From drying mudflats in late November to the biggest flood ever recorded in the Daintree Valley late on December 17 and into the early hours of December 18.
December 12: We both felt quite pleased with our pre-cyclone preparation and this fruit bounty was a bonus. Shutters were installed on exposed louvre windows; paddles for the canoe in the carport; torches & headlamps charged.
December 13: Gusty winds increasing near the coast. Our solar system provider boosted our batteries to 100% from the grid at our request as we expected the mains power to drop out at any time. 30 minutes later the Ergon Energy supply died and the only reason we knew we had changed over to the stored energy in our batteries was a warning we received to turn off unnecessary items. Allen went to ‘hurry’ our cottage tenant, Dave, across to our house in the early afternoon as the gusts increased and we didn’t think it was safe for him to remain in the cottage. Minor flooding now meant there was no road out.
December 14: Celia’s birthday and I couldn’t phone or make any contact with her as Telstra had died during the night in spite of their new back-up generator. Dave wandered back to the cottage and Allen followed later with the gear he had brought over as we thought it was now safe for him to return to his home. He left his Suburu on our workshop verandah for protection from rain and floods.
December 15: Still no communication with the outside world. The weather seemed a bit calmer, the sky even cleared for short periods in the morning. Allen helped me move all the big pots of Anthuriums and other assorted exotic tropical plants back into their positions on the verandah.
December 16: Rain again overnight and river levels had risen when we had hoped they might have receded. This morning Allen moved all the pot plants back into their correct positions, rehung the tubular chimes which needed a new attachment and he helped me to hang the pottery chimes which I finished restringing yesterday. I decorated the potted fig tree for Christmas and put the coloured lights along the pelmet. While it looked like the showers might ease this morning, and we’d been feeling hopeful that the wet weather was over, they have become heavier again this afternoon and the water is rising
December 17: Continuous heavy rain through the night. Allen pulled the canoe across the grass closer to the house and tied it up, just in case. He couldn’t reach ‘pea-green’ (the old dinghy) as Jasper had blown a large tree across the track and he hadn’t been able to cut it all up.
Rain continued through the day. Allen checked the water level before we went to bed soon after 9pm. He set an alarm for 12.30am but something woke him soon after 11pm. When I heard him getting dressed and inquired what was happening he just gave me the spotlight and suggested I had a look. To my utter horror the water was already some distance across our lawn and rapidly closing the distance to our verandah. Needless to say, there are no photos as we rushed to save as much as possible by lifting onto high shelves or at least onto a table.
Dec 18: While I wasn’t noting the time it would have been after midnight when the advancing water started to come in under the doors and pouring through the louvres on the verandah. I began putting a few essential items into a small pack which I placed on the dining table. Our laptops, cameras and a few important notes were put into our highest cupboards where most of our photo albums were already stored.
As the water level in the carport rose around our batteries we sadly went through the shut down procedure for our solar back-up system. Soon afterwards, with the water still rapidly rising, Allen set off to retrieve our canoe with his head lamp lighting the way. Once he stepped off the verandah the water was around his waist level and with my heart racing I pointed a spotlight towards his destination so he had a homing beacon in case of head lamp failure. It was a huge relief to see both him and the canoe a few minutes later.
We’re struggling with the chronological order of events but I have a clear memory of grabbing our nail clippers from a bathroom drawer as it floated past me and of Allen walking the deep freeze, which was well afloat, into the corner of a bedroom and wedging it there so it couldn’t damage other furniture.
Grabbing the backpack and some drinking water, plus a pair of work boots for each of us, we both managed to get into the canoe with our headlamps on and paddled towards the cottage to rescue our tenant with whom we had no contact due to the lack of Telstra service. While our immediate watery landscape looked unfamiliar as we paddled around tree branches we had enough landmarks and familiar vegetation to keep on track. It was a surreal experience paddling to the door of the cottage, where after some difficulty, we finally got Dave plus extra drinking water plus packs loaded. We then returned to our verandah to get out of the torrential rain so we didn’t have to keep bailing water out of the canoe.
About 30 minutes later, after quietly watching the water level rise up the concrete blocks of the house wall Allen and I made a decision to paddle back past the cottage and head for the hill. After several tense moments due to our lack of freeboard and occasional passenger movement causing some frantic bailing with an icecream container, we finally reached land, not dry, but solid under our feet which was an immense relief. We picked our way around a fallen tree and walked up to a small, slightly leaky shelter well out of the flood zone.
After getting us all to relative safety Allen then started to worry about our chooks drowning and so he paddled back to the chook house. I knew he was safer on his own in the canoe and I have great faith in his practical approach to difficulties but I was still worried. The ‘rescue’ operation included a paddle into the flooded workshop to find tinsnips, and a return to the house verandah to take a wet towel off the clothesline. Finally I saw the glimmer of his head torch, and then realized he was holding 3 wet unhappy chooks in a sodden towel. We held onto one each until the sky began to lighten and Allen set off on his own again to find help. We settled the chooks, all still alive, under a large umbrella I just happened to have taken with me.
Over the next few hours, while Allen got us all to safety, he spent a lot of time in the canoe finding different routes through the trees as the water level dropped. We are immensely grateful to the new owners of Daintree Village Hotel, Che and Trent Mulley, who kindly and generously provided rescue assistance, food and shelter. I was also able to get a message to family via their Starlink connection as the entire Daintree Valley was still without Telstra connectivity. By late afternoon Che and Trent had set up their swags for us in our friend Neville’s shed in the village and we gratefully put our heads on pillows. Not much sleep but a relief to be warm, dry and safe.
December 19: Neville, who was recovering from open-heart surgery, had his brother Noel staying with him and they both provided care, comfort and food for us for the first few days. Still without Telstra communication there was a continual stream of locals exchanging information and listening to each other’s stories. In the afternoon Noel drove us to our still partially flooded driveway and watched as Allen pulled the canoe, with me aboard, across to the other side. Noel said he would return in 2 hours which would give us time to have a preliminary look around.
December 20: The waters receded and traffic into the village increased – we seemed to spend most of the morning talking to various people in between some initial sorting and washing. Our dear friends, Roisin and David drove out in the afternoon – taking the first of numerous loads of washing with them as well as some very silty earrings which Roisin rescued, mostly still attached to a sodden cork board. Roisin’s photo of our house interior below gives some idea of the chaos. Everything on top of Allen’s desk (including the printer) still in place but the desk has floated to a new position.
4 weeks after that scary night we are pleased with what we have managed to salvage but still a long way from re-establishing ourselves on site. The contents of both the house and the cottage have been removed and sorted for washing, repair or disposal and the interiors have been pressure cleaned. We have been greatly assisted by Stephen Wallace and Tina as well as Stephen’s brother Bruce who located a suitable vehicle for us and is now in the process of delivering it to Cairns. We are fortunate to have friends offering practical help as well as many friends who, along with family continue to send us messages of support. It all makes a difference and keeps us both moving in a positive direction – some days a bit slower than others!
Allen
Barbara
Wild Wings & Swampy Things 