As rescue helicopters fly overhead, Brenda Smith sits outside her ruined Waiau tea shop smoking a cigarette, nodding at locals who drive past in battered cars to homes that are no longer habitable.
Since Monday, Smith has had no electricity, no phone and little sleep. She has lost NZ$50,000 (£28,000) worth of stock and is rapidly running out of patience.
“Even though we were closest to the epicentre it has never been about Waiau; it is all about Kaikoura,” said Smith, who has operated her tea shop for almost a decade.
“Kaikoura is a destination, people know Kaikoura. Just because we aren’t known doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be. It is just frustrating … the prime minister could have visited us. [The former All Blacks captain] Richie McCaw did.”
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