We arrived in Hualien just ahead of the typhoon and managed to visit the marble and granite gorge of Taroka before the weather got too bad. The colour of the rocks and water was amazing. The original east to west road through the gorge was originally cut by hand and has since been widened several times - but it is still difficult for two buses to pass.
Later in the afternoon had a look at the coast as the typhoon approached. A couple of Coastguard officers warned us against swimming!
The rain and winds picked up in the next 24 hours and hotel staff had to barricade the main doors. The trains did not run for two days and we were stranded in hotel luxury for a few days. We had around 200 mm of rain in Hualien but parts of the north near Taipei received in excess of 1000 mm of rain. More than many parts of NZ get in a whole year.
Typhoon Krosa has headed north along the China coast towards Japan where we will meet with it again next weekend.
