A local Wānaka business was quick to help out following the West Coast roads slips that have cut off the town of Franz Josef. Last Tuesday Rockgas Wānaka received a call from Paul Emry, the owner of Rockgas Greymouth looking for some help to service his customer base in the Franz Joseph area due to road closures. The team was swift to respond, with Ashley Carter, manager of Rockgas Wānaka saying, “We were only happy to help a fellow franchise out and loaded a truck with 65 bottles that night.” 

The next day the team got a call that the roads were safe to travel on and operations manager Dwayne Quirk left early to arrive in Greymouth with the deliveries. There he met Rockgas Greymouth delivery driver, John Torranc, who had been flown in by Gus Gordon of Glacier Country Helicopters, who had volunteered their pilots flying time, to coordinate deliveries to those in need of gas in the Franz Joseph area. People that were out or low on gas were prioritised, with everyone thankful for the delivery. “We were very impressed by how quickly and effortlessly it all fell into place.” says Carter. Quirk was able to return to Wānaka with an empty truck and a job well done.