Kayaking on the Clarence River Pt 2

It has been over three years since my last (mis)-adventure on the Clarence River, and repeating the trip with less... difficulties had been on my mind since I returned from Sydney.

Unfortunately my original partner couldn't make it, so I roped in a friend for another crack at kayaking the 27 km stretch of river from Paddys Flat to Hootens Road.

With the benefit of hindsight we had a few things in our favour. Attempting it during summer (longer days, warmer water) and using some sit-on kayaks that wouldn't flip and fill with water, I had a pretty good feeling about this trip.

Justin and I left Brisbane on Friday night, and after a quick bite to eat at the Rathdowney pub we arrived to Paddys Flat well into the night. The drive was uneventful, apart from sections of heavy fog which reduced visibility to only a few metres, and we were happy to find the camping area almost entirely devoid of people. We had the pick of the spots, we knocked off a few cold beers while we set up camp then turned in for the night.

It didn't rain overnight, but it was overcast when we woke and the ground was wet from a heavy dew. We had a slow breakfast, then shuffled my car downstream, returning back to Paddys Flat to begin the kayak adventure at 9:30 AM.

Only 100m downstream we had to get out and drag our kayaks, there wasn't enough water to cross under the bridge at Paddys Flat. We passed our only neighbour, fossicking for gold in the river bed.

Back in deeper water we hopped back on and were properly on our way. A little way along the river was the first set of small rapids, ones that I have kayaked many times. We couldn't make it through, the water levels were so low due to the long drought in the area that we had to get off any drag the kayaks past the shallow rocky sections. Not off to a good start, but an omen of things to come.

At least the kayaks weren't filling up with water at every bend....

An hour had passed and we had only gone three kilometres, it was shaping up to be a very long day. At that rate we wouldn't make it downstream until after dark, I was beginning to regret the slow start to the morning.

The only way was down so we persevered. Short sections of deep water we often broken up by unnavigable shallow sections of mossy and slippery river rocks. Every step had to be taken with care, otherwise a twisted ankle or worse would result.

The hours dragged on, sections of paddling, then dragging, trying to find ways along the banks to clear sections of river or through weed beds and slick rocks.

All the while the dark clouds gathered, the overcast skies helped keep the heat off, but eventually the skies broke and the temperature dropped as the heavy rain kicked in. Luckily we were on a long stretch of deep water so I was able to keep warm by paddling.

The rain didn't last long, and by that stage we were on autopilot, knowing the every step, very stroke would take us closer to the end.

We came to a long section of shallow river, once more dragged the kayaks out, and kept heading downstream. It was appropriate that we weren't on the water when we finally stumbled across my 4wd, just on dusk. We changed into dry clothes, cracked a beers, racked the kayaks and heading back upstream to camp.

No sooner had we arrived that a mass pasta was on the boil and a solid fire was roaring, tired and sore we settling in around the warmth and enjoyed a few more well earned beers.

As the embers faded we retired for the night, and fell asleep exhausted in our tents.

The following morning the sun was out, the day quickly heating up with the humidity already high. Back to Brisbane, still not quite content with the trip, if the picks up some more water with a decent season of rain I'll have one more try...

More photos here

Double Island Point

Back on the beach after too many years away. We took the Friday afternoon off to sync up with the low tides and got onto the sand as night fell. It's always a pleasure driving along the beach, windows down, salt and sea in all around.

It was a little more crowded than usual, and our usual camping site was occupied but it wasn't long before we found a little part of the dunes to ourselves. We unpacked, set up our tents, got the fire started and sat down for some dinner and drinks and settled in for the night.

The blood red moon rose late over the ocean, we stayed up until the embers began to fade, then turned in for the night.

There was not a breath of wind in the sky when we awoke early on Saturday morning, sitting with coffee on the dunes to start the day. The tide was out so we took the opportunity to head north to the point, taking the cutting across to the northern facing beach, where we pulled out onto the exposed sand flats to swim and fish.

The water was amazing, warm and clear, and we spent the morning enjoying the perfect day. Naz managed a couple of small dart and flathead, flicking lures into the shallow water off the sand banks, but no keepers were taken.

The tide had turned so we left the beach while we still could, and drove the Freshwater cutting into Rainbow Beach. Lunch at the RSL, more coffee, then back via the cutting to the beach which now had enough sand to drive back to our camp site.

I had never seen the conditions so calm, I strapped on my snorkel and swarm for a while, hoping to spot some fish but nothing was there. We started the fire with daylight to spare, threw the pippies directly onto the coals, and feasted on the fresh shellfish with some cold beers until it was ready for dinner.

Darkness fell, it was another stunning night, thousands of stars above, no wind, the sounds of the waves lulling you to sleep.

Another early start, more coffee on the dunes as the sun peaked over the horizon.

Packing to make it off the beach before high tide, and back to Brisbane before the worst of the traffic.

A short trip away, but worth every second.

More photos here

Mt Superbus and the Lincoln bomber wreck

Back home, I wasted no time in getting out exploring while the weather was good! Naz, Justin and I drove south west from Brisbane, over the Cunningham Gap, out towards Warwick before heading back towards the mountain range near Emu Vale. Naz and I had hiked a few places out that way, years before attempting to reach the Steamers a couple of times.

Nothing much had changed, the river crossings were a lot shallower, and some recent back burning / bush fires had thinned out the scrub, but we reached the trail head without problem.

We set off just before midday, following the mostly well worn path that was signed with plenty of surveyors tape. It was pretty easy going up a slight incline, about an hour in we crossed a small river and the track very quickly became steep.

We slowly worked our way up the slippery mountain side, now and then coming across twisted metal remains, we were getting close. Not far below the summit was found what we came for, the remarkably well preserved remains of a Lincoln bomber strewn along the mountain side.

It was a sobering moment, walking around the remains of a devastating place crash. Large sections of the aircraft remained, it was surprisingly powerful and sombre being there.

We rested for a while, before continuing further up to make the summit of Mt Superbus. The wreck was very close to the summit, a hundred metres of elevation may have adverted a tragedy. The track to the summit took the long way around, but after an hour or so we found a small rock cairn indicating the we had reached the highest point. We left our names in the summit register and made our way back to the wreck.

The sun was beginning to set as we started back down the slippery mountain side, by the time we returned to the small river it was well and truly twilight.

We quickly hiked back to the car, making it there just as the last light of the day disappeared. We followed the dirt track back out to Warwick where after a few loops of the main drag we settled on pizza for dinner. The temperature dropped as a quick storm passed through, we finished our greasy but delicious meal and left back for Brisbane.

It was great to tick the Mt Superbus summit off the list, and was amazing to get up close the plane wreck.

More photos here

Farewell Sydney

After one hundred and twenty four weeks my six week Sydney secondment had finally come to an end. It didn't take long for me to pack two years of my life into my car, I said goodbye to the worlds smallest car park and battled the traffic one last time out of the city.

I had made the drive a few times before, heading inland along the New England Highway to miss the worst of the traffic and construction. The country roads passed uneventfully, I made it all the way to the Queensland border before stopping for the night.

The temperatures were in the single digits not long after dark, I found a camp site in Wallangarra and quickly put up my tent. I wrapped myself in down and kept nice and warm while the cold set in. It reached a low of -5 degrees overnight, but I was well prepared for the cold..

I woke early, shook the frost from my tent, wiped the ice off my windscreen and began the final leg of my journey home. The day warmed with the rising of the sun, and I was treated to a gorgeous winters day in south east Queensland. It was good to be home...

More photos here