We visited friends and rode north from Brisbane to Beerwah in sunshine and found a caravan park to put our tent up. The next day we visited the Australian Zoo. It was a great day in the sunshine. I got to hold a Koala, feed an elephant, and pet a kangaroo and lizard. The zoo is set up with programs to inform and have animal contact, very entertaining.

Rain in Brisbane, waited all day for it to let up, no luck

Martha holding Koala at Australia Zoo

Camp at Beerwah

Wednesday we headed back into Brisbane to have lunch with friends (Ken and Carol which Bob met in South America and Peter and Kay who have traveled to every country in the world on a Harley) and then headed north to go west looking for sunshine. We were having to cross water crossing the road but by the 24th we were in sunshine and enjoying our ride. Saw ostriches and kangaroos running through the fields and lizards on the road. We are seeing Brahma and Santa Gertrudis cattle in this part of Queensland. Everything looks green and grass everywhere. Reservoirs that have been at 12% are full for the first time in 30 years. We are traveling back roads where we may see 2 vehicles in 75 miles.

Flooded

This is where we had Christmas Dinner, ham and cheese sandwich.

We rode 266 miles through open range cattle to an old hotel that Bob wanted to stay. One mile out of town we ran into a raging river crossing the road that we couldn’t cross. We had been riding toward a very black sky but hoped to get in before it broke loose, but as it was we had to ride back 75 miles through the cows in pouring rain. I didn’t think I would make it as I already had 147 miles on that tank of fuel, but I made 227 miles. Bob went 32 miles on reserve.

This is called a "Primary Road" in the outback

This is listed as a "Main Road"

We packed up and left in the rain but the sun came out and dry things only to rain again, from wet to dry four time today ending up wet.

Road to Isisford

More of the Road to Isisford

This is as far as we got, Isisford is 1K on the other side of the water, 120K back to Blackall.

We headed out of Blackall to find all roads were closed do to flooding. We visited the historical museum and then decided to ride out to the flooding and wait until we can get through. We didn’t find the flooding until we got to Barcaldine and then the roads both east and west were closed . After talking with several people who thought it would take a couple of days for the roads to open, we decided to head south away from where the cyclone hit and the heavy rain. Along the road Bob stopped on a bridge where water was rapid and just barely going under the bridge. Bob watched a snake going down stream and I watch a little kangaroo. Only its head was above water, but it finally made it to shore and sat there exhausted. Then it took off bounding. By 5pm we had hit road closed so we got a motel room in Augathella and headed out the next morning.

It was a sunny day and we made it almost to Roma and the flooding was wide but a farmer had gone through it and he thought we could make it. Bob went across and I waited to see if he made it. There were two pickups waiting to cross and Bob caught a ride back with them to ride my bike across as the current was swift over the bridge and about a foot deep. So I caught a ride with a lady waiting to cross and keep my boots dry. As we started up Bob’s Buell made a funny sound. We had about 3 miles into town and rode through town and Bob was having trouble with the Buell so he checked us into a caravan park to figure it out. At this point he thinks the clutch disks are jamming.

This morning Bob went out on the Sportster and found all the roads are still closed (4' of water over the road we wanted to go). The motorcycle shops are closed but he is trying to get some tools made that he needs to take the bike a part.