Peter de Graaf

In the tiny Far North settlement of Mangamuka, the excitement is palpable.

For the past two and a half years, locals have faced long detours on rough roads, isolation from friends and family, and higher transport costs.

That's about to come to an end, however, with the reopening of State Highway 1 through Mangamuka Gorge, the main route north to Kaitāia on 20 December.

Mangamuka resident Awhina Rauwhero-Stevens said the closure meant having to drive further for more expensive groceries, and less frequent visits to her mokopuna on the other side of the gorge.

"We can't wait. It's been a struggle. Having to go to Kaikohe and Kerikeri, because I shop every week, and Pak'nSave in Kaitāia is the cheapest in the North. So I can't wait. I'm excited."

In August 2022, a 13-kilometre section of highway through the gorge was so badly damaged by a storm it's taken until now, and more than $200 million, to fix it.

When the deluge hit, the highway had only been open for 13 months after a previous year-long closure, also due to storm damage.

Overnight the closure transformed Mangamuka from a bustling pit stop on the main route north to sleepy backwater, threatening the survival of the settlement's only store, the popular Mangamuka Dairy.

Owner Eliza Chapman-Kete said at times she was not sure the business could keep going.

In the end it had survived, even thrived, thanks to road workers, Te Araroa Trail walkers, and the support of locals.

Mangamuka Dairy is an important social hub as well as a source of supplies in the tiny Far North settlement. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf

The dairy was much more than just a place to buy groceries, Chapman-Kete said.

"People call it a hub. It's a place where people meet, they talk and cry together, they laugh together and sometimes they have words together," she said.

There was also excitement in Kaitāia, on the other side of the gorge, where locals like Kiana Murray would no longer have to drive the long way around via State Highway 10.

"When we're travelling to Auckland, Kaikohe, anywhere, we've got to literally go all the way around, it takes probably another hour out of our way, maybe more, the roads are shocking, it's harder. So yeah, I absolutely can't wait for it to open up."

The reopening of State Highway 1 would also be also a boon for people travelling to the Far North on business, such as Whangārei sales rep Shannon Beeston.

"I think it's wonderful. I travel up here quite often and travelling up State Highway 10, it makes your day a lot longer. For the town and the business owners it'll be fabulous," she said.

Te Hiku Community Board member John Stewart said with State Highway 1 closed, many fruit and vegetable growers were unable to transport their produce to Auckland and return to Kaitāia in a day, greatly increasing their costs.

The closure of State Highway 1 transformed Mangamuka from a busy pit stop on the main freight route north to a sleepy backwater. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf

He said freight companies had been quick to bump up the amount they charged Kaitāia businesses when the highway closed, and hoped they would bring down their fees just as quickly after the gorge reopened on 20 December.

The impact of the closure had been greatest at the southern end of town, Stewart said, and had slashed the number of visitors stopping in at the museum and i-Site at the Te Ahu Centre.

"I think of a mate who owns Mobil down the southern end of town. That's basically the first shop everyone drives into once they come through the Mangamukas into Kaitāia. I'd hate to know what he's been losing after the last couple of years," he said.

Far North deputy mayor Kelly Stratford recalled the last time Mangamuka Gorge reopened after storm repairs, in 2021.

On that occasion the road lasted just over a year before it was wrecked by another, even bigger storm.

"I'm really, really excited about the Mangamukas opening, and feeling very confident that it's going to be open for a lot longer than last time. I'm looking forward to our communities on both sides being able to connect, everybody travelling for business, for mahi, to be with whānau. It's been a real interruption for whānau on both sides of the Mangamukas," she said.

Mangamuka Dairy owner Eliza Chapman-Kete. Photo: Peter de Graaf

The August 2022 deluge triggered dozens of slips, 15 of which were deemed to be significant and six critical.

Another storm in 2023 increased the number of major slips to 35, with 15 of those regarded as critical, and in June this year another slip took the total to 36.

The fresh damage bumped up the repair cost from the initially budgeted $100m and delayed the reopening from the original target date of May 2024.

The total cost, according to NZTA, was now $204m.

Back in Mangamuka, locals said there would also be some downsides to the reopening.

For the past few years birdsong and the murmur of conversation had been the main sounds in the settlement, but that would soon be replaced by the roar of trucks barrelling down the main street.

Chapman-Kete said with four school bus pick-ups each day, children, and parents, would have to get used to looking out for traffic again.

Residents had been pushing for a pedestrian crossing to make the road safer once traffic returned.

Chapman-Kete said she would miss the quiet.

"We had our own little sanctuary here really. So yes, we'll miss that. And the mothers will have to watch their children quite closely. We'll just have to be careful."

Even Awhina Rauwhero-Stevens said she would miss the silence.

"What I'm not looking forward to is the noise. I'm not looking forward to the traffic, and not looking forward to waiting in line at Whaea Eliza's dairy."

But even the prospect of speeding trucks and queues at the dairy could not dampen her excitement.

"The gorge is beautiful. I've missed going through it. I can't wait to see the changes. I'm so glad it's nearly finished. We can't wait. I know I've said that like 10 times now, that's how excited I am," she said.

On Thursday, 19 December, the rebuilt road will be blessed and Transport Minister Simeon Brown will visit the gorge to celebrate the project's completion. The highway is due to reopen at one minute after midnight on Friday.

This story was originally published by RNZ