If you read my blog regularly you will know that Mr E and I don't do well cooped up inside for long.
We have cameras and a love of exploring the outdoors, so over a week without a 'photo adventure fix' has been very difficult indeed.
Though still in recovery mode from our shared flu experience we decided to drive up Mt Stuart in our trusty old 4WD, Luigi, just as the afternoon rain set in. The drive up Mount Stuart is steep but from the lookout you can see our whole town beneath you with the Ross River winding through suburbs and fields, and Magnetic Island framed offshore in the distance.
It was wet, cool, and deserted when we arrived...
...because we were up in a cloud!
While Mr E focused on capturing shots of the town below...
...I marveled at the jeweled beauty of raindrops dangling from trees, berries and flowers.
I love rain, but I especially love photos taken after the rain, when that surreal stillness falls around me.
Look who else I found enjoying this cool wet autumn afternoon?
This is an Allied Rock Wallaby, out amongst the rocky mountain side nibbling wet green grasses...
When my little visitor hopped out of sight I turned to see two new faces heading towards me!
Peahens...
About now I am looking heavenward and saying "thank you Lord!" for this almost Noah-like experience.
When we arrived the lookout was deserted, but within 5 minutes we had guests come calling, and they weren't at all camera-shy.
Not to be left out of the photo shoot, this Brush Turkey made himself known to us through the fence that ran around the lookout...
He was happily scratching round for bugs in the soft wet soil...
Gradually the cloud lifted...
...and I saw that further around the mountain there was a path, so I followed it, and laughed out loud as I stepped over my own name carved into the rock.
As the afternoon's light dimmed a little more I turned a corner in the path and discovered a narrow and almost ethereal walkway built along the sheer mountain drop...
I was sorely tempted to go exploring further, but Mr E called me back.
Still, I found more to photograph just beside the path...
Time to turn back and head home, but first a few photos of the pretty red banksias...
...and a butterfly holding fast to a branch as the wind whipped around her.
What an afternoon to treasure! Isn't it the unexpected adventures that leave you most breathless with surprise?
I've suggested we get up very early one day soon and drive back up Mount Stuart with a thermos of hot coffee, some muffins, and our cameras - just before dawn so we can capture the sunrise over the ocean.
I'll be sure to share the photos with you when we do.
Have a very adventurous Saturday, won't you?
hugs
PS: For those who have asked, my camera is a Sony DSC-HX200V and it's amazing!