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Trip Report
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Macquarie River, Nov 12-13,2005.
Participants: Jiri, Ami, Alex, Richard, Chris, Loren.
Last weekend a small contingent of the canoeing club headed out to check out the Macquarie River (near bathurst). No one in the group had paddled this river before, all we knew was that it'd had flooded to over 4m during the week and had dropped to below 1.5 by the time we arrived on Friday night.
The trip didn't include many undergraduates, probably because exam time has hit, but we still had some of the student spirit helped along by some lifelong students, richard, jiri and ami, and some cheap wine and port in what looked like a plastic fuel container. The other paddlers were Alex D, Chris and Loren.
The first day the fjord section was paddled, after having lunch before we started due to a long shuttle and chats with the locals (some unnecessary) to use private roads. This section was plenty of fun and no long flatwater sections, and 2 supposedly grade 4 rapids to make it interesting. The first big rapid was called 'the cruncher' and I paddled it, my first rapid of that grading, although some members of the group had the cheek to say that the line we took was sorta cheating and it was a grade 4 at all!!
The next big rapid caused plenty of time to be wasted, looking at the rapid, working out a line and generally getting hyped/scared. And unfortunately the rapid produced no carnage, probably because I decided not to paddle it.
The next day a different section was chosen with a shorter shuttle as we were all sick of being in the car. The road went right along the river, but unfortunately the condition of the road was pretty bad and had been washed out in places by the flood. The paddling was good, with a bit more flatwater, and minus the two big rapids of the day before.
And the Jug count Loren leads on 2 Ami got 1
and alex, richard and ami all get 1 for ripping off each others skirts etc.....
river level notes: According to the online guage, we were paddling at -9metres...but somehow it felt like we were above the surface of the earth. A check of the guage at bruibun said 1.2m on saturday morning. This was slightly on the high side according to the book. However, everything was paddleable. The first big rapid "the cruncher" was definitely a big cruncher at this level, but there was a line to the right of it.
Beginners Whitewater, Barrington River, April 19-21.
Participants: Dave, Laura, Merri, Richard, Cass, Bob, Mitch, 2 x Mel, 2 x Alex, Anna*, Burt*, Kermit*
The get-away was smooth and the trip up on the friday night uneventful (though educational - I think Alex E managed to cover 5 different sources of renewable energy and the structural aspects of about 5 different ancient civilizations all within 4 hours - lucky Mel B!). The dinner stop was at the Hungry Jack's, Hexham.
After arriving at the Barrington campsite the first challenge was to errect the Mels' pleasure dome - always lots of fun to put up a new tent for the first time in the dark. With a little help from Mitch and Alex and much deliberation over which side of the reversible fly to display (in the end we chose red) we got there in the end. Bob pointed out that the reversible fly could come in handy considering the 1 month limit on camping at this site imposed by the Shire Council. Following the pitching of tents, the advance party (all except Dave, Richard, Merri and Laura who joined us the following day) warmed themselved by Bob's pseudo-campfire (a candle) until the cold got too much and we turned ourselves in for the night.
The next morning we were joined by Dave "I'm excited" Coote who had a gig on in Sydney the night before and Richard "Paddleless" Wood who had been visiting his folks nearby. Dave arrived very pleased with himself - for once he had remembered to bring tent pegs AND a towel. Unfortunately food seemed to have escaped his memory. The cars were set up and the boats put in somewhere (the name eludes me) around 12 km upstream ( or 5.6 km straight-line distance according to Alex's GPS) from Rocky Crossing. Following the success of the Beer Trick at Goolang, Dave, Richard and Mitch were armed with a supply of Toohey's Red. I guess they figured that by diluting it with river water they might enhance it's flavour. Unfortunately potential Beer Trick sites were few and far between and most of the beer ended up sloshing around the bottom of boats. They don't make beer cans like they used to. Although the river level was pretty low, there were still a few spots for playing and the more skilled members of our group did. The rest of us attempted some surfing and fart-arsed around with the Netball and Macas ball that we took down the river with us. Just before lunch Alex D and Mel B showed off their new and somewhat hit-and-miss handrolling skills, a stunt which we later regreted when we found out that subsequent swims would entail the penalty of a jug of beer. After lunch our merry trip down the river continued in much the same fashion as the morning, the day ending with a killer section of flatwater.
Upon arriving back at the campsite the question on everyone's mind was how would Dave survive without big sis to cook him dinner. Fortunately surrogate big sis, Mitch, stepped in. EVERYONE PLEASE NOTE: DAVE HAS AGREED TO COOK EVERYONE A THREE- COURSE MEAL ON A LATER TRIP THIS YEAR IF MEL B COMES UP WITH THE BEER SHE OWES FOR SWIMS. Halfway through dinner Merri and Laura arrived just in time to polish off Bob and Cass's left overs (lucky since they too had neglected to bring dinner). I'm not exactly sure what happened after that since I crashed out way too early. However, I was awoken at 2 in the morning by a tent cram next door. Laura, Merri, Richard and Mitch had all decided that sharing a tent with Dave would be preferable to a night under the stars (I'm not so sure that would have been my choice). Laura was maddly trying to reclaim her sleeping bag and bed-roll from Richard while simultaneously giving Mitch, on her other side, a good stab in the back with her elbow (which he told her to keep doing as it was "just like a good massage"). It was very tempting to join the mayhem and jump in on top of everyone but common sense got the better of me - surely that would be an open invitation for our tent to be taken over too. Not much sleep was had that night.
The following morning Anna*, Burt* and Kermit* were finally able to have their threesome on top of Merri's car. Destination: 'helicopter section'. I guess I should fill people that are unfamiliar with this story in. Several years ago the Canoe Club ran a beginner's trip to the Barrington River on behalf of the Sport's Union. Unfortunately, the group got started on this section a little late in the day and it proved a little too ambitious for the skill level of the group. One older man (known as Dad no. 1 according to Dave) had a particular affinity for the water and was asked shortly into the trip whether he would mind returning back to the campsite as he was slowing the group down too much. He obliged. The rest of the group continued on, with many spending more time swimming than in their boats. Unfortunately it got dark before the group could make it to the end of the section of river and they were forced to spend the night huddled around a fire on a rocky bank. About 8pm Dad no.1 started to wonder why no-one had returned to the campsite and alerted the police that the group was missing. The next morning the group was greeted at the end of the section of river by a police helicopter and ambulance - rather embarassing!
Three members of the present trip (Dave, Cass and Bob) had been on that eventful trip and gave us the "Survivor" tour down the river, pointing out the point that Dad no. 1 was turned away, the sites of momentous swims and the campsite. The present group tackled this section of the river competently (alright, maybe we were helped by the low water levels) and the beginners amongst us made it to the end with barely a swim a piece. Dave obviously felt that there had not been enough water for one day and decided to drown a lady by flooring his car on the cause-way on the return trip to the campsite.
We finished the day with pizza in Gloucester before heading back to Sydney (of course stopping at the Hexham Hungry Jack's for icecream cos its such a cool place to hang out).
Thanks to Alex E for organising the trip and the more experienced members of the group (esp. Bob and Cass) for looking out for us beginners.
Mel B
* in case you were wondering Anna, Burt and Kermit are all boats.
Goolang Creek, Easter 2002.
People: Ben, Celia, Anton, Dave, Dave, Alex, Alex, Meredith, Murielle, Melinda, Melanie, Megan, Laura, Richard
After discarding the idea of driving up Thursday night, we arrived at the container at a leisurely 8:30am on the Good Friday. A quick skip up the coast for only 9 hours, accompanied by some nice heavy rain (yay rain!) saw us get to Grafton, where we decided that all you can eat Pizza Hut was the way to go...unfortunately, i think some of us were a bit adamant about getting our money's worth, and the next half hours drive didn't sit too well. Thus we finally arrived at Goolang Creek about 9:00, and after a quick beer, went for some shut eye.
The next morning dawned, and Anton and Dave (and all our gear) still hadn't arrived, but a phone call ascertained that they were on their way...in an hour or two ..
So began the actual canoeing - with everyone heading up to the reassuringly named "Easy Street" to work out the basic manouveres and ferry glides and what not. Meanwhile the hole below afforded a bit of entertainment, with Dave showing off his cartwheeling prowess . I think that occupied most of the morning, then we paddled down to the top of tennis court for lunch, with a few people taking on Tennis Court. The afternoon saw the group move up to the faster and bigger wave at the cutting, and a steady stream of swims followed. It was this afternoon that we had our big MUNCHING for the trip, with Alex D, going over and greeting a big rock with his face. 20m downstream he emerged with a nice trail of blood, a chipped tooth, and some big teeth marks cut into his chin...All quite pretty really... But after regathering his breath, teeth and gums, he jumped back on, joining everyone practicing eddying out on the way back down to easy street. So pretty much ended the day, apart from a bit more playing on the play hole, with Alex attempting, and i think successfully achieving a cartwheel. I think it was then that the attempted beer tricks began, with the general gist being to surf the hole, whilst balancing a paddle on head or back, cracking open a beer, and then skulling it, or at least getting a sip in...unfortunately the paddle just wouldn't balance, so it failed, and thus we cruised back to the campsite.
A fire was lit, and the gourmet foods began to emerge such as "Continental Alfredo pasta dinner", "Continental fettucine pasta dinner", and in Dave's case "Big sister cook it for me dinner". So the night kicked on, aided by our new esky and its contents, and eventually some really bright red, green and blue stars shot out, and shone through the sky, thanks largely to Anton's recent trip to Canberra...
Next morning, after discovering some easter eggs expertly hidden by Megan, some hot cross buns, and some "rocky sloppy road pancakes" (now patented) saw us up at the cutting again, with all the people new to the game vastly improved from the previous night with hardly a swim - that is everyone apart from Mel, who after a stellar start the previous night, ended up going over, and over, and over, and...how many jugs of beer was that Mel?? It was then that Megan left us to catch the train back to Sydney. The afternoon saw us taking a trip for several kms downstream, enjoying a peaceful paddle and a couple of good rapids at the start. Unfortunately, it was in this section that my paddle and I started disagreeing...after Dave and I attempted a "double beer trick" at the bottom of gooseneck, i emerged with an open beer, but unfortunately no paddle. Meanwhile Dave did a great opening, only to roll, and being the smart man that Dave is, his beer was in a bottle, which subsequently smashed in his hand whilst he attempted to hand roll back up. Meanwhile, the search for the missing paddle was proving fruitless, and after looking everywhere, and taking on the bottom of the river bed (now covered in smashed glass...) we had to give up...A few more kms of nice paddling amongst the trees with gentle rapids, and we were done. then just as we were loading up, a guy came up asking us if we had lost a paddle! So, the paddle was found, and the casualty rate went back to 0.
The evening afforded a bit more of a play time in the main hole, and of course we stocked up on beer to see if we could finally master the tricks. Some good nose stand skulls were obtained, although the beers soon got rather diluted with river water on sequential attempts, all added flavour though.. It was on the last attempted trick of the night, my paddle once again tried to get rid of me, and upon surfacing, it had again disappeared, this time into the blackness of the night. So back to camp, another fire, a few more beers, then some more "coloured stars" erupted - this time, however, it resulted in a water bottle being thrown in our direction from a neighbouring camp..hmmm...thus some more shooting stars erupted.... Final day, and we woke to find, that yes, my lost paddle had once again been found, courtesy of Alex discovering it opposite our campsite...Then we headed up and everyone had a bit of a paddle in various places. Some went up to the bottom of the power station to do tail race - this time i knew it was third time lucky in the saga of the paddle ...Unfortunately it came all to true, and after bracing the wrong way in the big stopper, i discovered that half my paddle was gone - thus the end of the paddle story (wasn't it a great story??). Most people were still ripping it up (by now) at the cutting, and around 11, we decided to start heading down for the last time. One last beer trick, and a quick paddle down, and it was all over. We packed up, then just as the rain started coming (yay rain!) we jumped in the cars and headed off. Farewelling Alex as he headed for Lismore, and after a quick stop to allow Melinda to photograph kangaroos (yes, she's american:) we enjoyed the nice end of easter traffic on our way back into sydney.
Anyway, it was a great trip, and although all these random ramblings are long, i've certainly missed heaps out, so if others want to post add ins, please do
Thanks a lot to Ben, Celia and Alex in particular for doing a lot of teaching, and Dave for doing most of the organising and badgering of the canoe centre to see if there was water...
Goolang Photos, Selected Highlights