Okay, so I am not a morning person, I admit it. I would very much like to be. I hear early mornings are awesome… Mount Coolum is shrouded in mist, streaks of magenta and tamarind stretching across the sky as the sun emerges, the crisp coolness invigorating and you are much more productive. But alas, in the crisp coolness of winter, the fluffy layers of my bedlinen, provides much more allure than the magenta and tamarind streaks ever could.
If I absolutely have to… I can make the effort… the need to be at the airport for some exotic land is usually the only time I will make any real exception to be up before dawn… oh and there was the one exception when I climbed Mt Tibrogargan… and that certainly didn’t payoff with any magenta or tamarind streaks… so much promise… and my extreme effort rewarded with a white out… hardly an incentive to ever do it again.
However, through some strange twist of fate I found myself up before dawn… bad planning I say, but I was up and I decided to make the most of it as it was unlikely to happen again any time soon…
I had passed the boatsheds that line the Maroochy River on Bradman Avenue in Maroochydore many times… in daylight hours… and I thought it might be nice to see them as the sun rose – not sure why I would think this, but I did. It had been on my ‘to do’ list for some time. Unfortunately up until now it never got struck off the list as even when with all good intent I had set my alarm… I just could not prise myself from under those aforementioned fluffy layers.
In my defence… I always work until late. Others are productive in the morning hours, I am usually at my most productive in the hours shortly before or after midnight… which makes for deep and dreamy slumbers… until well after dawn. Yep missed it again…
I have to say, being up so early certainly has its perks. It is indeed invigorating… breathing out smoke rings into cold through the pure warmth of my breath is really quite cool. Bradman Avenue isn’t at all busy… few fisherman, few crazy early morning walkers and joggers, but other than that it is a peaceful bliss.
And then it happened… the sun broke over the horizon line. Sunrise is indeed a spectacle. Sunset is pretty amazing too, but it sets to our west, so the sun gradually disappears over the ranges with often, subdued fanfare, but the morning sunrise, it glistens and glimmers on the water. Being devoid of any clouds, this morning’s sunrise was missing the drama that clouds bring with them and wasn’t quite the magenta and tamarind streaks of my imagination but it was a beautiful golden mirage that mirrored its hues onto the water. Wow! So this is what I have been missing – who would have thought???
It only lasts for minutes, and it wast the most spectacular sunrise I have ever seen (yes, I have seen others), but I was mesmerised – it is just so unbelievably pretty. The boatsheds form incredible silhouettes against the sprays of iridescent gold that shimmered on the rippling water. Such a lovely walk.
The boatsheds have me intrigued. I would love to know a little more of their history. I know they are privately owned, but I would love to know more about how they came to be. Anyone know?
So I sat there making up my own stories, on the stories they would have to tell… families fishing from the jetties, the force of floods they would have endured… I would love to know their real stories!
Bradman Avenue is such a lovely walk. I remember wandering across the old rickety footbridge to Chambers Island when my son was just a toddler… few fishing trips to remember there – never caught anything… no wonder he doesn’t care much for fishing now that he is in his twenties. The bridge has been long since replaced, which is kind of a shame… I used to love always scrambling my way over, but I guess the public liability issues had to be addressed…
However, the best part of the walk, is that Bradman Avenue now has its own little café… The Bradman River House. It’s a little cutie. It is towards the Cod Hole end of Bradman Avenue, you can sit overlooking the Maroochy River – inside or out. It is a funky little establishment; colourful cushions, eclectic arrangement of furniture and knick-knacks and super friendly service. Importantly, my breaky of salmon eggs benny and veggie fritters was fantastic. Cappuccino was pretty good too. Now I was ready to face the day… I knew I would probably hit the skids later in the day when the gravity of getting up so early would set in, but for now, I quietly appreciated, that it was only 8am and I had been up for hours!!! And!!!! I still had the whole day ahead of me!
The Bradman River House is located on 267 Bradman Ave in Maroochydore. It is open Wednesday to Sunday 7am-5pm – check out their Facebook page for any updates:
https://www.facebook.com/bradmanriverhouse
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
