Tuesday 25 January 2011

What's wrong with this picture?



I walked down to the river at the end of Boundary Street yesterday and found myself looking at a scene I didn't recognise. The water, which a week ago had been lapping my front gate a block for the river's edge, was at the bottom of this steep bank. The marker staring me in the face told me I was five metres above water level. There beside me looking equally confused was a handsome water dragon surveying his home.




















There's been talk on the radio this week of the old days. People have been talking about remembering when there were large sand bars at Indooroopilly and Kangaroo Point where people swam in a clear river.
This week it's back to the future. At the south Brisbane Sailing club on the West End bend of the river the flood has deposited a huge sandbank, a metre deep and four metres wide. It's beautiful river sand that has been dropped off by the floodwaters as it slowed to navigate this turn. The birds are loving it. I've never seen seagulls and terns relaxing on this point, but they're there in numbers now the water level has dropped. I'd be reluctant to swim here though. The water is still a deep caramel colour carrying debris from upstream.

1 comment:

Jinksy said...

That sand does look amazing...