Cyclone Chasers

We  awoke in the night on Thursday to rain pattering on the canvas, getting steadily heavier. Daniel clambered up the ladder to get the fly out and we slept fitfully listening to the rain and wind intensify (This couldn't be the cyclone that was predicted to hit on Saturday could it??). At 7.30 am I received a call to say my planned Whale Shark swim had been cancelled as the cyclonic winds were now meant to hit early afternoon and it was way to rough to go out to sea. Jackson and I put on jackets and umbrellas and walked in the wind and rain to get my refund. There were huge puddles everywhere and the amount of water that had come in only a few hours was incredible. We were informed by the caravan reception that we were now on Code Yellow and to prepare for a cyclone (which means evacuate if you are in a campervan!). Packing up was very challenging in the increasing wind and rain and Daniel was completely drenched. Suddenly the wind really picked up, so fast in fact that it broke our awning which we were in the process of packing up. It was getting hairy and it was only 11 am, we now wanted to get out as fast as possible. Everything was soaked, including bedding as it was impossible to get in and out of the van without the wind blowing enormous amounts of rain inside. All the canvas was soaked and wet to touch from the inside. After a hot shower for Daniel we left at midday. By now the wind and rain were lashing this small town and the roads were treacherous. The car and van were getting blown side to side and the rain on the car was deafening. It was a long, slow and scary drive for the first 3 hours as we literally drove through the remnants of Cyclone Quang. It had been downgraded to Catergory 1 by the time it hit the land and we certainly do not want to be near anything rated higher! After the crazy wind and rain came the flooded roads. Daniel and the kids loved the waves created from these crossings, some of which were several hundered meters long. Rivers were flowing with incredible speed and we just hightalied it to Karratha as we'd heard the flood was getting worse and we did not want to get stuck on the edge of the highway somewhere! Arrived at Karratha to our lush cabin to dry out. Daniel finally got to relax after having to use all his driving skills for the 6.5 hours we were on the road. We hope the lovely Coral Bay did not get too damaged and we look forward to visiting again next year.

Wet pack up (taken from the safety of the car!)

It was teeming!