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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