Jim Edwards has been living in a caravan on his Whakatu property near Hastings since Cyclone Gabrielle sent a half metre of water rushing through his family home, causing two septic tanks to burst.
The place has been yellow-stickered and the council says Edwards and his whānau shouldn’t be on the land.
The problem is the 20-metre, 6-tonne waka he owns which he can’t move at the moment.
The council put a strip of mulch down the middle of the access road outside his property and currently, it's too soft to carry the weight of his trailer and its waka cargo.
So Edwards is staying put to keep watch over his precious taonga and keep safe against looters.
Edwards joins Tova on Thursday morning from 6:54 am. Listen live here.
