I've never really considered rivers as things to be fond of, although I've been aware that others do. I guess I've haven't lived near enough to a significant one to spend time there so that I became fond of it. But, that is what is happening now. The Swan River is a lovely river. It meanders gracefully around the suburbs of Perth and almost everywhere its banks are lined with trees dipping their leaves into the water and wonderfully sandy tiny beaches.
Today Bess (the dog) and I went off in search of a new stretch to explore. We arrived in Bassendean, a suburb that sits in a curve of the river just across from the historic Guildford. We went to Success Hill Park and discovered a wonderful little oasis of bushland and riverbank and had it all to ourselves (granted it was 7am on a Saturday). Besides being beautiful, Success Hill is a bit famous and a bit infamous. Famous because perhaps Stirling (our intrepid first Governor) 'watered his horses here' in about 1830 and infamous (although that is not really the right word) for an Aboriginal massacre that happened there a little later on. The Australian ability to take on this little known information and then continue with a morning's walk amazes me, even though I am also very capable of it too. I found out this information from an interpretation board - one of about eight in the park - and I could write a little essay about the way the information is presented, but I won't here.
So, let's just get onto the photos and let go of that prickly, difficult national issue, shall we?
This walk at the river I did take my camera, although I'm having to relearn my old lens because my newer and better one is, sadly, broken. Not all the photos I took worked out and that hasn't happened to me in a long time!
But, Bess and I had the glorious experience of wandering through bushland together, just like we used to. She with her nose to the ground, tail wagging and me with my camera and wide open eyes. Lovely.
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