February Floods…2015

Mother Nature has certainly had fun in our little corner  of the world this month…… and especially so in the last week of February.

We were awakened by a rather unnerving earth tremor Magnitude 5  in the wee small hours  on Monday 16 and by Friday 20 , we were battoning down in readiness for Cyclone Marcia to pass over.

Marcia certainly created quite a blow and uprooted trees and blew branches around but luckily , we sustained  no real structural damage around our homes.

The flood that resulted from over 10 inches in both the headwaters and the length of Boogalgopal Creek however,  created a swath of damage knocking out fences, windmills, tanks, pumps and over 20 road crossings  down the creek.

As yet, we are still unable to access  the majority of our country as the roads are impassable and still flooded with water, sand flows and eroded banks.

  The power of the water was phenomenal ………taking with it fully mature gum trees and leaving a very different de-nuded landscape in the creek.

Our paddocks however are in good order and run-off has been all  clean fresh water…. our cattle will continue to do well – whichever paddock they may  now have wandered in to ! – and unlike farmers in our area who have lost substantial income through crop losses, we are thankful that our work for the next month or so will be focused on repair and roads only .

Always in the back of our mind is the ongoing dry in other parts of our state  and we hope that the clouds bring some relief to those who can only continue to  hear of all the rain falling  ELSEWHERE!

A few photos from the past week below……….

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Seven hours after the rain fell , this was the sight in Boogalgopal Creek at the main crossing .

The level of the flood water was higher than the 2013 floods. The bridge was out of action because of a massive washout on the approaches.

 Shifting gear from one side of the creek to the other a few days after the flood

This mill in a breeder paddock was lucky to stay upright

Down at the mouth of Boogalgopal Creek and the Nogo River/Wuruma Dam backup , water levels rose once again to cover the flats

Over on the other waterway- Lockhardt Creek- that runs through the property, the flood was not as severe, but strong enough to give this mill a fair shake-up !

This is a scene repeated all down the parts of Boogalgopal Creek that we have been able to get to !

 This windmill was not so lucky

Lance took the 4 wheeler out to gain access to a few more paddocks and found a very changed landscape !

The windmill was missing  as were the trees and the road!

This was a shot of the same creek earlier in the year

On closer inspection, the windmill was found and the tank (full of water ) had been shifted off kilter.

Further up the creek , sand deposits are a new feature  of the creek!

Coming in from the highway, we were able to get to one of the top paddocks where we found a solar pump buried under its shed and a few feet of rubble

Pipe lines , erosion around trees and road crossings are a bit of a mess- although the water in the creek  DOES look amazing at the moment !

The sound of running water is pretty special now that the roar has stopped !

Not much of this road left- completely swept away by the water

The changed banks of the creek

This tank was washed off its base and water has been over the trough and fences

Looking down on to fencelines from above

It was bad news in the only other paddock we have been able to get to with this pump at a solar panel site  also covered with water

…….it will no doubt need to be  blown out when we can get the roads fixed to bring in heavier equipment  !

Such is life on the land however ………….

and it will be interesting to see what other changes to the landscape have occurred when we manage to get to the rest of the property.

There are definite upsides however to the chore of fixing fences at all the creek crossings !!

The kids love to join the men when they are able to watch Dad and Grandpa work and to enjoy the water !

One thing for sure …. life is never dull !

and while it lasts we will enjoy the  magic sound of  running water over sand and rock !!

For day to day updates on life at Boogalgopal, check out our facebook page

www.facebook.com/boogalbrahmans.

Paddock reared, chemical free Brahman and Charbray bulls are available year round.

For enquiries

Lance  0741672176

Tex       0741675163

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