A VERY LUCKY ESCAPE, AN ANXIOUS NIGHT AND A GREAT CONCERT (15 - 17 AUGUST 2016)

We have not bought a raffle, lottery or any other similar ticket, nor engaged in any game of chance since Monday 15 August, and may not do so for some time to come. Why? We figured that we used up all our available luck that afternoon.

Let me explain. As many of you will know, site 12 here at Kurrimine Beach has our name on it....we like it for many reasons and it is always ours for as long as we want it. 

And this is what is usually looks like, with a huge mango tree dominating the landscape. Any guesses?

On the late afternoon of Monday 15 August, Liz and I were sitting quietly in the van, about to venture out into the never-ending rain to join many of our park friends at the nearby King Reef Hotel for a roast night. All was well, domestic bliss prevailed, until.......CRASH!  "What the.......was that?" 

At first I thought we had been hit by lightening, but there was no thunder. The van shuddered on impact, and I must have broken all evacuation speed records in hurtling outside to see what had happened. 

This is what I found. Now I have to concede that this mango tree branch doesn't look terribly threatening, but I ask you to consider a few facts. One, it is much heavier than it looks...it had to be cut up before it could be eventually cleared away. Two, by some extraordinary concession of nature, it fell directly between ours and the van next door. Three, it also fell so as to miss the electric power box feeding our sites (although it did rip out the leads). 

And four, the part of the branch which actually hit the top edge of our van with such a racket consisted only of several relatively thin and brittle stems (you can see one of them jutting out to the left of the end of the main branch) which, to our enormous relief (and disbelief given the noise it made) had done no damage whatsoever.

The more we surveyed the scene the more incredulous we were. Less than half a metre our way and we would have been dealing with major roof and solar panel repairs.....the same distance in the other direction and Leslie and Bill would now be minus an awning.

As we looked up, we could see the shattered stump high in the tree where the branch had been. It didn't take long to discover why it had fallen....it was had been completely eaten out by termites. Needless to say we reported the event to Marcus (park owner) post haste. After a hasty inspection the tree's future was determined.....it no longer had one. 

Then came the need for another decision. The immediate plan was to hire a cherry picker from Innisfail ASAP and end the life of the offending mango, which would obviously mean that we would have to temporarily shift sites.....the question was when?

After scurrying up and down a hastily set extension ladder, and banging away at the remaining upper branches, we reached the joint conclusion that there was no desperate need to move until morning. 

So, it was off to the pub with the others. I commented in my last that the smile on my dial during that meal was somewhat contrived....I was feeling anything but sociable. There was an added reason for this.....typically Murphy. We had actually been up since 0245 hours that morning taking one of our park friends to the Cairns airport (sudden death of a family member) and despite the fact that I had tried to catch up on some sleep during the day, I was far less than my normal sparkling self as we hoed into what was indeed a very good feed.

Now I've included this second shot of the evening because, sitting next to Wok, are two recent park arrivals, Jannes and Maja. We had met them at 80 Mile beach last year....they are good friends of Leslie and Bill and had popped in for a few days at their invitation. More of the significance of their presence later.

I did my best, but with increasingly drooping eyes, and no desire whatsoever to remain anything but entirely sober (who knew what the night might bring), coupled with a continuing anxiety about the real state of the remainder of our arboreal 'Sword of Damocles' I was far less than the life of this party. In fact, having at least 'fed the worms' I begged off. 

I was keen to at least be on site if we were the subject of another attack from above. I was working on the principle that even if this did eventuate and the roof were breached, at least I could make good use of our tarpaulins and prevent internal water damage adding insult to injury, and even at this time of the night I could pack up the majority of the many bits and pieces we had scattered about under our awning. I suspect the truth of the matter is that I was still so anxious about the real state of the tree that I had to have something to do...sitting around in a pub being jolly didn't cut the mustard at all.

What a night! The relatively light winds lifted steadily until, by midnight, they were blowing hairy dogs off their chains. Sheeting rail squalls continually bucketed down (to add to the weight the branches were already carrying). A few snatched periods of slumber were all I could manage, unlike herself, who can adopt a much more fatalistic attitude towards these situations (probably helped by the fact that she knows she won't have to fix it!).

I was out of the blocks at first light. What a bloody nuisance this was. 

Everything was wet, including me. For the second time in a month, everything which could be was plonked into plastic bags and thrown inside. The shade cloth was hastily folded and dumped in the Cruiser.

The move was on.  I couldn't wait to quit the site for the safety of one near the pool. Within an hour we were ready to move.

And, two hours later, we had re-established at the other end of the park.....conveniently (from a social perspective) right next to the Taintons. Well, that's us settled for the next two days (when we'll do it all again in reverse).

Once we had moved off site, the size of the offending branch become more apparent. We really had dodged a very large and nasty bullet.

The clean up was on. As soon as we had moved, the park staff were on hand to remove the fallen branch and other associated debris.

So far so good. Now let me change tack somewhat. By mid Tuesday afternoon we had been all subjected to unceasing, and often heavy rain for the past 36 hours. This has an interesting effect on caravan parks. All and sundry just hunker down.....the camp takes on the appearance of a ghost town. And any who are out and about are invariably sloshing and scurrying as fast as they can, heads down under the protection of large umbrellas. Cheery greetings and shared chats give way to self preservation. 

Enter the redoubtable Jannes. He is a consummate entertainer who travels with his own electronic backing equipment, and being the fine fellow he is, he is always up for an impromptu concert. Today was just the day. The word went out....we all needed cheering up....1600 hours in the camp kitchen.

Liz and I have oft previously remarked how seriously manky weather can have the effect of bringing folk together in certain circumstances. This was just such an occasion. Lyn and I needed no encouragement. We were now safe and sound, I had managed to get my head down for a few hours, and we were ready to party.

Our personal travelling troubadour set up his stage in no time and soon had our collective minds off the weather.











For the first time in some time we all ignored the water sluicing down off the roof and settled back for a good old knees up.

And there's no show without Punch! Jannes knew I can still manage a harmony or two. The Everley Brothers themselves could not have done a better job of 'Bye Bye Love'! (well that's our story...and we are sticking to it)

Now what's he up to? More mischief was being planned.

Within no time flat all and sundry suddenly became pop stars, and Lizzie decided that it was high time to trip the light fantastic, even if on her own.....and she didn't spill a drop!











Even a few of the park canine contingent were on hand......'Munchkin' and 'MacTavish' were all ears














as was 'Ellie' returning with Wok from her 'wee walk'.











Dog duty done, Wok soon had his bride on her feet during one of the rare breaks in the rain.

With plenty on hand to lubricate the tonsils, the indefatigable Jannes entertained us for a over two hours. Apart from a good singing voice, he is the master of the ad lib and topical wise crack.....as I said before, the consummate camp performer.

By the time the mists of evening descended on us, the Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park was a very different place to that it had been earlier in the day. What a wonderful fillip Jannes' presence and his generously shared skills had wrought on an erstwhile sodden, sullen camp. Thanks old mate, we all owe you!




Thankfully the following day dawned far brighter than its immediate predecessors. The hired cherry picker arrived at an early hour

and the big chop began. This really was a big tree. Interestingly, mango wood is normally very tough and strong. The fact that this tree had been riddled with termites was apparently very unusual. Just our luck!

Needless to say, there were plenty of park supervisors on hand to offer advice and encouragement.

With the top branches from one of the twin trunks now down and carted off, it was time for the big pull. 

If there had been any lingering doubt as to the state of this trunk, the ease with which it gave way to the force of the pulled rope put paid to that.

The second trunk was dealt with in a similar manner,

and by mid afternoon site 12 was transformed (and the rain had returned).

We did briefly consider moving back at this stage, but wiser heads prevailed. "The weather might be better in the morning."  As I have said before, hope springs eternal and as you can see, it wasn't (better that is).

And so it was that after a very eventful couple of days, Chez Marshies was back home. All that now remained was to let the sodden slab dry out under the awning before we re-established all our normal annex paraphernalia. 

I have always held firm to the belief that even in the most adverse circumstances, there is always some positive. In this case we knew that we would not end our stay here covered in mango debris and bird droppings, and the improvement in the internal light in the van was extraordinary. 

But the bigger question remains. For these benefits would we do this all again if we didn't have to? Probably not.....no, definitely not...and no lottery tickets for the Mobile Marshies for some time!