We last left you leaving Arlie beach which was some time ago now, and with very good reason! Unbeknown to us it would be one hell of an adventure heading North. Although it had rained a lot on the way to Townsville and some roads were closed it was not too bad but the 2nd forming cyclone had not hit land just yet, but soon enough it came in worse than the first with the result of cutting off all routes North of Townsville. On waking after a night in the campsite the devistation had hit, washing crocodiles into the streets and gardens of the town we were in and closing all routes South and West to add to the Northern closures. Now as you may already know the South had heated up so much the bushfires were roaring but we were now cut off by flood waters! How bizzare. We hung on at the campsite for 2 days until part of the road North opened but it was only an hours drive then we were stopped again at the road closure as people were fishing off there porches and catching Barracuda!!???!! Plus the next town were using boats to get to the shops, so no go for a while so we camped in a carpark at the closure along with several truckers and campa vans. We stayed at the place called Frosty Mango for 2 nights then decided to head back to the Townsville campsite until the waters cleared, where gradually another 4 campa vans arrived in the same position so we had plenty of card game buddies. After 3 more days of been cut off the supermarkets had run out of fresh food and some were shut due to flooding, with air supplies limited we needed a plan and fast. With a lot of help from the campsite guy Graeme we had a plan to head to Cairns via the backroads through the mountains which meant unsealed and off road tracks, but with no 4x4 vehicles this was a pretty ambitious plan... The news and highways agency still reporting all roads inpassable but hey cabin fever was setting in, and each time it rained it added 2 days on to the POSSIBLE opening date of the roads! So the date was set to go with full fuel and water, map and phone number for the local cop in the village that may cause the worst problem for a river crossing as the water was above the bridge! The first bridge was guarded by the police but after a couple of hours the water went down and the traffic was allowed through, around 10 mins over the other side our convoy of five campa vans and 10 people was alone as everyone else lived in the village where as we were now heading into the outback mountains. We stopped and rung the local cop for the update on the river, he said it was only open to 4x4's but that was reducing if the tide came in. The next river was a bit wet and full of pot holes but we passed with ease avoiding the "road ahead closed" signs as we didnt want to damage the van!!!! And it was not policed so hey ho. The road got worse the further we went with parts gone completely after been washed away, followd by herds of bulls, cows, and Kangaroos as the farm fences were gone in some places. We were now picking our way through the 4x4 land trying to reduce the possability of getting stuck, but we were all pretty sure that 5 vehicles and 10 people could sort out most issues we may come across. This continued crossing little creeks and broken roads with care until we reached the next major river. Now this one was the point where you think oh **** we are never gonna make that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This bad boy was a metre higher than the bridge if the bridge was even still under there, we had no chance of getting the vans through. With dark now drawing in we were hours from any towns and due to been in the mountain ranges had no phone coverage even for emergency calls! So we made a decision to go to the nearest high ground to avoid any flash flood and camp for the night, we parked the 5 vans in a circle to give us some protection from any wild animals. We were due to get up at first light as this would mean low tide and see if the flood water had gone down or at worst case the others had come up if it rained overnight and possibly cut us off completely. Abou 3am we got a knock from one of the other guys who had seen a vehicle go by, we were straight up and woke everyone to get to the river asap as they had not come back so either made it or were stuck. The vehicle had been a 4x4 and after a long drive avoiding the nightlife animals we found the jeep with driver asleep next to the river! Guessing he didn t like the chances as the bridge was still not visIible, after some debate we decided we were going over as there were enough calm spots to make us believe the bridge was there, maybe a bit rough but there. Then it was who goes first??????? Well with the threat of the water rising again and having to wait longer we took the challenge, jumped in the van and set off.............. It was a slow operation to ensure if it suddenly dissapeared we wouldnt go nose first into the drink! The trick is to get as deep as possible until the water gets upto the exhaust and then floor it before the water cuts the engine out. A big cheer and across came the other vans, on we went again slow due to the wildlife darting out from all sides at the sound of the vans and seeing the lights. We had seen no other vehicles and it was now 2 hours on when we reached another river we had not known was there! This one was twice the length of the previous one and definitely had bits missing, we again assessed the situation as best we could with the result of go for it, as the way back was surely flooded again as high tide would be on the way in. Again we took the first dip as we had lead from the first bridge, once at the other side with only 4 vehicles we had one missing..... David and Mark walked back down to the river to wait shining torches on the river, now this was not to show the way this was to watch for a red glint!!! If the red glint appeared you basically run as it means you are crock baite! Now no red glint appeared but as the 5th van approached then came down the hill to the bend a large dark long bumpy log appeared! But followed by the glint and a sharp movement and whip of the tail the beast appeared.... Yep a crock had been allerted to us by the vibration of us walking to the waters edge and the van approaching, it attempted to get on to the bridge but was obstructed by the concrete edging. The boys however were up the hill in a shot jabbering rubbish, the fact that they hardly touched the ground getting to the van made it clear to everyone it was time to leave. We had a clear run until daylight other than the odd pot hole and roo, so stopped at the next village around 6am to have a coffee and check our route. We swapped lead driver and continued on our way now on proper roads but still in the mountains we had picked up speed so made good time but as always eventually you have to stop for fuel which was double the usual price as this place only sees someone about one a month. The remainder of the mountain range was a slow go after the petrol stop as more roads were washed away or badly damaged, then on the approach to Cairns we entered the rain forest and encountered the rising mist and winding road down the mountain side. Arriving at Cairns was a major achievment at around 2pm, this adventure had been madness and believe us well celebrated. Now for any douters of the tale look at the pics and the depth gage of the rivers or even just read the news!!!!!!!!!