Well the last few days have certainly been interesting ones. I’ve been stuck out at Jimboomba (semi-rural bush for those of you playing at home) since Friday night. Well I suppose I wasn’t ‘stuck’ on Friday night. I was there by choice. But by Saturday evening there was no going anywhere. The weather was miserable. Severe. It was the aftermath of a cyclone afterall! I had been staying out at a friend’s property, helping to look after the place and their dog while they attended a funeral up in Gladstone. They only JUST got back on Saturday and it was pretty touch and go. But we’re lucky they did make it back!

Because Sunday morning we lost power. And as they live on a property, they run on water tanks. Which pump the water for use into the house. A pump which runs on electricity. As did their over, cooktop etc. So we survived with a gas, two burner camp stove. And buckets of water harvested from the water tanks. While the rain was still pouring down it was easy to catch the water coming out of the overflow valve but after the rain died down, the men cobbled together a rather interesting but ingenious plumbing system that made it easier to syphon water from the tanks while staying under the protection of the back awning.

Sunday wasn’t so bad. The boys were in the shed working on a hot rod. Us girls stayed inside and read our books for a bit. We’d also planned on having a cocktail night that night so we were well stocked with alcohol and nibblies. TOO well stocked some might say. I was certainly saying so on Monday morning with a raging hangover. The storm raged on outside and we had a great time inside, mixing up concoctions by candle light. It was a very fun night and we had almost completely forgotten about the storm and the fact that we had no power.

However come Monday we were running low on supplies and our phones were dying one by one. No internet. No TV. No phones. No way of knowing what was going on in the outside world. It certainly was interesting. By about midday Monday we attempted to leave but we couldn’t find a way out that wasn’t closed or flooded. So back to the house we went for another night of candle light and bucket water. We had a pretty early night that night, with not much left to entertain ourselves with. I was certainly craving a proper shower and was missing not having contact with anyone. Particularly as I knew there were a few friends and family that were worried and trying to get in contact with me.

It wasn’t until mid-morning on Tuesday that we managed to make our way out of Jimboomba and not a moment too soon as the latest reports are that it is now completely cut off. We had to drive through a bit of water to get out and I was a bit scared, as I’ve never done anything like that before and was worried about my poor little Suzuki. But we made it! And I got home and had the best shower I’ve had in a loooong time. I turned on the news to find out what was happening with the rest of the state, charged my phone and returned all the worried messages and missed calls to let everyone know I was home safe and sound.

And today, I’m back at work. Getting on with life as normal. It’s a bit strange though. Watching the news and seeing so much of the state declared as a disaster zone. Especially when the weather is now so hot and sunny. It’s very surreal. But thankfully, as far as I know all my friends and loved ones have been lucky enough to be spared.

But my heart goes out to all those so severely affected by this natural disaster. Those who’ve lost everything. Especially those who’ve lost everything, AGAIN for the second time in as many years. Your strength to soldier on in the face of such adversity is inspirational. The death toll stands at 4 currently, including a little 3 year old boy. It’s so sad. My thoughts are with everyone dealing with this tragedy.