The people who call the north Queensland tropical rainforest area of Eungella their home pride themselves on a strength and resilience that has been tested a lot over the past six months.
They have faced wild weather, isolation, and an uncertain future after the announcement in October last year of a potential major renewable energy project in the region.
But it has not stopped them from rallying together, and now they are on the road to recovery from a disastrous start to the year.
Weather disaster
Eungella's food and tourism industry was hit especially hard after heavy rains in January left the town cut off from the rest of the country.
Platypus Lodge Restaurant owner Oskar Krobath said his business was forced to temporarily shut down.
"For us, it was pretty much six weeks with no income," he said.
He said customers had started to trickle back in after access to the town reopened.
"I think it will take anywhere between three to six months to recoup the money we lost over the six weeks," he said.
"Living up here, we've been through so many disasters with cyclones and fire and COVID and we always get back on our feet — but it's a slow process."
Eungella Chalet manager Tess Ford said the business remained open while the town was isolated, primarily as a place for residents to purchase essentials such as bread and milk.
"We more stayed open as a service to the community than making dollars," she said.
"But it's been a struggle over the past six weeks."
She said she hoped the community would rally behind Eungella businesses.
"I'm hoping that people sort of get out there and support us and the other businesses sooner rather than later," she said.
Path to recovery
The meat, milk, fruit, and honey producers of the region have only recently returned to business as usual.
Cloudbreak Lowlines manager Mandy Tennent said the isolation made it tough for cattle producers to fill their orders.
"Once the range went down, that put a stop to everything," she said.
She said she was also unable to access extra supplies, such as grain for her cattle.
The isolation was a major issue for producers in the area, even putting one dairy farmer on the brink of closure up until a community fundraiser helped cover costs.
But Ms Tennent said the wild weather would have benefits for farmers down the track.
"The rain was desperately needed and it set us up really well for this year; it was fantastic," she said.
Meanwhile, honey producers Doug and Janine Cannon said they were well prepared for disaster after establishing a program to breed bees that were more tolerant of the wet weather.
"At this stage, they seem to be performing really well," Mr Cannon said.
"We're finding that those bees are actually out foraging in this drizzly sort of rainy weather, where the others are in their bed, resting and eating honey."
However, he said honey production did drop during major rainfall events.
"The main impact for us would be the reserves of the stores that the bees would be getting through," he said.
"Our motto is that the bees come first so we're more than happy for them to draw on their reserves.
"However, that leaves us a little bit short-handed with what we can take off them."
He said the town being cut off also presented some challenges.
"Tourism is a big drive for us," he said.
"So obviously, without tourists coming up and supporting local businesses, buying honey, buying milk, we see businesses struggle pretty quick."
Finger lime grower Jock Hansen said the initial weather event and resulting loss of access to his farm led to him losing a significant amount of fruit.
"We couldn't get up here for about a month and, unfortunately, the timing of the rain event was right with the start of the pick," he said.
"So all our ripe fruit split and dropped, we lost maybe 30 per cent of our crop."
However, he said demand and prices for his fruit were still strong.
"I've just got a few cafes and restaurants locally this year because it's not a big crop and they're taking it all," he said.
"The prices are pretty strong and cover the costs, and gives you a bit of pocket money to play with at the end of the day."
