A few friends and I went down to one of Beach & Bay’s Mollymook holiday accommodation properties right after 5pm on Friday to celebrate a friends birthday. Only 2 and a half hours drive from Sydney, Mollymook is a great weekend escape. Friday night was Mexican at vegetarian café Pilgrims in Milton followed by a few drinks at a pub and Saturday morning was Hayden’s Pies in Ulladulla (better than bacon & eggs after a night out!).
The weather wasn’t great, overcast and rainy on and off but the house was fantastic, with two living areas plus dining, as well as 4 bedrooms. We kept ourselves busy watching DVDS from VideoEzy in Ulladulla and playing cards. Towards the end of Saturday night the weather got worse. Loud winds rattled the windows, it was pouring rain and tree branches were getting thrashed about. We went to bed wondering what damage would be done to the street in the morning but never expected it to be as bad as it was!
Waking at 8am it was still blowing a gale, the two bins from the house had been knocked over and all our rubbish was over the backyard. A tree branch had fallen on a friend’s car and the garage door of a neighbour’s property had been ripped off. Power was completely out and there were detours all across Mollymook and Ulladulla when we went to find toilet paper! Trees had fallen over, holes were in roofs and the blackout went all the way to Nowra!
We got word from friends who left early that caravans had tipped over and a truck was blown over on the highway, so we might as well stay put. To top it all off, petrol stations were closed so we couldn’t have left if we wanted to!
After a few hours waiting we were on our way. SES and fire trucks were parked along the highway attending to the damage and directing traffic. Winds shook the car doors but we managed to get away ok – until we hit Berry where detours lasted an hour. Power at Berry was out but most shops had back up generators and the pie shop had lines out the door!
If you have a holiday home down the South Coast, make sure you get your neighbors to check if there is any damage. To all the homes still without power, I wish you all the best and am hoping you had good insurance!
