Queensland's Gift: The Boulders

• Jordan Thomas, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2009

As we drive to our destination I look out and see the rainforest whizzing past my window and the only thing that is crossing my mind is ‘how far to go now?’ When we finally arrive, I jump out the car, towel in hand and as soon as I’m out I can smell the dense vegetation around me. Also I hear Ellen whining that she feels sick, but not me! I feel as fresh as a daisy! As I make my way down to the water, I can hear it rumbling in the distance, which only makes me walk faster. As I run past the bbq areas I see the tourists standing around. I hear them talking with an accent, sounds a little bit Scottish.

There seemed to be more than the usual amount of stairs leading to the water, but maybe it was because I was so excited’ I nearly slipped when I got to the last step. The water was a little colder than I had hoped for. I had goose bumps for a minute or two. Suddenly I wasn’t moving so fast into the water, because as the water rose up to my stomach, I stopped for a bit to catch my breath and assure myself it wasn’t really that cold.
Before I knew it I felt splashes down my back. OH, it was cold. I could hear the tourists laughing; they were really enjoying the water. I guess compared to the water in Scotland, this was probably not cold to them.

Once I had adjusted to the temperature a bit more, I heard Ellen and Dylan coming down the stairs. Dylan was laughing at me because I hadn’t started swimming. Once he put his foot into the water he soon realised the water felt a little too cool.
The rocks were awesome. I have a small rock collection at home, but these rocks were HUGE. I could see years of erosion, and so many colours from water staining over the years.

As I walk on the foot paths I can feel tiny little rocks under my feet, crunching away.
As I finally reach the BBQ area I can smell the sausages cooking away. Dylan, Ellen and I start to dry off, and suddenly a jubilant coloured butterfly lands on Dylan's towel and clings onto the towel with his tiny sticky feet. As I hear Dylan start to laugh at the little insect for being so stubborn!

After lunch I go back into the freezing cold water and swim to the other side. Then I climb up a tree and sit atop a boulder. As I gaze out to the water I can see the steam rising up off the water. I can hear birds chirping behind me. I look down at the water and see a deep ravine under me. Suddenly I realise how blissfully quiet it is up here….

By Jordan Thomas
Bartle Frere state school
Year 7