Walking along the River

One early morning

I opted for a change of walk venue

taking the riverside path

opposite my home

The Noosa River

a sedate old lady

makes her way to the river mouth

and ocean

the mighty Pacific

weaving its way down from the Lakes

Cootharaba, Cooroibah

Como and Cooloola

originating in the Great Sandy National park

in the Wahpoonga Range

Loggers floated their booty

down her flanks in the 1860s

Richard Branson purchased 

her island Makepeace

near Tewantin township in 2003
A small 9 hectare heart shaped island
originally called Pig Island
as pigs were once quarantined there
You can stay the night
in luxury for only $9000.00
without the pigs...

Though they grow well, the coconuts

that sway and rustle 
along her shores never bear fruit

the climate not warm enough

The white cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets

have left their roosts for the day

thousands upon thousands of them

rising circling screeching

except for a few stragglers

high in the gums

leaving the trees for the mourning doves

the fig birds and the noisy miners

The river is a place for meeting

for families and friends

for fun and water activities

for relaxing and cooling

the Illawarra flame tree

Brachychiton acerifolious

a kurrajong - a genus of about 30 species

drops its leaves in early summer

and flaunts her beauty

of tiny bell shaped flowers

which sprinkle the lawns and sand below

like hundreds and thousands

maybe you know them as non pareils 

or sprinkles

that cover a child's sandwich treat

called fairy bread

The name Kurrajong means fishing line

the tree's bark was used by the Aborigine

to make fishing lines 

the early morning sunshine

is like the Dreamtime 

like the rainbow serpent

conjuring elements and images

form and shape

from another world

a world of water and light

and colour
and even perfume...