I have been obsessed about weather
conditions in Queensland ever since my cousin warned that the coast is in for a
battering. And news that some areas were flooded near Cairns and its northern
and western suburbs over the past weekend made me more cautious. I checked on
weather conditions in Normanton last evening and found that rain is forecast
later in the day today. Moreover, a sixth sense got me out of bed and ready
early. The Roadhouse was still not open when I left at 5 am sharp. It was pitch
dark and the first streaks of light did not appear till well after 6 am. Mt Isa
was the first major town on the way. Honey Joseph had made a few suggestions of
places to see in that town. It was only about 7 am and I decided not to stop.
In hindsight, that decision turned out to be the work of the ‘unseen hand’. 
When I was in Broome, Mark of Kimberley Travellers' Lodge had told me that I should fuel up in Cloncurry, as his maps did not show any fuel station between Cloncurry and Normanton. In fact, he had even suggested that I go to Cairns via Townsville instead of Normanton. For me, the detour through Normanton was to get back to Highway 1, which was closed between Borroloola and Burketown. I went to Cloncurry town and tanked up for the drive to Normanton. A short while after I had turned on to the road to Normanton, I noticed that both sides of the road were ‘littered’ with millions of termite mounds. I stopped at a place where there was a recess in the road to take a few photographs. I was swarmed by flies. This country has a major problem with this, I find. In between swatting flies and ensuring that they do not intrude into any orifices I took a few pictures. When I was doing that I noticed thick black smoke billowing in the background and it was barreling. It didn’t look like a bush fire. I didn’t give it much thought further as self-preservation was the first objective; getting away from the flies and making sure that those that gatecrashed into the car were given an opportunity to leave.
My eyes were getting heavier by the minute and the roadhouse in Burke&Wiliams was a most welcome break. While having a cup of coffee I got access to fast internet and that updated the current weather in Normanton, which seemed to hold. However, on way to Normanton I noticed water on the road, road damage and water rising in certain places. The Flinders River was muddied and currents were swift. A few people were fishing there too. Apart from that there was hardly any traffic in the region. At about half past one I reached the Normanton Tourist Park, where I had booked my accommodation. Shane had been my contact over the Net and I met him there. As I was checking in I asked Shane, casually, about the road condition to Cairns and got the shock of my life. He told me that the roads to Karumba, Cairns and Burketown have been closed for a few days and the one to Cairns is not likely to be open for at least five days. He showed me a traffic update and all I could see were quietly flowing flood waters. I was alarmed. Shane said that I could have saved myself the trip from Cloncurry if I had phoned him up. I kicked myself for not having done that.
I had no option but to head back to
Cloncurry – another 380 km; had already done 690! The considerate Shane told me
that I could leave immediately and not worry about the cancellation. He had
handled many such in the past few days. Now my concern was to get through the
vulnerable stretches on the road to Cloncurry, where I had seen water spilling
over on to the road. With the intention of fueling before leaving Normanton I
took a short ‘tour’ of the town and came to the road to Karumba. Traffic
warnings flashed about the road been closed and fines for driving beyond that
point. I stopped the car well in advance and walked to see a ‘river’ flowing
over what was the road to Karumba. A traffic person told me that the road to
Croyden (Cairns) was worse. I understood the situation better then. I made haste
towards Conclurry because it had started raining and I didn’t want this road to
be cut off too. I took a few liberties with the speed limits and did the
Normanton-Cloncurry segment in about three and half hours – a distance of 380
km. In some places the rain belted down heavily and the car showed signs of
skidding.
As I was turning on to the road to
Cloncurry town from that to Normanton I saw a huge pile up of trucks and a few other
vehicles. They seemed to have been there for long. On the drive from Normanton
I had sourced a hotel in Cloncurry, where I went to. At the Leichhardt Hotel I
was told that they have just one room left because of the road closure. The road
to Mt Isa had been blocked since morning due to a petroleum truck crash, and
that was the billowing thick smoke I had seen in the morning. If I had stopped
at Mt Isa for sightseeing I would have been stuck on the other side of the
road! That’s the work of the ‘unseen hand’ of the Almighty.
The Chinaman Creek Dam was completed
in 2014 by the Shire Council as an infrastructure project to handle the drought
situation due to successive years of drought. I noticed many appeals to use
water responsibly as I drove into the town. The Dam seems to have improved the
availability of water in the area and has also become a popular tourist
attraction and camping area. There have been crocodile sightings on the banks
of the Dam! There is a boat ramp near the camping site from where I saw a boat
with tourists being launched. When I was returning to the hotel, the road to Mt
Isa was still blocked. Later, I watched on TV that the police were still
investigating the accident.
The other news that occupied prime TV
time was the tearful press conference of Steve Smith at Sydney airport. He
talked and cried about the shame and hurt he had caused his family and said
that he would live with this for the rest of his life. A sad interlude in a
brilliant career. As is said, it’s not the winning, but the taking part that’s
important. However, crass commercial interests make people do strange things.
Winning, at all costs, must be banned too, as a value system. Then we can,
maybe, get drugs out of the system too.
It had been a long day with nearly 13
hours behind the wheel and 1100 km. It was local draught beer and a huge meal of
traditional Parmi chicken. Over the beer, when you are most clear headed, I
rerouted with the help of inputs from Honey Joseph. The final leg would be
Cloncurry to Townsville, thereon to Cairns the next day; if the Bruce Highway
is still closed a detour is available. The third day would be Cairns to Mackay
and onwards to Brisbane and Sydney. Time to sleep over it.
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