Surfing on a crest of rain

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It's almost a month since we visited Brisbane and looking back at our experiences it's hard to imagine they took place in the same city that plasters the news today. For us the river was a beautiful sight, a transport link and a place to sit beside for sunset drinks. Now, that same river has swollen to such huge amounts that it has engulfed the riverside paths and pontoons, with hundred of thousands of homes and businesses ruined by rampaging flood waters. Queensland is suffering in the wake of this natural disaster which shows no signs of letting up, and now the monsoonal rains are spreading south toward the state of Victoria too.

As we drove from Rainbow Beach to Brisbane we encountered an atrocious rainstorm, so heavy was this downpour that it made driving unsafe, we pulled over and hoped for it to pass. Though it did pass that evening, it seems that was just a pause in the torrential rains that have fallen ever since. The next morning however, despite grey skys and the threat of showers the city was in full pre-Christmas swing. Carol singers graced the festively bedecked streets and shoppers thronged the malls. We put our tortuous midnight arrival behind us, forgetting the storms, the hours of aimless driving around hellish one-way systems in the search for a motel, and focused on the bustling city instead.

Brisbane's south bank bears an erie resemblance to London's, which meant it was a pleasant strolling boulevard with art galleries, theatres and even a giant 'ferris wheel' to match. The central city was buzzing and the botanical gardens blooming. A rainbow above the 'Story Bridge' and fruit bats filling the skies created a lasting image of the Brisbane we saw. The promenade snaking beside the river where we sat with pizza and beer, was awash with joggers and cyclists, making us aware of our gluttony. Now that same restaurant and promenade are submerged in a layer of flithy mud water. It is terrible how this natural disaster has struck Queensland but you just know that the plucky Queenslander spirit will get these brave people through it.

After spending a couple of days in what we found to be a pleasant city it was time to leave Brissie and head south again.

If only to say we'd been there we called in at Surfers Paradise and found it to be exactly as we had imagined. Colossal skyscrapers looming over a serene stretch of golden sand. Such a strange contradiction. The only thing missing was the scores of bathing beauties sprawled across towels, but they must still have been beauty-sleeping after a hard nights partying. A strong coffee was the stiffest drink as we sampled in this 'work-hard play-hard town'.

The next stop on our route was as different a town as you could get from Surfers. With a community composed of hippies, surfer dudes and alternative lifestyle seekers there is a mellow buzz about the quirky streets of Byron Bay. Perhaps it was the crossing of the New South Wales border that made the difference? What ever it is that chills this town out, it's popular, and so we joined the masses going down to the beach to watch the board riders catching some waves. On the way out of town we drove up to the lighthouse and admired it's gleaming white facade, the stunning coastline and the hidden rocks it aims to protect passing ships from.

We were sailing down the coast, in a few days we'd passed the 'Sunshine Coast', the 'Gold Coast' and now we were approaching the 'Myall Lakes' National Park. Mainly composed of water, both oceanic and freshwater, this pretty park is broken up by beautifully forested hillsides and charming villages where urban koalas apparently roam the streets (we didn't see any). What we did see as we drive towards Sugarloaf lighthouse was a sunlit glade where the trees formed the aisles and the lakeshore was the alter of the 'Green Cathedral'. It was a beautiful setting for an outdoor church, shaded by palms, and with black swans in the lake as the congregation. As we walked in quiet contemplation back to the car a snake silently slithered across our paths, thankfully paying us no attention.

Our final stop in Myall Lakes was at the Sugarloaf lighthouse where a steep walk rewarded us with a haze-free view out to sea. It was a lovely spot basking in the sun beside the old lighthouse, in weather this good it's hard to envision the storms that swell along this coast. But we all know the ferocity of such storms which continue to plague this gorgeous coastline, and hope that they will soon blow over to allow a full recovery.

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Comments

[liliram]

Lucky.
You're lucky to have been out of the place before the waters started rising. Or you wouldn't be posting these good pictures. Surfers' Paradise sure looks like a paradise. Good shot. Good read.