Gisborne nurse’s active commute: Out of the car, onto the raft from tiny Tiniroto to hospital job

A Gisborne nurse shaved over an hour off her post-cyclone commute by crossing a nearby river in a blow-up raft.

Three days a week, Sally Officer puts on wet-weather gear, loads up her borrowed blow-up raft, and paddles across the river between her home in Tiniroto and the local hospital. The bridge across Hangaroa River on her usual driving route was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. A drive that used to take 50 minutes now takes about twice as long on a winding, treacherous road.

But with the raft, Ms Officer spends less than half an hour commuting to her job as duty nurse manager at Hauora Tairāwhiti Gisborne Hospital. She can’t imagine going back to driving to work, even when the bridge gets fixed. “The drive is dangerous, I’d much rather boat.”

However, she says her novel commute is hard work: she is holding out for a promised flying fox to be installed across the river. Loaned to her by a local friend, the raft is perfect for the job. It’s easy to haul in and out on either side of the river, can take groceries when needed, and is bigger and safer than a kayak.

In wet weather, though, the river can swell and prompt Ms Officer to stay in town. Fog can also delay her arrival time.

Ms Officer is the only Gisborne resident that she knows of to commute in this way. And on the weekends she’s been known to take the neighbours’ children for a spin.