LAWRENCE - 9 TO 11 JUNE 2021

 

9 JUNE

A road trip north.

I was awake early but for some reason or other we never left till 8:30am for Lawrence. The day was suppose to be rain but it was sunshine all the way. A good drive. We arrived at Lawrence at about 4:30pm so it was an 8 hour drive with a few stopovers to rest and eat.

The sun was sinking over the cane fields at B/T home (relatives). A very pretty sight and a good omen for the start of a trip. We settled in chatted, ate, drank and sat around the fire.

10 JUNE

I woke early and watched the sunrise over the sugarcane fields. 

Jacinta slept on and I drove to the Everlasting Swamp NP for a bike ride.

It was only a short drive to turnoff towards the park on Weir Road. The road is okay after the weir it greatly deteriorates. I pasted through two road gates and parked near the national park sign. The main swamp which is expands south of the sign had no water in it and no birds. I unloaded the bike and followed the trail/track towards Woody Creek. The track was deeply rutted in parts or covered with grass. The latter is difficult to ride upon. The scenery was awesome – a creek running beside the track, heaps of waterways and billabongs, old stockyards, irrigation sluices and an amazing amount of birds. I spent a lot of time admiring the birds in this remnant of coastal wetland.

Back at B/T , we wandered around Brom’s garden. There were lot of variety of vegetables and fruit. She puts so much effort and love into it and it certainly produces bumper crops. 

While Brom is attending her garden lady Tony is in his shed either fixing things to sell or working on his latest boat project. Tony is a boat builder by trade and like Brom his work is a labour of love.

11 JUNE

After breakfast, Jacinta sat around with Brom and Tony rested as he wasn’t feeling well. I drove to boat ramp near the Lawrence Tavern for a kayak to Munro Island.

I paddled over to a small beach and wander around on the soft fine sand. The interior of the island was thick with trees, overgrown sugar cane, reeds and various other plants. Add possible snakes and it was best to look from the island’s shore. I continued around the island moving quickly with the current until eventually, the wind and current were against my route. Still, it wasn’t too strong. There were a number of small beaches on the north–east side of the island.

After lunch, we headed off for our stay at Grafton.