small tower

i spotted this building a few months back while driving the backstreets of Invermay, looking for photogenic subjects. given the "Ben Lomond Water" sign on this little building, it's a safe bet it's part of the city's water infrastructure. exactly what it's purpose or function is, that's not for me to know.

there's something very 1930s about this little turret of a building, though.

brave little bridge

Wading out into the raging waters like a concrete hippo, is the bridge-without-a-name. Funny, I never thought to ask what it's name is, or if it has one. It's the one that takes the West Tamar Road onto Trevallyn and beyond.

Still, it is a lot braver than I, dipping its feet into a somewhat swollen South Esk.

two little ducks

A pair of pacific blacks, out for a lazy paddle along the North Esk. They really didn't seem in a hurry - usually when I'm trying to take a photo like this, they inevitably move on before I've taken my shot.

Thanks guys.

Water

 

It doesn't happen often - usually the water trickles, rather than flows through - but when we've had a bit of rain in the north-east, the South Esk beats a furious path through Cataract Gorge. In a month or so, they'll contrive such conditions for a white-water kayaking event, by letting more water over Trevallyn Dam.

Whether by nature or by design, it's always a fearsomely jolly sight when the Gorge is "in flood".

wishing well

Wishing well at the cliff-grounds side of the Gorge. This side of the reserve is heavily modified to resemble a "traditional" English-style park - lots of big trees, grassy areas, and rhododendrons. Oh, and peacocks.

I've never felt the urge to throw money into wishing wells, but there always seem to be a few coins in the bottom of this one.

Lots of water in the Gorge

This was taken a few months ago, when the Cataract Gorge was in one of it's infrequent flooding phases. It's happened quite a few times in recent years, thanks to some heavy rains in the north-east (the headwater of both the North and South Esk Rivers).

If memory serves correct, in this instance residents of Invermay (a former swamp barely above sea level) were told to be prepared in case the city's flood levees failed. In the end, it was a bit of a fizzer, but I assume it was a bloody relief for those living in Invermay.