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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Big Wet

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Kids in the Rain

After recent heavy rain, creek beds which were bone dry for a couple of years are now flowing.


I thought this would be a good opportunity to revist some those creeks and enjoy the rare sight.



Recovery

I’ve spent the last ten days recovering from knee surgery which means I can’t drive or ride a bike.


Driving

The heavy rain means that my riding buddies can’t ride their bikes either – so Jason kindly agreed to drive me around the hills behind Dayboro to have a look at the difference made by the torrential downpour.


Laceys Creek

Jason asked me if I had a spare umbrella as we left my house. I handed him an old purple one, but didn’t realize he’d be sporting it in most of the photos I took of him. He graciously didn’t complain about it.


Laceys Creek

We stopped at a couple of the creek crossings on Lacey’s Creek Road. We’ve often ridden along here on fun rides up into the Mt Mee Section of D’Aguilar National Park.


Wirth Road

Laceys Creek


The crossing at Wirth Road has usually been dry on past rides…


Wirth Road

Laceys Creek


Today the causeway was barely coping with the impressive flow.


Wirth Road Causeway

Jason at Wirth Road


A usually sleepy creek was a raging torrent today.


Taking Risks


We had agreed beforehand that we wouldn’t cross any flooded causeways – it’s not worth the risk.


The final causeway at the end of Laceys Creek Road was flooded, so we stopped and turned around. The driver of this 4WD,however, was a little too adventurous and ploughed through despite water going up over the hood. I’m glad he made it through.


North Pine River, Mt Pleasant


Our next stop was Mount Brisbane Road near the head of the North Pine River at Mount Pleasant.


Mt Brisbane Road

North Pine River, Mt Pleasant


This is the spot at which we’ve previously started rides up to Dianas Bath.


There was no crossing the river today though.


North Pine River, Mt Pleasant

(Photo by Jason Reed)


I had a chat to some local residents while Jason took a few photos.


Despite the conditions, I still think they were very fortunate to be able to live on the edge of such a beautiful national park.


Jason and his Purple Umbrella

Terrah's Restaurant, Dayboro


One of the advantages of driving over cycling is that we were able to stop in town for morning tea. We stopped at one of our favourite cafe’s and had a bit more than what we should have, considering we weren’t riding or working very hard.


I commented to the waitress that anyone paying them a visit today must really like the restaurant considering the amount of floodwater we had to wade through to get there.


Dayboro


Sugar Mill Creek in the middle of Dayboro had broken its banks and flooded local streets.


Boots


My trusty boots kept the water out very well.


Armstrong Creek


We intended to visit Leis Crossing next, but were prevented by floods on Armstrong Creek Road. Jason checked the water out on foot first, but decided it was flowing too quickly to safely drive a car through, so we did a u-turn and headed for Kobble Creek instead…


Kobble Creek


Kobble Creek Road was closed too – so we parked the car at the Rural Fire Brigade and walked instead.


Kobble Creek


We said “G’day” to a few drenched cows on the way…


Fig Tree


… and took shelter from the rain for a while under an old fig tree.


Belinda


It seems like a few locals had the same idea as us and were walking around checking out the creek…


If it's Flooded


Kobble Creek was up quite high. No one was getting through today.


Texting in the Rain


Ever the thoughtful man, Jason let a lady shelter under his umbrella while she tried to send an SMS.


Kobble Creek in Flood


Jason didn’t think it was a good idea to wade through the creek…


Calalier PaleKooinda American Pale Ale

So we met Darb and his wife, Bernadette down at the Samford pub instead.


Since I wasn’t driving or riding, I didn’t mind having an extra beer :)


Laceys Creek


I’ve often watched the weather reports each night hoping that the rain would stay away so we could ride.


But I actually enjoyed the rain today.


There’s something refreshing about watching dry watercourses come to life after a heavy downpour. It’s good for the health of our waterways, good for the flora and fauna that live there, and (despite the frustrations of not being able to ride) it’s good for us too.


Thanks Jason for driving me around today. I had a great time!


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