Thursday 13 June 2013

Along the Brisbane River



Tuesday's weather dawned promising, but with our Queen's birthday holiday on Monday being drenched with 1 1/2 inches of rain, we were again being flexible in our plans. Mt Mee had definitely been postponed until another day, but our final decision would be made when we were together at Margot's at Fairfield. Our normal 25 min journey to Fairfield stretched into 1 hour. This was due to delays from an accident, so we were not keen to venture much further, especially as the cloud cover was increasing.
Our final decision was a local walk, so we briskly set off towards the Dutton Park access to the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, which connects buses and pedestrians to the University of Queensland. It was not long before the umbrellas had to be unfurled and a little later we took shelter under the canopy of massive fig trees in Dutton Park cemetery. At the bottom of the cemetery, we discovered 120 year old fig trees with their buttressed trunks and  amazing prop roots, which hold up their massive branches.


                                               

                                                

     As we viewed down river towards the city, the weather didn't look at all promising.


The grounds of the university are vast and beautiful, but today the 'youthful' [as they appeared to us] students,  were facing end of semester exams and had little time or interest in their  beauty.



 Southern entrance to the Grand Court.
 

    Clock tower of a campus residence.      

As we walked back across the bridge, we became hopeful that  umbrellas could be put away. Relieved, we headed down to the bank of the Brisbane River and headed south along the path towards the Brisbane Corso Reserve at Yeronga. Well trodden by Margot, Jenny and I had no idea that this extensive, tranquil, river bank area existed.  It's beauty was enhanced by the incredible fact that the opposite shore was even more removed from the pace of the city. We were however, confronted by the stark reminder that the river doesn't always meander peacefully to its mouth. Below is a marker of the height of the 1974 disastrous floods. In 2011, the flood that was never to happen again, reached to the 2nd top line. It was impossible to comprehend this depth, even though we were passing home after home that had been totally inundated





                                                Where better to take a rest and soak up the river's beauty.


Dark clouds continued to tease, but we completed our river hike of about 12 k's without a  soaking. Jenny and I are still stunned that such an area is so near the heart of the city, but the highlight of the walk, was the discovery of these autumn trees and leaves.







Happiness is........
                           spotting an adventurous snail.


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6 comments:

  1. Despite the rain, looks like you had a beautiful, tranquil hike. I don't let the rain stop me either. Some of the best hikes and photographs I've had during rainy days.

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  2. I'm glad the rain didn't stop you on your Mother's day hike. Your photos were spectacular.

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  3. There has been a lot of rain this spring in Canada as well. The rain translates to snow at higher elevations so currently, it is a repetitive cycle of sun and rain. Thanks for sharing your excellent photos of scenes, flora and fauna unique to Australia. Our Spring is your Autumn. It is an interesting comparison.

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    1. Barry, re 'Our Spring is your Autumn', temperature wise here in Queensland, we slide from summer into winter in a few short weeks at the end of autumn. Australia has few native deciduous trees and this article - http://asgap.org.au/faq-18.html - [sorry it wouldn't link] is of interest in that regard. In southern and highland Australia the European species do put on a show. To spot the above autumn display is rare for me.

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  4. I wonder what photos you would have to share if it didn't rain and were not dealyed in your drive. Glad your day turned out the way it did because you got to make a discovery and pass along your adventure to us! Your photos are wonderful and after looking at them I feel a sense of tranquility! Thank you for that!

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  5. Alexandra thank you for your lovely comment. The rain is being very kind to us. We did a coastal walk yesterday on a glorious sunny and low and behold as we closed the car doors, the windscreen was splattered with raindrops and the day closed in. We plan to do the missed walk in 2 weeks time.

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