Sunday, January 6, 2013

Eaglehawk Neck Fire


So after a radio call out in sea the boats left at high speed to get into shore. The police were waiting for the boats to arrive at Eaglehawk Neck to escort us to Nubeena refuge. We were the last of about 3000 people to arrive and hear that the road had been cut and homes were burning at Dunalley, a town we had driven through just hours before.

It wasn't long before there was very limited food and water at Nubeena. The toilets became blocked and unusable within about 6 hours. I was shown around the tiny corner store by torch light and could only grab what I could pay for with the $20 note in my pocket. We had packed nothing and the people next to us were a little more prepared as they were camping so they grabbed a few essentials. They lent us a sleeping bag to share and we folded down the seats and slept in the x trail. The boys slept soundly until just past 7am. Most people were up around 5.30 with the sun and rumors were buzzing about the damage that had occurred at Dunalley. The Girl Guides volunteered and handed out tea and cereal. By the time we got to the front of the food line they had roast potatoes and they were quickly running out of food and water. The electricity was cut and not likely to be back for weeks. 

 After speaking to the police it was decided that we had to abandon our hire car and head into Hobart via the emergency ferry that left at 9.30 that morning. It was a stressful 2 hour journey after one person was seasick it set off a chain and Jack joined 20 people vomiting over the back of the boat while William fell asleep.


 The pics below show us waiting for the ferry at Nubeena and the police and Fire Services have been very vague about when we might be able to retrieve our hire car. Unfortunately Hobart is out of hire cars and we are staying in Cambridge which is a $37 taxi ride from Hobart. At least 70 homes, a school and the RSL were lost at Dunalley that day and we are so thankful to get out as fire still threatens the area. Importantly there have been no recorded deaths and we have accommodation in Cambridge until we fly out on Jan 10th.



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