Monday 31st January 2011 – I awoke to a calm and peaceful morning today. Cyclone Anthony did a bit of mischief down at Bowen but we were unaffected in Townsville. So, by the time I’d retrieved my bike from the toilet block, it was about 7am before I got on the road. However, I made good time and got to Ayr by 8.30 so stopped for a cuppa in the local servo. The headline on the paper read “Anthony and the Goliath” and the girl behind the desk was quick to advise me I’d be best to head as far west as possible and get away from the coast because the second cyclone (Cyclone Yasi, aka Goliath), currently over Fiji, will be a category 4 and will destroy everything in its path. As I’d already missed the turn off for Mount Isa (in the west), I left the servo like a bat out of hell and continued south with the intention of turning off at Mackay. However, by the time I’d reached Bowen and had a chance to consider her advice, I decided I’d be better off getting as far south as possible as the cyclone isn’t due to hit until Thursday which gives me another 2 days to clear to impact area.

So much for spending a month meandering my way down the coast – at this rate I’ll be in Sydney by next weekend!

I’d made Mackay by 1pm. However, I then ran into a strange phenomena that I haven’t encountered in Australia before – a traffic jam. A van had run into the side of a bridge which meant all the traffic from 4 different directions was backed up for miles. It took me 2 hours to travel the 30km from Mackay to Sarina! I’m now in a small village called Carmila, about 100km south of Mackay. Tomorrow I’ll try and make it to Hervey Bay.