A Little Wet Season Update

 

Thought I’d share a little update on how things are faring up here after the monsoonal rain event we’ve just had.

We were very lucky. We received some beautiful, much-needed rain but nothing too extreme — our biggest fall was around 84ml in 24 hours. The river came right up to the house, stopping just short of reaching the concrete underneath. For that, I am incredibly grateful, because this pregnant Mumma had zero desire to be cleaning mud out from under the house.

Christmas and New Year were spent at home. We had plans to head out and catch up with a few people, but with the river rising, we decided it was best to stay put — and thankfully so. We’re still currently flooded in, although the river is slowly making its way back down.

On Sunday we watched the river peak, and for a while there we looked like a little island, completely surrounded by water (see photo below). While the river dropped quickly, it wasn’t without drama. Somewhere along the way, a gum tree appears to have washed out and taken our power line with it across the river. There was no bang, no warning — just suddenly no power. At first, we thought it might have been something further away, as we’d had a few brief power drops earlier.

Cue me standing on the back steps for a solid ten minutes trying to remember whether we actually had a power line running across the river at all. Eventually, Frank went for a walk and confirmed the line was definitely down.

From there it was onto the phone — reporting it to Ergon and letting the local lads know what was happening. I sent the drone up to check for damage on the poles on the other side of the river so we could give them as much information as possible. Then it was time to fire up the generator, because this Mumma is not keen on sleeping without air conditioning.

Not long after, we realised we only had enough fuel for about two days — and with repairs not happening until well after the river goes down, we’re talking weeks. A quick call to council and they organised a helicopter to sling fuel out to us.

I cannot say thank you enough to our local council. They are proactive, organised, and incredibly supportive — whether it’s food drops, medication, or slinging fuel drums for generators. Huge shout-out to the pilots, ground crew, council staff, and volunteers who step up time and time again to help the community during these events.

Without this support, many of us would be lost. It truly takes a village to get through times like this, and I’m so grateful to be part of one that shows up when it matters most.