Cyclone Debbie

Over a few days in Airlie Beach, we’d come to know Debbie quite well, even though we missed her by six weeks or so. It seems she tried her best to create havoc and heartache for people living in her path, but we also saw them snub their noses at Debbie and get on with their lives. Business owners thanked us sincerely for simply coming to stay. We certainly didn’t feel that we’d missed out on anything – we had a great time despite some businesses still being closed. Our caravan park had done a remarkable job in clearing up tonnes of flood debris and fallen trees. The local tavern might have had its carpet ruined by the torrential rain leaking through its roof, but it was still open for business, and was well patronised.  

Airlie Beach is surrounded by hills, and on top of one hill sits a lone house, surrounded by forest and must have a commanding view of the town and the sea. We were told that this house was built by Don Algie, founder of the Hogs Breath chain of restaurants. He opened the very first Hogs Breath in Airlie in 1989. Who knows what the house cost to build, but we’re told that the 4 kilometre road that winds its way up the hill cost a cool $100,000 to construct on its own. There’s some serious money invested in Airlie Beach. The marinas are full of very large and very luxurious boats, and the hills are covered in equally large and luxurious hotels, resorts, apartments and homes. Clearly most of them had survived Debbie pretty well intact.

The mansion on the hill.

When I went snorkelling in the Whitsundays from our sailboat, I saw that the coral had been decimated by the storm, as if the underwater gardens had been destroyed by a ferocious wind. All the colours had gone, leaving fields of white debris crumbled on the sea floor. Large areas of what used to be coral had been covered in a slimy green carpet of algae, and I was told it was due to the abundance of fresh water from the mainland. However the abundant fish life ensured that there was some colour to provide a spectacle.

Dealing with the tonnes of fallen trees after Debbie.

On the outskirts of Airlie, Cannonvale and Proserpine were paddocks containing mountains of mulch. There must’ve been thousands of tonnes of green waste from the trees that had fallen and had to be cleared. On our journey further south to Mackay we saw countless broken and fallen trees. We stayed at Black’s Beach on the coast, just a few kilometres from the Mackay city centre, and this park, too, had to contend with Debbie and her aftermath. The resilience of these people is amazing, and we’re happy to do our little bit to aid in the recovery.

Debbie, showing her presence yet again.