Was planning a bike trip up to Townsville

I had plans to ride up to Townville with a few mates its a 15 hour run up the Queensland coast from my home town of Brisbane but plans have been shelved as in the last day or so they have copped 1m of rain that just over 3 foot in the old messurements, thats rain and they are expecting another 1m of rain and here is the rest of the state is in total drought, not only our state but the rest of out country as well, it is the Norths wet season but all records are being broken, their dams are over flowing and today they are evacuating more than 20,000 homes in low areas that could go under in its way.
The main road to the top end has been cut in a few places, transport has come to a hault heading north and south and a state of emergency has been declared up there, the most rain in a 100 years of keeping records.
All the lovely rain water that we need so bad will just be flush out to sea, what caused all this rain was 2 Cyclones in the last month that crossed the North from the Gulf and my cousin who has a cattle property up on the Western side of Cape York where both Cyclones come across will be stranded for at lease 3 month with only the mail plane to get things in or out, but they are use to it, once the rivers rise they can't get out by 4x4 or trucks and the ground will take months to dry out.
Anyway hope all my friends who live up in Townsville are keeping their heads above water.

Ashley

Hopefully folks come through it all safely and in good health. We get our share of storms through the gulf here also, but ours rotate the opposite direction.

The power of Mother nature and when she gets angy she lets everyone know and today we are finally getting some rain down here at last, its been so dry and hot.

Ashley

It finally cooled-off after 5 days of 45 degree heat in NE Victoria. Then it rained which increased the humidity, so the evaporative air-conditioners stopped working. Now it is hot again and it has just started raining again.

We have been putting up with high humidity in Brisbane for weeks even months between 70%. as high as 90% I can put up with high dry temps but it gets to much with high humdity, its unbearable to work up in the shed during the day and when I work up there at night I got to think about the neighbours, but isn't it great to see some rain, we need it so badly and hopefully the run off from North Queensland will find its way down to the dry southern states, the rain they been getting up there might be the savour of many drough affected farmers who haven't made a living for years, we do live in a dry country and they got to put a stop to deverting water from our major water ways for the ultra rich cotton farms.

Ashley

Been years since geography in school, but do recollect you folks having mostly a dry time of it.... You do have some neat critters though.

And its the little critters that are the most dangerous and deadlest and then theres the stingers in our Northern waters, you can't see them but they can kill, thats if the crocs don't get you first, then there is the Bull sharks they are more danerous than white pointers and they live in dirty waters and have been seen in fresh water, then there are the surfers who surf at sunrise and sun set, worst time to be in the water as that feed time for sharks.
But we live with them and most people who get caught out are overseas visitors or people who let their guard down.

Ashley

Better take your floaties Ash!

Neat aren't they? We used to get snowbird infestations. Then they moved here and we all got used to one another because everyone gets tired of cold weather when their joints ache. What kind of ass would begrudge fellow countrymen anyway?
Kid was looking at my Norton the other day at the store and ask me, " When did HD start making those?"

It just getting worst up there the rain is still coming down, more suburbs evacuated, but us Queenslanders are a tuff bunch and as soon as the water runs off everyone will get into it for the big clean up and help each other out, the good thing the rain is getting to places that hasn't had a good rain fall for years.
In the old days they built the old Queenslander houses they were build high off the ground on timber stumps and had wide veranders around them for cooling the house down in our hot summers they are a outstanding design, but these days most houses are built on concrete slabs on the ground.
Townsville is right on the coast so very low lands and prone to flooding but this is a once in a 100 year flood that no one could of predicted and Townsville has one of our biggest army bases in Australia so they were right on the ball to give a helping hand, good on you boys.

Ashley

In Victoria we are wondering whether we can get through February without the state burning to the ground.