Cottage split in two suspended in time

The cottage at Cape Saunders has not been able to be salvaged, and is expected to be demolished...
The cottage at Cape Saunders has not been able to be salvaged, and is expected to be demolished later in the year. It remains exactly as it was 12 months ago. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery
A year on from the slip that tore it in half, the Cape Saunders cottage belonging to Rachel Duell is still  in limbo.

The rental home, above Papanui Inlet, from which Ms Duell’s tenant narrowly escaped last year, has been prevented from slipping into the water by vegetation. It has remained in place for the last 12 months and is too dangerous to return to. Ms Duell said EQC was still considering the property, and she was expecting it to be demolished later in the year.

Her tenant had been able to retrieve his belongings, but she and co-owner Kyle Davidson had not been able to salvage anything from the nearly fully-furnished cottage.

"We are absolutely gutted we’ve lost the cottage, gutted. I can’t say any more than that. It should never have happened."

The cottage, which was at least 60 years old, had "sentimental value" and was an important part of the history of the Cliff Bay community.

"It’s a kitchy little bach," Ms Duell said.

The property had  not been affected by  earlier rain events and the slip  was unexpected, Ms Duell said last year.

The  slip was  one of several  on Otago Peninsula hills which blocked roads and  isolated residents.

Elsewhere on the peninsula, contractors continued clearing slips which had cut off residents for much of the weekend. Harington Point residents attempted to pump water from heavily flooded paddocks and yards.

elena.mcphee@odt.co.nz

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