Stranded on the long road to nowhere between Mount Isa and Townsville

It was supposed to be just a few more hours drive up the road

It was supposed to be just a few more hours drive up the road. Instead, it turned into 800km of driving in the wrong direction, a couple of hours of uncomfortable sleep in the car overnight on a flood plain and a two-hour plane trip.

Like many Queenslanders trying to get around the state following the destructive path left by cyclone Yasi, The Weekend Australian's photographer Stuart McEvoy and I got stuck on the only -- flooded -- road between Townsville and Mount Isa. And it was not much fun.

Having started at Mount Isa at 2am that morning to cover the impact of the tropical cyclone on Queensland's desert, we bunkered down in a roadhouse in the farming town of Richmond as the cyclone passed and headed off to Townsville at about 2pm.

After four hours driving, the rain got heavier and creeks and rivers we passed began to spill on to the road. Broken tree branches littered the roadway but it was not until we reached a river just after the town of Homestead, that we realised how great the flood risk was going to be.

As it bucketed down, we could not get through. It also dawned on us that the creeks just behind us would also be uncrossable and we were stuck. The nearest sign of civilisation in this very flat sparsely populated country was Homestead, which consisted of a general store, a toilet block and a town hall.

We were not alone. As the heavy rain continued, and the floodwaters rose, dozens of people also sought shelter for the night. Truckies, tourists and families trying to return home to Townsville after they escaped the cyclone were all stuck.

A quick conversation with the general store owner determined some important facts. Yes, we could sleep in the town hall but no, there wasn't any bedding so we would just have to make do with the floor. Yes it had flooded here before but " it only came up to knee-high, so you'll be fine, love".

The outlook was not good. Sleeping in the car on the highest part of a town on a flood plain. Wading through water to get to the toilet block, only to find cane toads had taken residence. A general store that had almost run out of beer. And no idea when we would be able to leave.

"It will be at least two days from when the rain stops," said one local, much to my deepening dismay.

At other flooded parts of the Flinders Highway further inland, it was the same story over and over again.

"We came here to Mount Isa to get away from the cyclone and it seems to have followed us," said Robert Hussey, who fled Townsville on Tuesday with his entire family and in-laws.

He was now left stranded. Mr Hussey had been told his house had survived but his sheds were blown away and a giant gum tree had fallen across his front yard. Others, including most of the truckies in Homestead, were taking the whole experience in their stride. Copious beers and conversations with strangers was the best way to pass the time when you are stuck and surrounded by floodwaters. "Where are you from and where can't you get to, love?" was heard time and time again.

For us, after trying to get closer to Townsville yesterday and hit by further flooded roads, we abandoned our trip, turned around and drove 11 hours back to Mount Isa before catching a plane to Townsville. It was a very long detour.