AN ALMIGHTY BANG

Not this*

 I attempted to drive to my sister's holiday house today which is four bays away from where I live.

After the cyclone of the last couple of days the road is in very bad shape, with the remnants of slips and fallen trees that have been cleared away and covered with a lot of wind-blown vegetation, soil and gravel. Worse though, I counted at least 8 serious road surface faults with portions washed away at the edges reducing the road to one lane and some major 'corrugations' where the surface has been concertinaed creating ridges that have to be negotiated at less than 20kph. On one of these as I was creeping over I head an almighty bang -  AN ALMIGHTY BANG! I really thought that the sump had been ripped out or holed so, as soon as I could I pulled off the road and checked underneath. Seeing no oil or petrol or hydraulic fluid dripping  and seeing that the exhaust system was intact, I headed off again.

When I got to the road going around Urquart's Bay where my sister lives there were several cars stopped including two 4WD vehicles. The drivers were weighing up whether to go along the no-exit narrow road to the bay and all decided against it. I had a look and didn't like it.

The road was pitted and covered in debris and I could see at least one large groove or channel carved out of it. This road has a 30kph limit at the best of times and is essentially one lane. I would have to drive along it about a half a kilometre to get to the lane that heads up the hill to my sister's house. I intended going there to check on storm damage for her and knew that I'd be at least a half hour there. The tide was coming in so I knew that the weather conditions and the condition of the road would only get worse. As it was the waves were crashing across the road. 

I flagged it and headed home. On the way back I noticed that there was even more flooding than there had been a quarter of an hour previous and that the road surface was getting worse. Frankly** I was glad to get home.

Oh the joys of coastal living.

* I was looking for an image of god having sex - an almighty bang - but the best I could find was god watching while other people had sex.

** Who me?