[Sharnbrook (Mike)]

Bob Grimes and I went up to Duckadang from Brissie yesterday, to see for ourselves what condition the road was in, and we were very pleasantly surprised. The whole of the Brisbane Valley Hwy was in good order, except for a few spots where the road had been submerged under at least a metre of water. The road gangs were busy repairing these sections by excavating the topping and road base, and replacing it with new compacted material, and resealing it. In isolated instances of pot holes, they were doing a good job of patching, and not just throwing some bitumen in the subsided areas, and hoping it will work.
The D'Aguilar Hwy up to Moore is in perfect condition. Moore to Linville is quite OK, and there have been no wash-aways at all, although there would probably have been flooding.

From Linville to Duckadang is another matter. There were 3 river crossings where wash-aways had occurred, but they had been adequately repaired, so that as of yesterday, ANY 2wd vehicle could pass without problem, even if you were pulling a caravan or trailer. The road from Linville to Duckadang had been under about 10 mtrs of water in places, so there was inevitable damage. None of the concrete culverts had been seriously damaged, and only the approaches had been washed out, but these are now fixed, and the Somerset Council's Operations Manager has assured me that if there is any further flooding, repairs will be a priority. They are also prepared to have a grader on call if necessary, and of course, if it is safe and practical.

Camp Duckadang is unscathed, other than the fact that the tennis courts had been under about 2m of water, down at the lower camp area. (This year, the Counterweight Tossing Comp may be held under water, dependant upon conditions.)

Don't worry, at this stage, (barring any more floods, earthquakes, asteroid hits or bubonic plague) Astrofest is a goer, and we look forward to seeing lots of familiar faces from Qld, as well as those from further south.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any. (Best by PM at the moment.)

In case anyone is wondering, this year, Jonathan Bradshaw is the new Chairman, Wendy Colvin is the Treasurer/Registrar, and I am the Secretary (Mike Ford).