Cockle shells heaped up over the road

Between 3rd and 6th January in 2018, there was a combination of weather - strong winds and a very low pressure depression - combining with king tides which drove waves up over the coastal roads in the Kawakawa Bay/Ōrere Point/Kaiaua area making driving through difficult. 5 January was the first day back at work for me, and I had an event that I was managing that evening, so I waited until low tide to leave home at Ōrere Point. By the time I had reached First Bay at Kawakawa Bay, the waters had receded leaving the road covered by heaped cockle shells which obscured the road markings. Locals were out sweeping the shells and seaweed aside, but there was also flooding of some gardens and low-lying houses. I remember that the Pink Shop in Kaiaua had its freezer practically floating out the door with the amount of water that came in. The tide reached 2.8 metres in Kaiaua which is not far off the record of 3 metres in 1938.