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| A quintessential Australian scene at Hungry Head Beach |
We are slowly getting reacquainted with life back in the
bush. Just as living aboard a sail boat
requires a degree of self-sufficiency, so does life on Shamballa. Both require respect for and living with the capriciousness
of Mother Nature. This is fine but I
fear nearly 20 years in the suburbs of Canberra and brutal downsizing four
years ago has left us a bit unprepared for land self-sufficiency.
First we had torrential rain with nearly 9 inches within 24
hours. The creek and river flooded. We had a mini mudslide behind the workshop
which caused water to run into the workshop and over the floor where our
unpacked boxes were stored.
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| Boggy Creek after the flood |
Then a few days later, just 5 days before Christmas, we were
hit with a spectacular electrical storm with very strong wind gusts.
The lightning was just amazing.
The whole sky was a massive strobe light with
continuous lightning.
Then lights went
out and the power remained out for 4 nights and three and one-half days,
finally returning about midday on Christmas Eve.
The strong wind gust knocked down hundreds of huge trees
throughout the shire. Three trees grazed
the front of the tractor shed and others blocked some of the internal roads on
the property. Several more narrowly
missed some of the houses. The main
Boggy Creek Road had three huge trees lying across the road. Council was terrific and had these behemoths cleared
before 8am. The main street of Bellingen
had a tree across the road and the golf course looked like a hurricane had hit
it.
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| Bob and Lynne clearing the road |
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| Damage to the tractor shed |
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| Trees down along Boggy Creek Road |
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| Trees being cleared from the main street of Bellingen |
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| Along the golf course |
The day of the storm we had just done a big grocery shop for
Christmas food so the refrigerator and freezer were well stocked when the storm
hit in the evening.
Of course we assumed
the electricity would return with minimal delay.
After 24 hours I figured I better cook up the
thawed meat from the freezer into curries, hoping the spices would help in
preservation.
After 48 hours power in the town of
Bellingen returned so we could get bags of ice to keep most of our food from
spoiling.
We no longer had our camping gear or other alternatives to
mains power. We were still unpacking and
the few useful things we might have were buried somewhere in poorly marked
boxes. Or maybe we got rid of them. We still are trying to figure out what
happened to some of our previous possessions.
I fear we may have been a bit too ruthless in our downsizing.
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| Bob found an inverter to hook up to the car battery so we could charge our phones, battery packs and Kindles |
Meanwhile our son, Pat, had arrived for a 10 day Christmas break
the day after the flood. He had brought
along his new fancy computer hoping for a nice relaxing veg out at his
parents. Not only could he get no
internet connection with his mobile phone server but then we had no electricity
for four days. His holiday consisted of hauling
fallen trees off roads, hacking away the jungle bush, levelling the shipping
container and enduring the heat with no fans.
Still we did manage a few nice outings.
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| Pat with his computer before the electricity went out |
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| Getting internet on Mutton Bird Island |
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| Enjoying the beach, while getting internet, of course |
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| Using the principles of high school physics to level the shipping container |
And of course there was the Shamballa Christmas party and
annual boules championship.
It was great
catching up with old and new members and neighbours.
The company was great, the food delicious and
playing boules a lot of fun.
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| Chowing down at the Christmas party |
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| The boules championship |
Meanwhile we have been making acquaintances with some of our
non-human neighbours.
On moonlit nights
we can see the shadows of wallabies in the yard.
The frogs in the dam set up a deafening croaking
every evening and various reptiles come to visit.
Kookaburras, king parrots, azure kingfishers,
bower birds, honeyeaters and whip birds twitter, tweet and flit through the
trees.
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| A tree snake on the verandah waiting until dark to catch the frog under the flowerpot |
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| This little fellow has taken up residence in the car port but got himself stuck in a bucket |
Such is our life now amongst the green, green bush.
