The riverside trail takes you straight past the university, where we stopped for a bite to eat before continuing on. We took the white staircase which you can see in the middle distance of this shot.

Large sections of the trail are built on these raised platforms to lift you above the swampy mangroves that line much of the river’s edge.

For the first hour or so of walking, the river is rarely in sight.

Then you start to get glimpses of it through the trees.

For a moment I felt as though I could have been in Knoxville.

Clearly demarcated pathways…

… and carefully manicured lawns…

… give way to the aforementioned mangroves…

… and the option of a road less travelled.

A sign serving no apparent purpose…

… until about this point: ‘Uneven surface’ may have been something of an understatement…

… but we soon found ourselves back on an established and clearly maintained path.

Weaving through the mangroves.

We spent some time identifying the birds at this little outpost… and Jay presented me with a very writerly birthday gift…

… an assortment of lovely pens, notebooks and postcards – to do this gift justice, I’m going to have to learn how to write well with a fountain pen. Challenge accepted.

I really liked the vibe of these dead trees foregrounding the dilapidated warehouse.

Random fish on stilts, because: Why not?

Kissing Point Wharf – our end point for the day’s hike.

My summer reading project – now that I have a little time to read just for fun…

The books themselves (well, most of them…)

Current read – Paul Beatty’s Man Booker Prize winning novel, The Sellout. Brilliant.