After more than four months, Kangaroo Valley residents can finally access the Southern Highlands via Barrengarry Mountain after a landslip cut off their access.
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Kangaroo Valley has had a tough time due to rain and floods, which all began in March.
Moss Vale road opened to traffic via a single lane and portable traffic lights on July 1, which coincided with another east coast low.
More than $2 million has already been spent fixing roads, bridges, and causeways and clearing the major landslips that engulfed roads in the area.
On July 5, Upper Kangaroo River Road closed indefinitely, leaving about 60 permanent and non-permanent residents in a precarious situation.
Shoalhaven City Council organised for those living on the road to remove their vehicles through the impacted area. After that time, there would be no access for several weeks until repair works were completed.
Kangaroo Valley dairy farmer Graeme Cochrane recorded almost 600 millimetres of rain on his property between July 1-4, flattening fencing, washing out gullies and causing laneway damage that had only just been repaired, while debris is strewn across paddocks.
While higher up the mountain received 830mm.
"We have recorded 2300mm (93 inches) this year; our annual rainfall is 1200mm (49 inches)," he said.
"We are very wet; some paddocks will be weeks if not months before we can get onto them, but some of the drier river and creek bank country holds up very well in the wet times, so those paddocks will bounce back very quickly, and despite not a drop of rain falling in June, we have struggled the past few months for good pasture growth given how wet March and April were for us.
"But last week's rain came that quickly, a lot ran off, so I am expecting with no rain for a few weeks, and some sunny days, we will bounce back fairly quickly as the days get longer and we approach spring."
Graeme and his wife Lisa milk 300 Jerseys. They have 90 cows due to calve in the next three to five weeks.
He said the cows had stood up well to the soggy conditions.
"I have always tried to keep them full of top quality silage and pellets at milking time and always make sure they are fully fed and looked after first before I get inside for a warm meal," he said.
"They don't like the cold, wet nights, but if they are full of the best feed we can provide for them, then it stands by them when we have some tough days, and they rebound reasonably quickly when they are in good health."
Not surprisingly, it has been a constant battle to manage cows suffering from sore feet during the extended wet period.
"We try to manage our paddock rotation and laneway infrastructure, so if the cows are starting to slow up with sore feet, we can keep them close by the diary to minimise their walking," Graeme said.
"Their recovery time is impressive if they are carefully managed at that delicate time to reduce further soreness, which can lead to chronic problems and subsequent premature culling."
Graeme said ensuring their cows were comfortable was incredibly challenging.
"Knowing exactly where the cows can go and rest and be comfortable when you are flooded, and paddocks are waterlogged is my biggest headache," he said.
"We want our cows to be as comfortable as possible at all times, but when Mother Nature unleashes, we sometimes have no answer to what is thrown at us.
"Somehow, we get through it, and I enjoy the challenge of keeping the cows milking well and in good health when it's so up against you.
"Mother Nature brings her A-game to the table sometimes, but she needs to because we are up for the challenge she dishes up."
Upper Kangaroo River farmers Elizabeth and Les Gardner can only access their property with an ATV.
They recorded more than 790mm of rain in four days. However, Elizabeth said it certainly wasn't the biggest flood the Valley had experienced.
Between 1870-1880, he said her grandparent's home was washed away, which was located on the opposite side of the creek to their current residence, near the junction of Kangaroo River and Gerringong Creek.
According to Elizabeth, the landslip blocking their access has washed the road away, creating a drop of about 1.5 metres.
They are feeding only 25 head after getting on the front foot in preparation for worsening conditions.
"We are running out of feed; after the first episode in March, we knew it could get worse, so we sold all our vealers at the beginning of June," she said.
"We couldn't plant any oats because it was too wet; sometimes we use a contractor, but he couldn't get into the property, and we couldn't get fertiliser in, so that will cause a longer-term issue."
The couple also operates farm stay accommodation, which has been severely impacted.
"We had to cancel all our holiday rental," she said.
"It means we are losing thousands of dollars in bookings."
Wattamolla Road at Woodhill Mountain, near Berry, is again open, partially restoring Kangaroo Valley access.
The road was closed for four months after a series of landslides triggered by heavy rain in March.
Pat Barrett, 92, has lived at Woodhill Mountain his entire life.
When his only access to the outside world was cut off, he got around that by organising for a car to be parked on one side of the washed out area and walked across so he could get into town, as did many other residents facing the same dilemma.
Between July 1-10, Mr Barrett measured 931 millimetres of rain, or what he explained as 36 inches and 48 points.
"I've never seen this kind of wet before; I've seen a lot of rain but not the way this has come about," he said.
"Back in the late 40s and 50s, we had a lot of rain, but this has been spread across a longer period of time.
"It was drying out, and the ground wasn't too bad, but now it is very wet."
At this stage, single-lane access will remain for the rest of this year while Shoalhaven City Council continues repair works.
Two-lane traffic flow will resume at the completion of the works, which are projected to be done by the end of 2022 (weather permitting).
Shoalhaven City Council Mayor Amanda Findley said council crews had been working around the clock since the March east coast low to get Wattamolla Road repaired.
"An incredible amount of work has gone on to get this stretch of road operational again," she said.
"Even with the heavy rainfall over the past four days, the new lane withstood 600 millimetres of rain.
"Multiple weather events in such a short period are causing a lot of pain in the Shoalhaven, the pain of inconvenience and frustration, everyone feels it, residents and staff alike.
"Everyone is doing what they can under such trying circumstances and maintaining gratitude for any assistance we can get."
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