Holi-deluge
I arrived back from my holiday today, a little later than expected. Kate and I had planned to spend time at Burleigh beach Monday, go to Byron Bay (90 minute drive) on Tuesday, Currumbin Lakes and the beach again on Wednesday, and return to Brisbane Thursday.That was the plan. Instead it was raining and cold, so we didn't go to the beach Monday, or Byron Tuesday. Instead we went and saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Tuesday, but vowed to go to Byron Bay on Wednesday regardless of the weather. The talk and bravado faltered at the sight of trees bending in the wind and continuing rain. It rained continually Wednesday, getting heavier and heavier as the evening wore on. Anyone in Brisbane/Australia will know what happened. Over a 24-hour period, the Gold Coast received 500mm (20 inches) of rain. Then the tide came in.
Waking up Thursday morning, Kate informed me we would need to leave within the next 10 minutes if we were going to get out of the street. This is where I would show some pictures if I could find my camera right now. To cut a long story short, we didn't attempt to get out of the street since the water was knee-high at the bottom of the driveway and thigh-high around the corner. The golf course behind the house was entirely inundated, and watching the tee closest to the fenceline disappear completely within 30 minutes was a little worrying. Instead, we went for a walk to check out just how high the water had risen, and to watch cars attempting to make it through the thigh-high water at the intersection a few houses down. I didn't take my camera with me on that walk, unfortunately.
As a city bus plowed through the water at the roundabout, the driver managed to lose an 8-foot long piece of silver sheeting. I waded in to retrieve it for him, more worried about others driving over it, and received the princely sum of $4 in thanks to go towards a beer. I'll put some photos on here when I find my camera.
That's all for now. It's 4.30 am, and it looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight...
the earley edition - Posted by Dave @ 7/02/2005 03:57:00 am || ||
