Riverboat Cruise.

Today I had the most wonderful surprise. My dear friend shouted me a trip on a riverboat  and then a nice lunch at the Barmah Pub.  A two hour cruise that saw us meander along streams, a river and then the Barmah Lake.  A lot of the smaller streams and parts of the lake are usually high and dry all the time, but with all the recent flood incidents there is still a lot of floodwater laying around. It is only dropping very slowly and as we past through the Barmah Forest area, I was able to see the watermarks on trees that showed how high the water reached at it's peak.  It brought a much more balanced perspective to my outlook on what the surrounding areas had been through and made me wonder how people kept their wits about them.
I was able to take many photos along the way, mostly of scenery. I was lucky to capture a few photos of wildlife including a tiger snake swimming in front of the boat.  Along side one of the riverbanks sits an old abandoned paddleboat, it had been moved there a year back due to water levels at its original port being too low.  It now seems the owner has forgotten it altogether.  I can't find enough words to express the joy, the peace and at the same time the awe I felt as we motored along and passed all the flooded areas.  To my dear friend, I say a big thankyou for sharing this day with me.

As many know, last night the Queensland state endured yet another natural phenomenon in the form of a category 5 cyclone.  My hat goes off to the Queensland premier for all her efforts and standing so strong in the face of adversity.  She kept her dignity in presenting our country with the vital statistics and information needed to keep the people in the path of the cyclone safe.  To the people of Queensland who have suffered loss in so many ways,  my thoughts and prayers are yours.  May the tide of hardship turn and good things return your way.