Western Queensland Road Trip #18 St George
After seeing seeing little more than puddles in several outback rivers, the broad expanse of the Balonne River at St George was an unexpected surprise. Tall river gums lined the river banks and the almost cloudless sky above was reflected in the water flowing slowly towards the weir.
With the sun nearing the horizon we set off along the Riverbank Walkway, a two kilometre track on the town side of the river. As the shadows lengthened and the tree trunks glowed in the light of early evening, a little cruise boat carrying tourists passed by.
There were plenty of locals enjoying the river too, with cyclists, walkers and even two horseback riders on the track. We mentioned our surprise at the volume of water in the river to a lady walking her dog and she explained. “The dam wall upstream needs repairs so all the water has been let out of Lake Kajarabie into the river. It’s being held back by the weir, but the situation is very worrying. This is all the water we have. If it runs out, there is no more.”
Even before the sun had set over the water the moon rose into the clear night sky. We stayed until it was almost dark, taking in the beauty of the river and the bush.
The next day we drove out to Beardmore Dam to see for ourselves. That lady was right. The dam wall, which usually holds back up to 81 000 mega-litres of water, could clearly be seen and the lake was as dry as those rivers we’d seen elsewhere.
Like the people of St George, we could only hope that rain would fall again to replenish the river and the lake.
Post Script: After recent heavy rain in the St George area, Beardmore Dam filled in less than two weeks and is now at 99.98% capacity. The Balonne River broke its banks, reaching a peak of more than 12 metres but no homes in St George were inundated.
Join Jo for more Monday Walks
That rain was so welcome, even if it did cause flooding
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I suspect even more so because no homes were flooded this time. Those levee banks did a great job.
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Beautiful serene photos
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It was so pretty.
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So beautiful. So happy there was just enough rain. Not too much to do damage. So lovely.
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The rain has been so welcome and although the drought hasn’t been completely broken it will make a huge difference.
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Your photos are beautiful – and it was so good you asked that question! I hope just the right amount of rain continues to fall for you all, these are uncertain times!
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Yes, if we keep getting good follow up rain all will be well. Fingers crossed.
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It has actually stopped raining here for a full week, we have summer at last ❤ So I do hope that means the rain fall with you – or the far north of NZ where it is also needed…
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Let’s hope it falls where it is needed. Enjoy your lovely weather.
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Beautiful pictures of the sunset Carol! Looks a lovely and peaceful area.
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Denzil, it was gorgeous down by the river.
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She’s capricious is Mother Nature these days! Whose fault it is, I don’t know, but I do know I enjoyed our stroll. That 5th photo is absolutely gorgeous. I waved to the boat people. Not sure if they waved back? 🙂 🙂 Many thanks for being with me, Carol.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed coming along with me Jo. We did that cruise two days later and if it was anything like our day those people were too busy enjoying the views and the wildlife to notice people waving. 😀
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A lovely walk and beautiful photos, I particularly like the 3rd one and the two sunset ones 🙂
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Thank you Eunice. It’s easy to take beautiful photos when the scenery is gorgeous.
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Beautiful photos, glad that everything seems to have turned out ok in this part of the country
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Hopefully there will be good follow up rain over autumn and winter Glenys.
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As I started reading, I was so hopeful seeing that much water in your part of the country. Water must be a constant concern for you.
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Even with good rain, we’re never not on water restrictions because no one knows when the next rain will come. It makes sense to be sustainable with our water usage, even when the dams are full.
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Love the gorgeous gleaming evening shots. Going from one extreme (drought) to another (flooding) must be incredibly stressful for the local people.
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That’s how it is in Australia. We’re used to it but yes, even then it can be stressful when it goes on and on.
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Lovely views. So did the dam get repaired then before the rains came? We do seem to be living in precarious times where rainfall is concerned: too much, too little, in the wrong places…
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I’m assuming the repairs were completed. It’s always the case with rain in Australia that we get either too much or too little. It’s beautifully green everywhere now.
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Such gorgeous photos and what a relief to hear that the rains have come. also good news that no flooding occurred. Such a delicate balance with water isn’t it?
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The roads were cut but no houses damaged. That must have been a relief. More rain will be needed to break the drought but every bit helps.
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Lovely photos across calm waters. Just beautiful. It’s fortunate the dam was repaired before the rain, and even more fortunate that the rains came at all!
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It was so peaceful along the river that evening. The rain must have been very welcome, even though there was some flooding.
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Still no rain in my corner of Victoria. Once again, that is predicted for Wednesday and Thursday, but no one is holding their breath. 😦
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It all seems very hit and miss at the moment. Storms were forecast for us every day last week and nothing eventuated. I hope you get some good falls soon.
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What a beautiful walk, and how fabulous both river and lake are filled.
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Yes, and the good news is that more rain is coming in the next few days as ex tropical cyclone Esther moves from west to east.
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Hope it all poured at a sensible rate and has left everything damp
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So beautiful!
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I love the soft light of evening over the water.
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Me too! Gorgeous!
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Such a beautiful river and trees. So pleased to read at the end about the rain and the river filling up. Yes, water shortages are becoming very real in so many parts of the world. Interestingly bamboo planted along the rivers edge is a great way of preserving what water there is in river systems as it stores it in it’s culms. One of your last pictures I think has eucalyptus trees in it if it I am not mistaken? I love those… their smell and beautifully textured and colored trunks.
Peta
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Yes, the trees are all river gums. They are quite beautiful, especially in the evening light.
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It looks so peaceful and lovely there! We are having some rain but not too heavily this time.
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Great news that the rains eventually came, we’ve had nothing but rain for weeks and weeks here in England but hopefully that’s easing off now. Love all of your wonderful lake photos especially the sunset ones. Beautiful.
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Thanks Jonno. It was gorgeous along the river as the sun set.
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Gorgeous location. There’s something about a river walk in the trees. So glad to hear that they now have water and without the added hardship of inundation. The situation has been so concerning in so many places.
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With the latest rain courtesy of Cyclone Esther, there should be a plentiful supply for a while.
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I love your photos and the calm beauty. I think water may become the next big battlefield.
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Thanks Andrew.
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horseback riding!
how cool!
👍🐴
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With a beautiful view to enjoy along the way!
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Lovely photos of your plenteous water, Carol. Love your sunset and moon captures. It was a good walk. 🙂
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It was so nice to see lots of water Sylvia, and since this post there has been even more rain so supply is guaranteed for a while now.
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Glad to hear there’s been more rain. Looks like a lovely area.
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Thank you for this great post. It was a privilege to admire your photos. My favorite photo is 4th from the top.
Have a nice day!
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Hi Matti. Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed this post. You’ll enjoy the next one too because it’s all about when we went for a cruise on that little boat.
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your photos are beautiful
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Thank you!
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Great pics ! and a very well written post !
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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
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