Aftermath of Oswald

By Monday the rain had eased off considerably and the wind didn't seem gale force any more. It was a public holiday, but Wes, Nathan and myself were up early to get me to the bus station for 9 am as I was booked to go out into the NSW outback to see my cousin Pam. The bus company had been adamant they needed a contact phone number when I booked, an I gave them Nathan's number. We had not heard from them to say, the trip was cancelled, so set off expectantly with Wes as chauffeur. Alas on getting to the bus station all was cancelled, and very little information was to be had. As we got back into the car, the lovely Wes decided that he hadn't anything planned for the day so would try to drive me part way to get me on the other side of the flood zone around Ipswich, so we drove out cross the flat countryside as the Brisbane River ran eastwards. We seemed to make good timing and I enjoyed seeing a different terrain to the urban landscapes I had been experiencing. As we got to the Ipswich area fields were flooded and we wondered how wise we were, and what prospect the boys had of getting home after dropping me, but nontheless remained optimistic. It was just beginning to feel like we had beaten the system as we got on the eastern side of Ipswich when the side of Fire department trucks loomed across the road. The road was closed and we at the end of our adventure. We were allowed to get out of the car and take photos of the floods. It was obvious that it would be several days before that road was passable again, and I sadly accepted that I was not going to get to see Pam.

As we drove back to Brisbane, we realised that the chances of the boys getting back later in the day, had we made it through to Warwick were virtually zero. The water was still rising.

As we got into the suburbs of Brisbane Wes pointed out places of interest and shared his knowledge of local history with me. We drove to a beauty spot, and the highest peak overlooking the city, Mount Coot-tha, which is an indigenous word meaning 'place of honey'. Ithaca creek was really swollen and trees were down across several of the tracks, necessitating a change of direction for us on at least one occasion. The wind was strong, but it was so good to be outside after being cooped up over the weekend. The wind was warm, and not like the cold UK winds.

I treated the boys to a good Chinese meal for lunch and we then went to a supermarket to get a few bits – Aldi, which was pretty much like Aldi in UK but with far less deli products. The main 2 supermarkets in Queensland are Woolworths (nothing like our late departed UK store of the same name) and Coles. So refreshing not to find Tesco!!

In some ways not the most interesting day of my trip, but certainly not boring, and a day packed with friendship.