Storm showers were all around us on the track to Birdsville.
A traffic jam.
And a kangaroo crossing.
We wanted adventure. But we got a bit more than we bargained for over the last few days. Most of Australia is under a giant rain system that is generating enormous amounts of flooding that has caused evacuations, cut towns in half and caused reservoirs to overflow. But for the last few days, we had managed to avoid the rain. Until Thursday, that is.
When we left the tiny outback town of Windorah, the track to Birdsville was open and the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds. Thanks to the recent rains, the scrub was green and provided a perfect contrast to the red dirt. Cows and horses were everywhere, on the road and beside it and we saw thorny devils, dingoes, kangaroos and tons of emus. It was gorgeous.
But then the storm clouds appeared. Showers were all around us, but not directly on us. The dirt road was graded and smooth and we continued as the folks at the visitor center said we should be OK in our big 4 wheel drive truck. And we were OK for 352 kilometers of the 383 km journey.
We easily crossed over dozens of flooded creeks. Then we came up to a creek that had obviously just risen thanks to the surrounding storms as the water was foamy. While the water was deep and running fast, we cautiously and easily made our way across it. Yay!
Then we came to another flooded crossing where the water was even deeper and the current faster. We stopped. Robert got out of the truck and walked the creek, checking to see whether the road had collapsed and how deep it was. He marked the bank with sticks to see if the water was rising or falling.
We waited. The water was falling. Slowly. But we decided it was still too dangerous for us to cross. So we waited some more. Robert walked the creek again. With sunset, the sky grew dark. And we decided we had to wait until morning to cross, even though we were within 32 km of town. So close, yet so far.
Robert checking out the road conditions.
Robert, his Dad Kevin and I all slept in the truck. Luckily, we had food and drinks and while it wasn’t where we wanted to be, we were safe. It rained softly during the night and I thought for sure we were going to be stuck for another night.
While the sky was gray the next morning, the creek had gone down considerably. We were so happy and ready to go. Until Robert jumped out of the truck to have a look around and noticed we had a flat tire. Unbelievable. So he changed it in the thick, red mud. And then we were on our way again. For about 100 meters.
Then we found even more floodwaters. And even thicker, deeper mud. We got stuck. Robert and Kevin piled up rocks under the tires for traction and we got out. Only to get stuck again. Then out. And stuck again. Over and over. It was relentless. Heartbreaking. All in all, we made it maybe 300 meters before we were well and truly stuck in the thick, muddy stuff. This time, we could not budge. It felt hopeless. So we got on the CB radio and tried to connect with Birdsville. Nothing. And we were too remote for the cell phones to work, of course. But we did not want to have to spend another night in the truck.
And fixing the flat. In the mud. My hero.
Thanking our rescuers.
So Robert and I started walking and at the same moment, Kevin got through on the radio. We were told they would try to get help for us from a road construction camp just about 10 kilometers away from us. Not wanting to chance anything at this point, Robert and I started walking toward the camp. After about 1k, we spotted a truck coming at us. The couple stopped. “How are you folks doing today?” the woman asked with a smile, no doubt surprised to see two people walking down the road in the middle of nowhere. Kindly, the man, who was an outback station – ranch – owner, pulled us out of the mud and guided us through the next several kilometers of ever more treacherous roads and floodwaters. Thanks to his local knowledge, we got through them all, even through waters that were 40 centimeters deep. Then we waved goodbye to our rescuers and made it through the final 15 kilometers on our own. In town, we pulled up directly to the Birdsville Hotel pub. And treated ourselves to a few beers. We were mud-covered, but safe.
Following our rescuers through floodwaters.
We later learned that the road was closed shortly after we started on it.
{ 10 comments }
SANDRA…yikes. So glad you are OK but what a harrowing experience. I hope it was warm! And I hope you can get out…missing you girlfriend. Enjoy every moment! I hope you can take in some stress free time now!
Oh wow. Good to hear you are fine. Good you have Robert and his dad 😉 for some reason, Australia always provides you with adventures (I just remembered the incident with the plane) happy travelling, hugs Nici
holy moley! THAT is quite a story. you sound like you took it in stride like a native. hurry home to fill us in on more details!
Oh wow. Well, you certainly have had some excitement! It seems like every time you guys go down there you have a very dramatic time. 🙂 Hope the rest is more restful.
Wow! Talk about an adventure! So glad to hear you all are safe and sound. I bet a beer never tasted so good!!
You won’t forget that in a hurry! The colours in all your photos are amazing, after this bleached winter.
Now THAT’s the Outback!!! I wasn’t worried one bit with K & R on-board. In fact, I would have loved every minute of it. The wet season brings adventure and you know that going in! Your brilliant photos and story made me nostalgic and ready to hit the road again someday 🙂 Have fun!!! Cheers, mate!
I haven’t seen “proper” red soil like that for ten years. Thanks for the pics.
Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone. It has definitely been an adventure. A bit scary at times, but also fun. We are still not allowed to leave Birdsville due to road closures, but that is all part of the journey!
Whoa! Thank God you’re all safe and sound. Certainly not boring 🙂
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