As we rode into Airlie Beach we could see the devastation that had been caused from cyclone Debbie. Whole large trees had been uprooted. Majority of sign boards and road signs had been blown over completely pulling up the cement and lots of damage to the roads from the flooding. Thats what we noticed driving in. What we were yet to witness was worse. Large yatchs and boats washed up on beaches and crashed into board walks or pushed through the bush to the side of the road. Large tree branches were everywhere, roofs had been blown away, windows broken, carpet soaked and ripped out of houses onto there lawns. Its going to take a long time until Airlie Beach is back to the way it was.
The worst amount of damage we saw was at Shute Harbour. Apparently people in previous cyclones had moored there boats in the harbour as its all pretty well protected from the winds however the highest speed recorded from the cyclones winds were 163km hour. 17km off being a cyclone 5, pretty horrific considering there are only 5 categories. Yatchs were damaged all over the harbour, smashed along the bushy banks. We saw one yatch get lifted over some large trees by a 140 ton mobile crane as it was blown out of the water,landing next to the road.
Our first night we were in our tent in the caravan park Island Gateway. It was the first caravan park open after the cyclone. We found out it was due to all the local help they had received to get the place cleaned up again. Rory a lovely worker in the park told us that along with some great spots to see and visit. He was such a nice friendly guy who we chatted to whilst he worked. Another worker Brian also came and chatted to us, asking about the bikes. Turns out he and many other staff are from Gippsland, our home area. Brian was from Bairnsdale.
The first day we were tired so we got some groceries from another expensive IGA and hit the sack. It rained a lot through the night and as we woke the rain did not look like it was going to stop any time soon, so we made breakfast, put on our ponchos and walked into town. The rain was very sparatic. We took our ponchos off and put them on about 5 times. We got into town and had been in contact with some of Robs friends who had agreed to meet us for a late lunch anywhere we chose. From Rorys recommendations we went to the Anchor bar. A great spot overlooking the beach and the islands. Its also the only bar in Airlie that has free pool and a swimming pool to use.
After having a delicious lunch with Dovey and Margo we were invited to stay the night at their place and join them for a bbq. We had already paid for another night in the caravan park and could not get our money back but it would be nice to get to know them better and as a bonus get out of the rain.
We decided to leave our tent and bikes at the caravn park, Dovey picked us up and took us to their place where we had a delicious bbq and met there gorgeous daughter Amber. Rob said the steak was cooked to perfection and was very happy indeed.
Dovey is a great cook and looks like he really enjoys it as well. We had wine and chatted about Margo, Dovey and Robs adventures through Mexico and Central America. That night they invited us to stay the weekend. So we did.
The next day we went and packed up the tent and the rest of our belongings in what started as clear weather. As soon as we took the rain protecting cover off the tent it bucketed down. We couldnt get our stuff into the back of Doveys car fast enough and thankfully we were able to set it all up in the shed to dry. We got drenched.
Over the next few days we had delicous Tacos, made by Dovey, went for a beautiful family walk along the board walk which is their morning and evening routine not forgetting princess Lu Lu, their dog. Thats something i noticed that this family does different to others. There are multiple daily routines for relaxing family time not including the tv but always including princess Lu Lu.
One day we head to Coral beach which was a little walk to get to, through some bush. Amazing views with incredible shells and coral everywhere. I was surprised the path had already been cleared since Debbie made a mess. We were going to go snorkling however the water was quite murky. Rob tried anyways with no success whilst i kept my eyes peeled for crocks. Ive been told to be careful everywhere now.
We all went to a place called Magnams that night for a drink and live music. As the other local pub showing rugby was still closed the place was full.
There was an older gentleman who would have had a few drinks dancing his way to the dance floor. He was in thongs, jeans,a checkered shirt and a floppy cowboy hat and my feeling was that he frequented that watering hole regularly. He asked the girl on the table in front of me to dance but there was no one else on the dancefloor. She said no. I was next, sitting at the end of the table in front of everyone, he put his hand out. I couldnt deny the man twice so up i got. I had a boogie for a couple of songs and not long after Margo had to leave to put Amber to bed.
Our next stop was Beaches, where we had some dinner and met a group that had been travelling around the Whitsundays on a yatch. I chatted for a long time to a woman named Silka from Iceland. She was beautiful with an amazing personality and seemed like the sort of woman that embraces life and all it has to offer, in all the best ways. She was travelling with her sister and turns out they are both descendents of Vikings as they have a ancestor website for all Icelanders. White blonde hair, blue eyes, what woman in Australia try to get from a packet. From there we ended up talking and drinking and visiting another few clubs/ bars. We mixed our drinks and stayed out later than expected. Dovey was suppose to look after Amber his 2 year old at 6am. He left before us and Margo thought he let out princess Lu Lu so she went wondering the street early in the morning only to find Lu Lu under the covers in bed with Dovey. Haha
We came in late and woke up Amber accidentally, more than once. Worst guests. We had planned to only stay the weekend but that was the sunday night and there was no way we were in any state to ride on the Monday even Tuesday but we had definitely overstayed our welcome. On Monday Amber got dropped of at Grandma and Grandads in the morning and the 3 of us rested our thumping brains. Waiting for Margo to come back from work i felt like we were going to get into trouble like you would off your mum and dad as a teenager. An unusual feeling i havnt felt for a while. We said sorry, she said it was ok but i felt like Dovey might have got into trouble later.
On Tuesday we rode an hour up the road to our nearest campsite. As we rode to the supermarket in our still hungover state we realised it was a public holiday and closed. We retreated to McDonalds housing our favourite things, food and air conditioning. We took a chance and rode to the campsite luckily finding an open shop on the way. Yay supplies, we have food again.
2souls2wheels 