I had often thought if it would be possible to continue all the way downstream to the next available road crossing, but it remained only a mental exercise. Until now...
Naz and I left Brisbane at the crack of dawn on an overcast Saturday morning and started south. The weather cleared as we approached the Queensland border, but became overcast and drizzly once through the Scenic Rim.
We turned off at Urbenville, a site of some recent climbing trips, and took the south-eastern loop bypassing Yabbra State Forest, past Bonalbo until we arrived at the end point of our trip. We left my 4WD at the Hooten's Road river crossing, then continued upstream to Paddy's Flat. We arrived half an hour later, Naz drove down next to the river to unloaded the kayaks and we began our journey under cloudy skies just after 10 AM.
The water was frigid but the beginning of the trip was through glassy water and short sections of small rapids and we remained dry. We went along at a medium pace thinking we could do the ~27km trip in five or six hours, and as we paddled we enjoyed the pretty scenery and the serenity on the water. We meandered along trying to avoid barely submerged rocks and logs, following the twists and bends of the river.
Further downstream the rapids became trickier, the water gathering speed through the windy rocky sections. Picking a line through the frothing water, trying to weave through the deep sections past the shallow sections while the currents pushed us towards rocks, we managed a few sections before getting capsized. All it took was the kayak to get a little turned against the flow of water (by hitting a unseen rock) and all of a sudden you would be flipped over into the cold water with your kayak full of water. From then the only option was to wade past the rapids holding onto our gear until we came to a calm section. We then dragged the kayaks onto shore and tipped them over to get rid of as much water as possible.
The second time I came off I lost one of my water shoes, the rest of the day would have to be spent bare foot. Not a problem when in the kayak, but it made dragging the kayaks over the rocks slow going. The sun briefly came out to warm our waterlogged bodies but was soon lost behind the clouds, and we shivered in the cold.
Luckily we had plenty of exercise which soon warmed us up, but the capsizings became a regular occurrence. I hit a particularly solid rock head on in strong waters, went under, and when I came up my GPS was nowhere to be found, lost to the river. It was getting late in the day, and now we had no idea how far off we were from our destination. We had no choice but to continue downstream, and hope that we would beat the early setting winter sun.
Further down the river, around the bends we paddled, making good time on the calm waters but losing time at every set of rapids. Suddenly, I rounded a bend and could hear music coming from further ahead, I paddled for 20 minutes with the sounds of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire's 'Old Crows / Young Cardinals' album echoing through the valley. My kind of sound track, keep that in mind before attempting to listen if you are curious. You have been warned.
Thinking we must be nearing the end we upped the pace, but the music died away and we were left with long stretches of river with no signs of life either side. Looking back through satellite photos I have no idea where that music could have come from, I saw no roads or houses anywhere near that stretch of river.
It got harder to navigate the rapids as the day progressed, tired minds and bodies not helping the path finding. Eventually the light gave out and we continued down the river in darkness, only aided by our small head torches. It was even more peaceful at night, but we had decided that it was no longer safe to try to navigate the rocky sections. Every time the sounds of the churning water grew louder and the current stronger, we beached our kayaks and pulled them up and around logs, trees and boulders. Relaunched the kayaks in calm water, and repeat. It was tough and tiring work but we had no option but to keep going.
Luckily the cloudy skies kept the in the warmth of the day and we weren't too uncomfortable. Many times we though we must be close, but the river kept on going. Eventually, several hours after the sun set, both sides of the river flattened out, and while we were dragging our kayaks around some rapids Naz stumbled across my 4wd. Dry clothes and a cold beer were our reward for the nine and a half hour journey, we were exhausted and relieved, but happy to have successfully made it to the end. The casualties? A fishing rod, a pair of river shoes, a handheld GPS, a pair of sunglasses, and a wet phone.
We drove back to Paddy's Flat, only stopping to let a Bilby cross the road. Tents were quickly set up, we built a roaring fire while the spaghetti cooked. I had forgotten to pack some cutlery so my dinner was eaten using a pair of BBQ tongs. A few beers later we were in our respective tents and fast asleep.
We awoke early in the morning to a beautiful crisp winter day. A large pot of coffee was brewed as we restarted the fire, and we relaxed around the camp site as the day began. We took our time packing up camp as neither of us felt very energetic, and we started back home just before midday.
A few hours later we were back in Brisbane. Lots of great memories and sore muscles from our adventure, but something I'd definitely attempt again during the longer (and warmer) summer days. All things considered I still had an amazing time.
Lots of river photos here
