Hallo allemaal,

Gisteren zijn we met moeite gearriveerd in Airlie Beach. De rit van 6,5 uur duurde iets langer vanwege de hevige regenbuien en overstromingen onderweg. Vandaag hoorden we dat deze weg zelfs afgesloten was vanwege de overstromingen (floodings). Vandaag stond een boottocht naar The Great Barrier Reef op het programma, maar deze hebben we vanwege het weer moeten overslaan. Morgen gaan we proberen naar de Whitsunday Islands te varen, maar er bestaat een kans dat dit afgezegd gaat worden als de eilanden niet bereikbaar zijn. Overmorgen zouden we doorrijden naar Townsville en later naar Cairns, maar waarschijnlijk stopt onze autorit hier in Airlie Beach, en zullen we moeten proberen per vliegtuig Cairns of Brisbane te bereiken. Vanuit Brisbane moeten we verder vliegen naar ... (onze laatste bestemming van onze geheime missie).

Veel natte groetjes,
De jarige Anita & haar mannetje Marco.

PS hieronder nog een bericht van www.weatherzone.com.au op 18 maart 2012:

Flooding begins in north Queensland
Brett Dutschke, Sunday March 18, 2012 - 10:25 EDT

Recent heavy rain is leading to flooding in north Queensland, with both sides of Cape York copping a deluge and there is much more to come.

The area from Cairns to Bowen is under flood alert due to the prospect of several hundred millimetres of rain over two-or-three days. Flooding may exceed that of Tropical Cyclone Yasi with some places a chance to see in excess of 500mm.

In the last 24 hours the heaviest rain has been in the Cairns area, where 100-to-200mm has fallen. Cairns airport gained about 150mm, its heaviest rain since October. Peets Bridge, just south of Cairns, had about 200mm.

Over the next few days, the Cairns area can expect to get similar rainfall whilst further south gets a noticeable increase. This is mainly due to the likely southerly movement of the monsoon trough, which is connected to a tropical low over the Gulf Country.

The tropical low itself is largely to blame for more than 170mm over western Cape York's Kowanyama. There is a Cyclone Warning for western Cape York and the Gulf Country due to the prospect of the low becoming a cyclone.

Meanwhile, other parts of eastern Queensland have also been receiving a drenching. In the last 24 hours falls of 100mm or more have occurred in the Mackay and Sunshine Coast areas, a result of other low pressure troughs. Further heavy falls are likely in the Mackay area in the next couple of days due to a trough lingering offshore a bit longer. The Sunshine Coast should see significant drying out as another trough moves north of the region.