For those following our story,  we ended the year with Christmas with my family in Adelaide. We also caught up with numerous friends  during our stay. Christmas was particularly good , not only because we were cocooned in love for the whole time, but we had both my niece Jade  and her partner Mitsu as well as my nephew Locky and his partner Winnie together with us, which was a first for Christmas. 

 We finally arrived back home on Sunday Jan 12th . We have set up our initial camp (pics below) . . .
We took a long walk to the top of the ridge where our house is located. Before the fire we had never been able to get through the thick lantana and bush to see what was there, but with the clean sweep of the fire all of our land, and that of our neighbours is visible.
​Four days later we are on our way to Queensland to pick up our new camper.

Thanks to our awesome friend Zanee, we had over 3 weeks poking around some of the most beautiful country in South Australia.  We met wonderful people and discovered  some beautiful coastline. A great recovery location. 

Mt Gambier Connections - ABC Radio Interview
Our support network continues to appear around us. I have a great friend, Francesca, in Mt. Gambier from my days in Port Augusta. She and her husband Scott took us out , cared for us , and hooked us up with other ex Augusta Park Primary School  teachers. Great to catch up with good people from years back   - it is like no time has gone by.  
Scott also works for the ABC in his spare time , and he hooked me up for a convo with the local  radio morning show host, Selina Green. We recorded this interview on Friday.

So many people have shown us kindness. I guess we knew we could rely on our families and friends. The kindness of strangers was a surprise. Now, it appears it's not just individuals. There is a Commercial Hotel group (The Oaks), who have offered people who lost their houses to have a week's free accommodation at one of their locations. On Thursday we are headed to Glenelg in Adelaide to spend 7 days in one of their fancy hotels.  

It has now been 2 weeks since the fire. A lot has happened, but in short, the two of us continue to be doing well.
Our time line is as follows:
 
Friday Nov 8th :  Fire –
 
Sat Nov 9th : We inspect damage (total loss) and decide to leave for Sydney  (to Bruce’s sister’s house) as there is nothing we can usefully do.
We headed down the Pacific Highway, and all the way there was heavy smoke. We knew that the highway was closed further south, so rather than embarking on long a roundabout trip, we decided to stop at about 3:30pm- at Nambucca Heads for the night.  Hearing our story (people asked where we were heading?) We got a discount on our room, and later the lady’s husband turned up with beer . 
This was my first real encounter with the kindness of strangers, a theme that is now evident on a regular basis.
 
Sunday Nov 10th : We drove the rest of the way to Sydney, but the highway was still closed and the detour took us through the back blocks, including winding dirt roads and single lane bridges. It was quite an excursion and we wonder just how anyone could have managed it if they did not have GoogleMaps as there was no signage at all. The remaining 5 hour trip became a 7 hour trip but we arrived safely in Sydney on Sunday evening.
Arriving in Sydney at Helen and Bob’s place was wonderful. They made us feel super welcome (at this point they thought maybe  we were coming to stay… long term), and they had rearranged their house to make us comfy.
 
Monday Nov 11th to  Monday 19th: SYDNEY
Our week in Sydney was interesting. 
We tried to take it easy, sleeping in and setting ourselves small tasks that mostly involved shopping and doing business things.
A few highlights

• The NSW government offered $1000 per person  to anyone who lost their house.  Our first ever experience with Centrelink turned out to be much better than we could have imagined. We were prioritized at the check in and were kindly helped by several people (including the manager of the operation) at the Chatswood branch to complete all the details required and the money was in our account the following day.  They may not be my favourite state government, but they did this well.

 
Tuesday:
​Clearly I ventured out into the shops sooner than I should have, or at least, I should not have started at the location I visited. The Macquarie Centre, near Bruce’s dad’s old folks home, is an enormous modern mall, and I thought it was smart to go somewhere like Target to get some basic items.  It became clear to me, as I found myself aimlessly walking around the store, that I was a little less  focused than usual. I decided I should just grab some undies and go, but when I arrived at the checkout, I looked down as the lady was scanning stuff and noted that I had 3 different sizes – hmmm... seems I’d forgotten to look for size. I asked the lady to stop scanning and tried to explain my foolishness, and in doing to found myself telling her about our situation. For the first time since the fire, I felt emotional and teary. She was very kind and the gentlemen on the door also came over.   All I really remember about this conversation were two things: the kindness of them both and  the gentleman saying,  “Do you need anything? Do you need money? “ Seriously, I’m sure if I said yes, he would have pulled out his wallet and given me some. This of course made me even more emotional. 
You would think that after this I would have the good sense to leave the mall, but I figured while I was there I could manage to go upstairs to Myers and get pair of jeans. I no longer recall what I bought, but at the check out, there was a similar situation where I was obviously dithering. This lady, asked me if I was OK and again I shared my story (apparently this is what is recommended (ie that you talk about these sorts of things if you can)) . This time the woman said, “How about I buy you a cup of tea or coffee, my treat.” I said no and she said, no, please let me buy you a cup of tea. At this stage she put her hand on mine. I didn’t want the cup of tea, so I looked her in the eye, put my other hand over hers and said something like,” Thanks so much, but the kindness of strangers is amazing and it helps. Thanks.”  She finished the transaction and as I put my wallet away, she said, Now, come with me, I’m taking you to the Myer cafe just over here.  At this point I decide to put myself in the hands of this kind stranger and was led to the café where tea was procured, the girls on the counter were prepped to look after me and my heroine returned to work.
It was of course the very best thing that I could have done. I stopped, drank tea (deciding that I could treat myself to sugar-  something I’d given up putting in my tea about 3 months ago (–side note I had not enjoyed a cup of tea since), and regained my equanimity. After that, I decided it was time to abandon the shopping expedition and return to Bruce and his dad.
 
The remainder of the week passed with small shopping trips and visiting Bruce’s dad daily.

• We heard from a friend that one of our neighbours was in the burns unit of the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, so we went to see him for the few days that we remained in Sydney. Again, we were reminded of our good fortune in having got out of the fire zone in time. We were also reminded of the quiet strength in  people who face  adversity. While he faces a long and painful recovery, his sense of humor was still evident, despite the trauma he experienced in the fire.

 

• Not long before the fire, we paid for a large sum of money to buy a huge steel rainwater tank.  We had a signed contract and I believe they had already constructed the tank and sent it to NSW from WA. As this was no longer a priority, and because we know we would need the money, I emailed them about the possibility of cancelling the order and releasing us from the contract. I am happy to report that the  good people at Heritage Tanks , kindly agreed and are in the process of returning our money. No doubt that if we rebuild we will definitely  be using this business for a new tank.

 

• Throughout our time in Sydney, Bob and Helen looked after us. Bob, a self taught cook of extreme skill, continually presented us with elegant plates of  amazing food, and Helen, despite her crazy workload managed to take care of us in many ways.

 

• Our Facebook page resulted in many, many offers of accommodation from around Australia and the US and we were humbled by this kindness. One offer was too good to refuse. Our old mate Zanee, who we met back in Kenmore Park in the APY Lands where we lived before we went to NYC, has a house in Beachport, South Oz. As we planned to head to Adelaide for Christmas, Beachport was a viable destination for the interim and oh boy, did we luck out.

 
 
 

Lucky we had all those Corona cartons to pack our stuff in before we left . Only one has beer and we bought that in Nambucca Heads

Saturday
It is usual after fires of this magnitude for the fire services to block people from returning to their properties unil the are has been made safe. Still, we thought we’d try our best to get out and see the house because at this point we did not know for sure that the house had been destroyed.
 
Luckily we were allowed through. we drove out and the photos tell the story. Some locals had cleared some sections of road. Fortunately we had Bruce’s chainsaw, so we were able to remove the fallen trees from our driveway as we neared the house.
 
There was clearly no point whatsoever in staying three, and with many trees still burning and the occasional giant tree crashing to the ground, 6’' deep ash and very little else.
We caught up with some neighbors, and headed out on the road to Sydney, down to stay with Bruce’s sister Helen and her husband Bob.
We drove as far as Nambucca Heads decided to pull over mid afternoon  rather than press on  in our tired state. 

​Arriving in Coutts Crossing enabled us to eat and catch up with fire stories as locals dribbled in. It was quite intense as people shared their experiences, and started to consider the implications of the fire on their futures.
Some people had no insurance, some lost the tools required to make their living, others had animals and stock that they knew were going to die a horrible death. Some had sheltered in sheds, dams and makeshift shelters and feared for their lives.  Others stayed to defend their homes, but were eventually driven out by the intensity of the heat. And others were still out there. Many of us did not know the fate of our houses, and occasionally found this out from other locals arriving. It was a harrowing, yet bonding experience.
 
Eventually, we went to the room at the pub. We talked a little, and we turned out the light. About 2 minutes after our heads hit the pillow I received a text- followed by a knock at the door in case we didn’t get it .
 
NSWRFS EMERGENCY BUSH FIRE WARNING - Obx Creek, Chambigne, Coutts Crossing - Safest option to leave now if path clear to Grafton. www.rfs.nsw.gov.au 1800679737
 
Needless to say, we got up, got dressed and jumped in the car. Two evacuations in 1 day was a bit much, but we went with it. We made a decision to head to Maclean – about 45 minutes away where Bruce’s aunty lives. We thought we could just camp on her front lawn or something. We stopped for an icecream at the roadhouse to lift our spirits. It did.  
Of course, when we got to Maclean, and realized it was 11:30 pm, we decided  a 90 year old woman did not need to wake in the morning to find us on her lawn in a state of disarray. We finished up driving out to the Yuraygir National Park. We had no booking, so chose a discreet spot behind a small electrical substation.    We rolled out our sags and jumped into bed.  As soon as our heads hit the pillow, the mosquitos descended. Heaven knows where they were breeding; the place was dry as dry, but there they were. Out of bed one more time to put up out tent in the dark. Luckily we are good at this.
 
We dragged our swags in and finally got settled in bed. I’m sure we must have at least a half hour of sleep before  a gale, known locally as a southerly buster,  sprang up. Had it not been for Bruce’s weight on the tent floor,  it would have blow completely away. As it was, Bruce was being slightly suffocated by the top of the tent pressing down on him as the gale blew and blew.
Bruce had had it by now, but I managed to get up and tie the windward side of the tent down to various heavy objects. Bruce assisted as ballast.
And then, sleep at last.
 
Well… at least until 7:00 when the rangers turned up having spotted our dodgy camp.  They pulled up and wound down the window. Bruce’s words, stuck in my head. “Our house burnt down last night and then we had to evacuate Coutts Crossing. We got here at midnight and camped here.”
 
Fortunately , like almost everyone who finds out about our situation, they immediately told us not to worry, offered us a campsite and then one of them offered us room at their house.
And that was our Friday.
 
 

Nymboida Fire Experience Post 2 
Throughout the day we took great care to monitor the sky for embers and spot fires that might precede the actual fire.
 
The fire was still on the far side of the range that is on the other side of the Nymboida River.
We were texting between neighbours to keep ourselves up to date with what was actually happening .
 
By mid afternoon, the sky was darkening and the weather radar showed a  localized  rain bearing cloud mass  overhead. The humidity rose and for a while things became very quiet and still. Then, a breeze sprang up and before long the winds started to pick up.
 

 Once we got word that the fire had come over Mt. Warner, we looked across the river and saw the flames of the fire   moving along the  bank. At this point we jumped in the car and took off, stopping only to start the pump to leave the sprinklers running on the outside of the house.
 
For 360 degrees, the sky was deep orange, and although it was It was only 4:40pm,  with the sun was high in the sky, it was dark like  night.  We had our headlights on, and the trees along the side of the road were  just black silhouettes against the orange sky.
 
We passed numerous fire crews in the route out, but had no trouble getting into our nearest town, Coutts Crossing , with our general store and nearest pub). We pulled in with great relief. Of course, we didn't know then, that the night was going to be considerably longer than we expected .

Some Background
About 2 months ago a fire broke out about 30 km from our place . It was out of control for many weeks and it gave birth to many other fires in  different locations nearby. We lived in smoky conditions and at one point we loaded our car in prep for evacuation, but finished unloading it again as the fire settled.  A couple of times we had hot windy days and the sky was filled with smoke haze. IN fact for the last 7-8 weeks heavy smoke haze has been present on most days 

Bruce worked like a true hero, clearing leaves, felling trees, reducing the fuel load around the house. I designed a sprinkler system to surround the house, and we primed our header tank with water just in case.

Friday November 8th 

Woke up bright and early. The sunlight that always shone through our window waking me  when it rose was not its usual bright yellow, but a shade of pink.
There was such a lot of bird activity at the water bowls on the rail of our deck. Sitting up in bed, I was watching the birds with my binoculars though the window.  It was a great delight to start my mornings seeing the parade that came daily. Friday however was different. The number of birds was way more than usual, and they were all extremely active. I even took some video as it was so unusual.
 
My friend Zanee called and we had a lovely chat, with me telling her about our amazing and beautiful new home.   Once I got up, and went outside it was clear that it was going to be a risky day. Wind started to pick up, smoke started to cover the sky. 
 
We decided to pack the car to go, but really in my mind ,I didn't really believe that it would be necessary to go, but we loaded some stuff into the car.
As the day progressed, we worked on  setting up the sprinklers we had on hand ( that morning Rod from the pump shop called to say that the suppliers had sent the wrong sprinklers, but I told him at this point t it was moot, the fire being so close) . 
The day progressed - some pics below.
​More to come...