I love driving about the place, discovering new places and enjoying the journey. I love to travel and exploring the countryside. With that said, I obviously enjoy most trips and it is therefore difficult to pick a favorite place to drive.
One of the trips I do like to take on a regular basis is up the Pacific Highway to Coffs Harbour here in Australia. It’s about a 4 hour run from here – so not too taxing.
It’s just a nice little break visiting a few wild spots along the way, picking up a few things at roadside fresh produce stalls, etc.
A new disaster now threatens Australia following the bushfire disaster in Victoria and the flood disaster in Queensland. Coastal New South Wales is bracing itself tonight for a severe weather onslaught that may last until the weekend.
A low pressure trough and pressure system is deepening off the coast, with strong winds and heavy rain already lashing the coast. The weather is expected to intensify overnight, with gales and heavy rain over the next 72 hours.
However, the weather has already turned nasty, particularly on the north coast with severe flash flooding and massive seas already wreaking havoc on the coast. Within the last hour or so it has been reported that some 4000 people have been stranded by flooding that closed many roads including the Pacific Highway. A mother and small child are missing in flood waters after being swept away in flash flooding.
A number of rivers are on flood alerts and watches tonight, from the Queensland border south to Sydney. Some of the worst affected areas thus far include Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Dorrigo. Already some 180 mm of rainfall has fallen in three hours in the north.
The bushfire season is off and running in New South Wales, Australia. There have already been several fires in my region of the Mid North Coast.
On Saturday there was a fire just south of Bulahdelah that closed the Pacific Highway for two hours. From what I understand the fire is thought to have begun by a discarded cigarette thrown from a car travelling on the highway.
The fire started at about 3.30 pm and as the fire intensified cars were seen travelling on the wrong side of the highway in a bid to keep clear of the fire. With the thick smoke about this was not the best move to make.
Another fire was burning off the highway near the Karuah Bridge on Monday, again producing thick smoke.
With the massive amount of growth in the bush over the last couple of wet growth seasons, the fuel load is now massive and fuel reduction burns have been limited. With temperatures already peaking in the low thirties (Celsius), the season ahead looks grim.
Random Thoughts 