Across Continents

Ken's Blog

Days ahead…

February 6th, 2011

I’d always planned to be in Cairns until around my birthday. One, thanks to Cyclone Yasi, I’m unlikely to forget. For a little while. Seems I may be here for a bit longer. Roads south blocked. Downed trees. Flooding. Extensive devastation. Picture sketchy. Emergency services presently "chainsawing" their way into some areas. And very real risk of localised flash flooding.

Tins - web

Delay unfortunate. But unavoidable. Besides, I’ve a large stock of tinned rations, hastily acquired in anticipation of having to be wholly self-sufficient in the aftermath of Yasi. All have to be eaten. Far too heavy to carry on the bike. Soups. Tinned tuna. Cans of tomatoes. Baked beans. Glad I’d remembered to pick up some extra toilet rolls…

I’d not get bored in Cairns. Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef might have to wait. But I’d heard there was another cyclist in town, who’d ridden up from Melbourne. Would have to try and track him down. Good source of intelligence for the road ahead.

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Contemplative mood

February 5th, 2011

Cyclones. Tick. An old friend of mine had often teased me. Suggesting I’d something of a check-list approach to life. We’d never quite agreed on this, but I certainly felt I’d had now got sufficient measure of tropical systems. Encounter another – and there’s a chance I might before the cyclone season ends – and I’d at least be pretty confident in my preparations. Added a new expression to my vocabulary – "bunkering down" – preparing to weather the storm.

Would I do the same again? In terms of preparations. Stocking up on rations. Moving to the relative security of a modern hotel. Built to cyclone standards. Above any tidal surge or flash flooding. Yes. Absolutely. Get the basics right. Shelter, food, warmth. Devise a plan. Execute it. Don’t hesitate. Don’t even blink. I’d been able to garner a lot of advice from locals. Those who’d been through these sort of things before. Helps a lot.

Hostel - web

The hostel had been a real find. But it was an old building. Its resilience to a Category 5 cyclone unknown. But more than that. We’d identified a windowless room that could provide a communal refuge from the winds. On the ground floor. Difficulty was that there was a real risk of tidal surge. Of the whole place being submerged under perhaps five or six feet of water. Maybe more. Needed to relocate to somewhere safer until the storm was over.

Mattress - web

Choice of where to evacuate to was very straightforward. Large, modern hotel directly opposite the hostel. Not the time to go shopping around for a deal. Take what you can. Snap decision. Within the hour the place was full. Mixture of Chinese tour groups. And locals who’d reached the same conclusion I had. Each night almost the same cost as a week in the hostel. But there some are things you cannot put a price on. Can’t afford to loose Emma. All the kit. And my own neck.

Oddly enough, soon after I’d arrived in Cairns, got a measure of the place, I’d joked with my parents that the only time you’d find me checking into a motel or hotel would be if I needed shelter from a cyclone. A last resort. Simply unaffordable otherwise. Eye-watering prices. Things said in jest.

By lunchtime Wednesday, twelve hours or so before the peak of the storm, the hostel was empty. All the residents relocated to safer locations. For us, it had been a collective decision. Rowan the manager, guests such as Paul, Miwa, Yuki and myself. All in it together. Making sure everyone, especially those whose grasp of English wasn’t so good, really understood the situation. Knew what to do.

Other travellers, those without friends or family to take refuge with, hadn’t be so fortunate. Aware of at least one other hostel where the owner had shut up shop. Turfed out the backpackers. Onto the streets. By then any spare accommodation gone. Airport closed. No way out. The city’s evacuation centres full.

Since I’d reached Australia, Queensland has endured extensive flooding in the south, and in the north the nation’s largest ever cyclone. Left wondering what was next. Plagues, pestilence, locusts? Glad the tent’s mozzie proof, I’ve plenty of repellant. And I’ve had just about every jab you can get your hands on.

[With especial thanks to Jackie for providing the inspiration behind the opening lines. And Exodus 8 for the last bit]

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Our man in Cairns

February 4th, 2011

I’d become our man in Cairns. Actually, BBC Somerset’s. Couple of radio interviews. Live. Always good for the adrenaline. Not that I’d be running low on it for a while. Courtesy Cyclone Yasi.

You can catch up on the interviews via the BBC Somerset iPlayer – simply click on the link. The first was broadcast around 9.30 am Wednesday 2 February on The Morning Show with Emma Britton. And the second went out around 4.10 pm the same day on the evening drive time show.

Times are a bit approximate – combination of my own slightly suspect recollections, confusion caused by time zones, and a lack of sleep. And I’ve no actual web access at the moment to check them out. Happy hunting!

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Longest night

February 4th, 2011

Darkened city. A few street lights. Much of Cairns without power. The occasional bright flash casting an eerie glow across the suburbs. Sub-stations we thought. A few hours before Cyclone Yasi would peak. Wind gusts growing rapidly in strength. Ever more deafening. The lulls between them shortening with equal speed.

I’d been joined by Rowan, Paul and Yuki from the hostel I’d been staying in. Peering over the solid hotel balcony. A few trees blown over. Relentless pounding. Into the early hours. Mesmerizing.

On the street below a young woman. Backpacker we thought. Struggling along an otherwise deserted Lake Street towards the centre of Cairns. Beyond our reach. Barely able to hear each other. Hoping she found shelter.

By morning a clearer picture emerging. Trees down, much of the city without power, mobile communications intermittent. But, fortunately, relatively minor damage. Not the devastation we’d feared. A little further south – just a few miles – a different story. Roads blocked. Significant damage to property. Communications disrupted. Possibly for days. Maybe longer.

Destructive winds had passed by. But the risk of tidal surge lingered until the morning high tide had subsided. Waves lapping the Esplanade. And then the rains. Torrential. Throughout the afternoon. Into the evening. Yasi’s parting shot. Ground already saturated. Flash flooding a real possibility.

During the day a gradual return to normality on the streets. Slow start. People tired, jaded. Hasty preparations, little sleep. Catching up with them. Stories emerging. A baby born in one of Cairns’s evacuation centres. A shopping centre. Home to a few thousand people. The toilets soon pretty grim. But everyone safe.

It had been a stoic affair. For the most part pretty ordered. Good humoured. Couldn’t help noticing that fridge in the hotel room was hard wired into the emergency generator supply. But not the wall sockets. So no tea or coffee. Just cold beer.

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Picture emerging

February 4th, 2011

Now almost twenty four hours on since Cyclone Yasi hit the coast of northern Queensland. Biggest to impact on mainland Australia in living memory. Wreaking devastation over a vast area. Ploughing far into the hinterland. Reaching towns and settlements that haven’t seen a cyclone for decades. The full extent of the damage is unlikely to become clear for a few more days. Emergency services still battling their way through to some communities. So far at least, just one life has been lost. Tragic of course. But not the deadly event everyone had feared.

I’d wondered why this might be. Mostly likely a combination of factors. Plain experience. Met one seasoned Queenslander. Her eighth cyclone. Had long since cut down trees and large foliage close to her home. Anything that could inflict damage in high winds. Emptied the freezer for the cyclone season. Just in case the power went off. Stock of tinned food in the cupboard.

Then there’s the sheer volume of information. You really can’t say you didn’t know. Some pretty frank advice. No melodramas. No infuriating political correctness. The authorities having the confidence of the public. Media trusted to help get word out without hype or distortion. It works. Team effort written all over it. When Premier Anna Bligh tells residents of low-lying coastal settlements to "run" – don’t even stop to pack a bag – you know she means it. I wouldn’t even grab my toothbrush.

And it’s not just the State Government that seems to take a very honest approach. Emergency services. Local mayors. Utility companies. Realistic predictions for the restoration of services. Explaining what the problems are, the difficulties to be overcome. Priorities for repair. And not forgetting the Bureau of Meteorology. Without whom we’d, quite literally, we’d not have seen any of this coming.

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Resuming normal service

February 4th, 2011

Cairns has survived Cyclone Yasi relatively unscathed. But not without some damage to infrastructure. Power to much of the city only just being restored. Mobile communications patchy. Internet access flaky. Very slow at best. Many of the roads out blocked by downed trees or flooding. The sheer scale means it will take time for things to be restored.

I’ve a few video clips to share. Some shot during the height of the storm, others recording the aftermath. Plenty of photos. And aware of a quite a lot of messages waiting on Facebook. E-mails to reply to. Be assured I’ll tackle all of these just as soon as services are restored. Until then, please be patient.

You should see a couple of posts shortly that are quite unconnected with Cyclone Yasi. That’s because they’ve already been uploaded to the website. Scheduled to appear over the new few nights.

And if you’re wondering how this post appears. Well, I’ve one or two tricks up my sleeve. Made sure, as a solo traveller, I’ve generally got a few, fairly robust, options to get messages out. Devised with remote regions of the world in mind. Hadn’t imagined I’d need them for Australia.

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Plant life

February 3rd, 2011

Plant life from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.

Cairns Botanical Gardens. Some eye catching plants. Including Queensland’s notorious stinger tree – brush against it and you’ll need more than dock leaves to relieve the pain. And Titan Alum – a carnivorous insect eating plant – inspiration for the fictitious Triffid?

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Kangaroos in the top paddock

February 2nd, 2011

"Solo British cyclist seeks partner for Alaska. Summer 2011. Spatially aware women welcome. No dogs, beards or obsessives. GSOH and own teeth essential. Must be solvent, non-smoker and good conversationalist"

Few problems are unsolvable. But the solution to this one was proving to be a bit elusive. Trying to sketch out a small ad. Solo cyclist seeks riding partner for Alaska. Difficulty was how to phrase it so as to ward off those who have a few errr.. kangaroos in the top paddock.

Easy enough to scribble down the requirements. But expressing them with suitable decorum. Quite another matter. I’d jotted down what I might want to say – see above – as much for sheer amusement as anything else. The best humour, they say, being based on fact…

Complicating matters was the little issue of what to do with the ad. Where to place it. I’d been quick to rule out "Private Eye". And "Solo Cyclists Monthly" has yet to appear on the newstands. Might have to take my chances alone with the Alaskan bears. Or the loneliness monkeys… not seen them for a while…

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Cyclone Yasi – Darkening skies

February 2nd, 2011

Skies - web

Cairns, northern Queensland.

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Cyclone Yasi – Taking shelter

February 2nd, 2011

Streets deserted. Shops boarded up. The odd car. Public transport suspended. Couple of local shopping centres turned into makeshift evacuation centres. Now full. Those fleeing low lying areas ahead of the expected tidal storm surge advised to find shelter with family, friends. Anywhere they can.

Bunkered down in a hotel. Quite a few locals. A few familiar faces. Seeking safety. Groups of Chinese tourists. Looking a little confused. Recognisable by their innate inability to former orderly queues. Chaos at breakfast apparently. I’d done my own thing. Far too pricey for a bowl of cereal.

Paul - web

Joined now by Rowan, Yuki and Paul from the hostel. Invited over for coffee. Quite a few. Usual house rules – room guest out by 11 pm – simply don’t apply. Not tonight.

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