The Maranoa from a dinghy

Our dinghy, with its electric motor moves slowly and silently up the river, consequently birds are unafraid. The number of herons, ibis, cormorants, egrets, ducks and hawks we saw suggests a multitude of fish in the murky water.

Beneath a densely leafed river red gum we ate our lunch, glad of the shade. Like exotic flowers, six white egrets with yellow legs perched in the naked branches of a nearby gum. Close by, bark was scribbled with the artistic creations of termites and borers. Large black butterflies fluttered by, their white markings lit by sunshine; a red dragonfly hovered; blue wrens and rainbow bee eaters busied themselves in the rustling reeds. Only five minutes from home and here we were, the only humans in an environment rich beyond words. Mitchell on the Maranoa.

With the certainty of no crocs and no visual evidence of snakes, the Maranoa River at Mitchell has a serenity rarely experienced in coastal Queensland.