Our time in Alice Springs came to an end. We were packed up and ready to go early in the morning, except for Laurel. The lucky girl had made her plans separately so she would be flying from Alice Springs to Brisbane later in the day. We would spend the day flying to Melbourne`s Avalon airport, crowding into a taxi for an hour long drive to Tullamarine airport on the other side of the city, before catching our plane to Brisbane. Laurel would spend the day by the pool¸ catch a direct flight to Brisbane and arrive before us! We got well priced seats on Tiger Airlines. She caught a last minute seat sale on Quantas, a winner anyway you look at it!
By late afternoon we were altogether again in Brisbane. We loaded up our rental car and headed north to Deception Bay. Laurel drove and I was navigator with the help of “Dora the Explorer” – the GPS on Laurels iPhone. As night fell the weather grew stormy. I was glad to have the bright purple ball bouncing from screen to screen as we made our way up the highway. We found the right exit and then the sky really opened up. We could barely see the road. It was impossible to see street numbers. The bouncing purple ball let us know we had passed our destination. We turned around and found the driveway at last.
Claire-Lind Bed and Breakfast was a lovely Queensland house built on stilts. A very useful design when you are unloading luggage in a rainstorm! Lynne, Thea and Laurel were shown to the Australiana room. Dan and I got the Anniversary suite! We quickly unloaded the car and then went back out into the night looking for dinner. The only place open at this time was the Golden Arches. Not classy but certainly familiar. Saturday nights are wild around here! Returning to our rooms, we found crystal service at our bedside with chocolates and port. A lovely way to end a long day.
We took our time in the morning. We planned to explore the Claire-Lind property to see their rainbow lorikeets and their koala bears before making the drive to Hervey Bay. We met on the deck for a lovely breakfast. While we ate, we got a call from the manager of the resort in Hervey Bay. The road had been washed out at Maroochydore. We could not get through.
The flooding in Queensland was international news by now. We had been watching and knew it was working its way south from Bundaberg. Hervey Bay was still untouched but rivers between Hervey Bay and our present location had now flooded washing out the main highway. We talked it over during breakfast. The highlight of our trip was a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. If we did not get to Hervey Bay, we would not get to the reef. What to do?
Alternate plan B – return to Brisbane with the rental car and fly to Hervey Bay. Could we get tickets? No problem – not many tourists were trying to go toward the flood! So much for our quiet day. We loaded up the car and headed off. We decided to drive to Redcliff on the ocean for lunch. It was on the way back to Brisbane and we may as well take the scenic route in the daylight.
The rain had stopped. The wind was strong and the sky was clearing quickly. The beautiful beaches were a mess. The water’s edge was covered in dirty brown foam that stained your clothes if you got too close. Debris washed ashore everywhere you looked. We walked the waterfront looking for a lunch spot. I laughed as I caught sight of a series of signs – “Bistro”, “Pokies”, “Hooker”. Were we in the red light district? No, translating I found the “Bistro” to be a nice beachfront restaurant for lunch, “Pokies” were slot machines in the bistro and “Hooker” was a realtor next door – L.J. Hooker Real Estate..
After lunch we had a pleasant drive back to the airport and turned in the car. Next stop, Hervey Bay.
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