18/7/17 Down to the old harbour

 Cyclone Debbie roared through Airlie Beach and surrounds earlier this year , and the resulting damage is still clearly visible . Trees are only just getting leaves growing again after being stripped by the winds - that's those that actually survived the cyclone and didn't die . There are fallen trees all over the hillsides and we could see houses that have been hidden by the forests previously , now stripped bare .
  Off to Shute Harbour for a look , reports were that it copped the full brunt of the cyclone . Shute Harbour used to be the main departure point to get out to the Whitsunday Islands before the Port of Airlie was built at Airlie Beach some years ago .
 Trucks & tradesmen are rather busy still doing repairs to houses & the old jetty and removing lot's of rubbish . The first photos don't really show the damage , but below the lookout was all the floating sections of the jetty that had been ripped away , and there were covers over them as well - they are now cut up and lying on the ground ready for removal .

 We drove up to the houses on the ridge to the left , they have views out into the Coral Sea and the islands - the views are a lot clearer now than they were before - some houses still have tarpaulins over the roof , covering the damage , waiting for repairs . Trees are just branches with clusters of new leaves growing back .

  There are many yachts & motor cruisers still in amongst the mangroves , some total write offs , others that have been retrieved and are being repaired - slowly !!

  The main power line that feeds Shute Harbour crosses over the hills and has been totally rebuilt . Concrete power poles have been shattered and are still lying on the ground .
  There's no doubt that this area has been hit , and hit hard , but they are bouncing back and tourists are supporting them , coming back in droves , which is good to see .
 That's today done , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GUrcQrKSfhzXsqDw9iGbwOPIl_Q&usp=sharing