the farmers and the agricultural types that have had their flat bits covered in mud, but as one of them said, cupola years this is great growing land. Still repairs to the fences and plant and buildings etc... not so great.

" row of near new houses each has a pile of sodden ruined belongings piled outside" and everything is made for cardboard these days. I'm not sure all the hardyplank and plastering that goes on in new houses is designed to be flooded...