It was all happening. After two cyclones
this season that turned out to be fizzers, in Cairns at least, we thought that
Ita, rated Category 5 before making landfall, would really test our cyclone
endurance skills. Matey can admit now, after the fact, that she was feeling a
little anxious at the prospect of a Yasi-strength cyclone. Captain, having
waited out two non-events in the mangroves, was now somewhat nonchalant even
once Ita’s rating was increased to 5. Anyway, off we went into our favourite
cyclone bolt-hole on a mangrove creek in Admiralty Island in Trinity Inlet.
This location meant that as well as the great protection the mangroves provide
from fierce winds, run-off from heavy rainfall on the mainland wouldn’t be
surging past at an alarming rate. Any tidal surge would mean the water under us
would deepen, but in the absence of king tides, run-off shouldn’t be too
strong, or contain too much in the way of logs and litter that might tangle in
the anchor chain and wreak havoc. We cunningly sensed this storm could be ugly
when we found, a day before Ita was due to make landfall, several boats were
already tied up in our creek, (two of which were near the entrance and blocking
access for other boats—hurrumph! But luckily owners soon appeared and kindly untied
the ropes on the port side so we could squeeze through.) Even the locals were
taking Ita seriously …
Ita hit land at Cape Flattery, around 200
km north of us, took around 24 hours to reach us, and by this time had been
downgraded to a Category 1 cyclone, yet she still was a destructive force and
we were glad we were sheltering in the mangroves, mosquitoes and flies
notwithstanding, when she arrived. So well protected were we that we only
noticed the rain and the Matey slept through the whole show.
(Tip of the cyclone: stinger suits are a
good idea when tying ropes to mangroves. They confound sandfles, small crabs,
spiders, green ants and mosquitoes, it seems. Amazingly, Matey seems to have
fewer than 10 sandfly bites as a result.)
The wait
What better place to learn something about
mangroves and how amazing they are than when surrounded by them? Not only do these old-growth forests
provide great protection for boats in cyclones, they protect shorelines from
tidal surges and erosion (and hence property valued by humans), they sequester
carbon very effectively, they are fish nurseries and extraordinary ecosystems.
We undervalue them at our peril. Guess what Matey was reading?
The importance of mangroves is often overlooked: recommended reading.
There’s just one problem the Matey has with
fabulous mangroves: sandflies. She is yet to ascertain the ecological value of
these irksome midgets, but no doubt they have one. Any suggestions on this
would be most welcome.
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| Looking upstream before |
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| Looking downstream after |
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| Evidence of a nasty storm. Luckily we locked the bike to the pole rather than the tree. |
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| Post-cyclone sunset over mangroves |
