Students making most of being marooned

Tourists are evacuating, but two University of Otago students are settling in to wait it out in Kaikoura.

• Sense of relief in Kaikoura

Tyrone Costelloe (21) and Martin Kerr (22) had just finished their studies in Dunedin, and were driving home to Rotorua, when they stopped for the night in Kaikoura.

After surviving the shaking and escaping to high ground, the pair decided to wait for vehicle access to be restored rather than abandon their car.

While State Highway 1 was expected to be closed for months, work to reopen the inland route to Kaikoura to escorted convoys of vehicles was expected to be completed by Saturday, officials said.

So, while they waited, the two ex-Dunedin students filled in the time with beer and mini-golf.

''We have got all our stuff in the car,'' Mr Kerr said.

Their beer supply was also holding up well, they said.