The Far North has been cut off from the rest of New Zealand after heavy rain and flooding damaged road access.
Flood waters have caused cracks in the Mitimiti Bridge on State
Highway One north of Te Kao, isolating the top 30 kilometres of the
North Island.
Motorists are trapped north of the bridge as the road is the only
access to and from Cape Reinga.
Far North District Council spokeswoman Alison Lees says the only other way to get through is along 90 Mile Beach and many light vehicles would not cope.
Transit New Zealand says it is preparing a temporary bridge. But spokesman Joseph Flanagan says it will only be sent if engineers think it is a good solution when they reach the site.
He says the bridge is being prepared in Napier and could take up to a week before it is up and running.
Flanagan says there are no detours available, and the beach route is not one he would recommend because of the tidal conditions.
This has left residents in the small community of Waitiki Landing, just 20 kilometres south of Cape Reinga, wondering when they will be reconnected to the rest of the country.
Rex Munns, who runs the Waitaki Landing Dairy and Camping Ground, says there are quite a number of tourists, including several in camping grounds, wondering how they are going to get south.
He says the floods also sent a foot of water rushing through the shop but while the campers got wet, no-one has been hurt.
Munns says some of the tourists are now mucking in and helping clean out the shop. Around 30 campers showed up while waiting for the bridge to be fixed.
Those camping in Te Paki, south of Cape Reinga, have been moved south to escape the rain and flooding.
Department of Conservation ranger Nick Conrad says the small group of campers were moved as far as Waitiki and cannot go further until the road re-opens.
Conrad says some of the campers were excited about the drama the weather has created.
Meantime, workers have also been clearing roads in Paihia while officials are keeping an eye on the Kawakawa River which has been rising rapidly.
Fire crews have attended at least 17 flooded houses in the region since 6am on Wednesday.
Up to 180mm of rain has fallen near Kaitaia and in the Kaikohe area and MetService is warning falls of another 50 to 80mm in some areas on Wednesday afternoon.
Rain pelts Waikato
Further south Port Waikato was also ravaged by flooding, blocking sections of State Highway 23 between Hamilton and Raglan. Only four wheel drive vehicles could get through the area.
Two major slips partially covered the main road for most of the day, but have now been re-opened.
A heavy down pour that resulted in 32 millimetres of rain only lasted a few hours but caused the most headaches. Farmer's fences and gates were washed out in the deluge and the clean up began at 4am on Wednesday.
"Three slip sites have a totalled 120 cubic metres of debris," Mathew Anderson of Transfield Services says.
The region is bracing itself for more heavy downpours.
Environment Waikato emergency duty officer Sean Hollands says they are ready.
He says they are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to activate the relevant emergency plans.
Hollands says the rain may only cause problems with surface flooding.
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