Day 7 - A Trip to Dunns Swamp

Today we went to the Uniting church service here in Mudgee. The service was about an hour long and was quite delightful. The message was biblically focused and the people were warm and inviting. I assure you that the boys favourite part was the after-service social where we shared cupcakes and snacks, as well as playing outdoors. The congregation was loaded with people who wanted to get to know us and learn about Canada.
Following church, we loaded up the car and headed with two other families to Dunns Swamp. The name was quite misleading (phew!) and the day was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was superb and the scenery was some of the best that we've witnessed so far. I spotted my first marsupial (a wallaby in the bush while on a nature hike with two of the other adults). The boys (and Saje) largely hung out by the water's edge and enjoyed the company of the other four boys their ages.
Here are the boys each in different boats as they went out into the swamp for a paddle with some of the other kids and adults. 

 Monkey took one adventure over to the other side of the river with the kids and one of the dads. They climbed some of the rocks and posed for pictures as the rest of the parents looked on from across the water.

 I went on a trail walk (note: not a trail run, I learned from Saje's earlier adventures this week).

It was a 1.5 km walk along the edge of the water where every 500 m or so there was a spot that just opened up to a beautiful view of the water, landscape and rockfaces. 

 Near the weir (a small dam) at the end there was a high point with a warning sign. 
So I went past.

No fence.
No guardrail.
Nothing.

Just an absolutely spectacular piece of nature. (there's about a 300 m drop about 1 m behind me)

 When I returned to the area by the beach, the boys had decided to undergo their own climbing adventure. Here's Monkey on a 75 foot rock smiling for all his glory in the setting sun.

It was a phenomenal day to prepare us for Australia Day tomorrow.