News & Events

September 2009 Tassie

We had unfinished business.   Two years ago in Tasmania we’d walked out of the Styx River, we’d lost two boats and lost two paddles.   This time would be different!   Or would it?

The rendezvous point was the bar of the Spirit of Tasmania, Emily and Peter, Anthony, Steve, Bob, Valentino, Paul, Geoff, Catherine and Jimmy, the mysterious Graham from Canberra that none of us had met and me.    A crew full of confidence and enthusiasm for the paddling ahead.

At Devonport we picked up the boat trailer, Jimmy had organized through his scout connections and the last of our paddlers, Evan.   The plan was to head south to New Norfolk, ready to start paddling the next day.

Paul, Val and I were travelling in Paul’s trusty four wheel drive.   I was taking the opportunity to snooze when I heard Paul and Val discussing a noise coming from the engine.   My suggestion to turn up the radio was dismissed and we ended up in Launceston looking for a mechanic.   Much to Paul’s disgust mechanics don’t work on Saturdays in Tasmania so we ended up leaving the vehicle at a service centre to be checked on Monday.   

In our hire car we continued south, fully aware that dirt roads would void the insurance.   This was going to be interesting for a paddling trip!

That night, at our base near New Norfolk, we made plans to paddle the Tyenna River the next day, as the rain started to fall.   It rained all night and was still raining in the morning.   It wasn’t looking good for a paddle.   We checked the forecast and found a big whirly thing above us and lots of warnings all around.   But the rain started to ease and paddling started looking more appealing.

The owner of the camp said it had been the wettest 24 hours he’d seen since he had moved here, 100 mm!   He kindly escorted us from the camp to the main road.   Water is pouring down the hillsides, landslips obstruct the road and the neigbouring creek is in floor, cutting off houses and pouring through gates and old cars.

At Westerway we check the level of the Tyenna.   It’s high and running swiftly through the trees on the bank.   But we’ve paddled it at a similar level before (level 1.45) so we decide to go for it.   The paddlers are Paul, Anthony, Geoff, Steve, Bob, Peter, Evan, Graham and me.

We get in at the road bridge downstream of the National Park, avoiding the willows in the first section.   Val and Emily are our trusty shuttle bunnies.   The paddle is lots of fun.   A series of wave trains and holes to avoid.   The weir catches a few unawares but they manage to roll back up.   We lost a boat here last time and a swim could well result in a similar situation.   Pretty soon we are in Westerway and meeting up with Val and Emily.   

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.
.com/watch?v=WYB890S7MEc

We eat lunch on the bank and everyone is keen to paddle the next section to Meadow Bank Road.   We have done this section before but at a lower level.   

From Westerway the river flows through farmland and is fairly flat and boring.   The only excitement is a portage around a weir.   The gradient then increases and the waves and holes increase also.   The boring ‘farmland’ river is getting interesting.   The river is running through the trees and at times we find ourselves out of the river course.   

A second weir requires another portage and we must take turns at getting back in our boats.   The practice is to re-group in the next main eddy.   Paul is leading the trip and disappears down the river.   At the next large eddy we all re-group.  All that is except Paul.   

I’m starting to feel uneasy, why has he continued on?   We break out of the eddy and head down.   Not far downstream I realize that there is a big rapid ahead and call for a hasty break out.   It’s the Tyenna Cruncher and it’s pumping.   Paul is still no where to be seen.   I’m now getting very worried.   I suspect that he’s swimming.   If he’s swimming he’ll be holding his boat as he knows he’ll lose it otherwise.   

Geoff and I quickly portage the Cruncher and head off to search for Paul, while the others also portage and follow after us.   About 500 metres below the Cruncher we find Paul.   He’s o.k. apart for a sore thigh.   He tangled with a tree soon after getting back in his boat and swam, holding on to his boat.   He was swept over the Tyenna Cruncher and hit his thigh on a rock.   Finally he couldn’t hold the boat anymore and tried to jam it under a branch.   He still had his paddle but the boat was gone.  

We are only about 2 k from the get out and Paul is on the wrong side of the river to be able to walk to the road.   We give him a mobile phone and he heads off.   The rest of us continue the paddle.

About a k downstream we break out in a large eddy.   The rapid below looks a bit nasty.   While I’m looking at it I realize that there is something orange through the trees downstream of us.   I run the rapid and break out into an eddy.   Already in the eddy, upside down but in one piece is Paul’s boat!

We ring Paul and tell him the good news.   We have found a boat and are happy for him to borrow it!   But we have Paul on one side and the boat on the other.   The river is running too swiftly and it is too wide for either to get to the other side.   Finally we admit defeat and Evan and Bob carry Paul’s boat up to the road.   Paul must walk the rest of the way to the get out.

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bmq7NFAfJo

On the way back to the camp we check out the level of the Styx at the Glenora Bridge.   It’s too high; we must find an alternative for tomorrow’s paddle.

The next day, we head south.   We’ve decided to paddle the Picton River.   We rendezvous Greeveston bakery.   From the tourist information centre we hear that the Tahune air walk is closed due to flood damage.   The car park for the air walk is the get out point for the Picton.   Can we access the Picton?   Is the river too high?   We head up to the Forestry Service Office to find out what the situation is.   We must have looked like a deputation.   As far as they know the road is open and we should be able to access the Picton.

We arrive at the air walk car park and walk down to the river.   The Huon River is running at 2.4 m and the rails on the bridge have been washed away.   There are large logs washed up on the banks and the forestry service staff is making repairs.   We just want to make sure we can get out but the forestry people won’t let us near the river.

We head up to the get in.   The paddlers are Graham, Paul, Anthony, Val, Emily, Peter, Evan, Steve, Bob, Geoff and me.   The Picton is a big wide river running through spectacular rain forest.   There are lots of wave trains and some of the best surfing waves you’ll see.

At the biggest rapid all the water funnels into the centre of the river creating a big hole.   The hole chewed up and spat out Anthony and had a good gnaw at several others, who managed to roll back up.   Emily and Val decided that portaging was the best option.   Unfortunately Val ended up on the left bank and had to fight his way through the jungle.

We surfed our way down the river.   The rapid under the bridge also provided some fun as we punched through the stopper.   Soon the Picton joined the Huon and we were back at the air walk car park.    Fortunately the forestry staff had gone and we were able to get out by the bridge.

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZscLVJ9bmU

The next day we have two crews going to two rivers.   One crew, Geoff, Evan, Graham, Paul and me are making an early start and heading to the Styx River.   The level at the Glenora Bridge has dropped and is now on the low side!   We drive in along the logging tracks to the get in.

It is good to be back on the Styx after having to walk out last time.   It’s a very pretty river in a deep rainforest gorge.   The rapids are fairly continuous and we work our way down.

All is going well until Paul swims.   Geoff and I chase after his boat, knowing what will happen if we don’t.   We leave Graham and Evan to rescue Paul.   Twice I have his boat hooked up but constant rapids make me let it go.   Finally Geoff manages to get it over to the bank and into a small eddy.   Meanwhile Evan and Graham are guiding Paul down the river.   The only way down is for him to swim.   The cost of the dry suit is definitely looking worth it!

Paul’s comment when he arrives is not to thank us for saving his boat but to ask where his paddle is!   It’s time to test the club’s new split paddle.   We continue on.

Not far down the river Paul swims again.   This time we manage to rescue both the boat and paddle while Paul makes his way to an eddy.   While Paul is sorting himself out I see something black floating down the river.   It’s his lost paddle from the first swim!   We quickly grab it.   Paul, realizing how lucky he is, kisses a rock to thank the river gods.   The split paddle packed away we continue on.

We come to the biggest rapid on this section, Volvo Rapid.   The rapid is long with a nasty hole in the middle and ends with a large rock jammed with logs.   It is do-able but a mistake could be very nasty.   After looking at the rapid for quite awhile we decide that there is no option but to portage.

After Volvo the intensity of the rapids eases but there still lots of fun rapids to paddle.   After one rapid, Geoff’s keen eyes spot a paddle stuck in a tree.   Seems other people have also had difficulties on the Styx.   The paddle is in good nick and Geoff decides to tow it out.

We stop for lunch on a sunny grassy spot.   How lucky are we to find such a perfect spot to have lunch.   Apparently also perfect for leeches.   The leeches are the biggest ones I’ve ever seen.   However they don’t seem to be too quick at attaching themselves as Evan manages to show them off to Graham.   As we walk back to the boats I find a leech on my neck and quickly brush it off.   Graham is so concerned about the leeches, that in his effort to check whether he has any, he bumps his boat into the river.    He has to launch himself into the river to retrieve it.

Not long after lunch we enter farmland and a series of weirs.   Finally we reach the bridge at Glenora and then the bridge at Bushy Park, the get out point.   It was a great paddle and great to finally finish it after having to walk out last time due to a lost boat.

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-lY3a5XzmE
and here for the headcam view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65YXa5S0V1E  

The other crew paddled the upper section of the Tyenna again.  This time Val and Emily join in.  After some lunch and foot bag we put in just above the weir.  With the water level a little lower than the 2 days before, the trip was more relaxed and uneventful.
   
We now head north to our base at Golden Valley, south of Deloraine, to paddle the northern rivers.   Jimmy and Catherine and their friend Anne-Marie? join us after spending some time near Hobart.

The first northern river is the wild water course on the Mersey River.   We break into two crews for the paddle.   I take the A Team and Jimmy the No. 1 Team.   Paul has gone to Launceston to pick up his car from the repairers but everyone else is paddling.

The river is flowing well and it’s a fun paddle.   The waves at the slalom course are particularly fun.   However it’s a cool drizzly day and after one run I’m happy to get changed and warm up.   Geoff, Catherine, Jimmy, Anne-Marie, and I decide to head down to the Forth River to check out the access for tomorrow’s paddle.   The others go for a second run down the course.

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5I-ypOyqGQ

On the second run Evan paddled his play boat and Emily was convinced to try Evans jelly bean boat a Dagger Mamba.  You’ll never want to go back to your Feelfree 69 afterwards we said.  Well how wrong can you get.  Emily and the Mamba were at 2 with each other.  After the second swim they agreed to a permanent separation on the grounds of irreconcilable differences.  By the time we get Emily across to river left and a short walk back to the finish we find that the boat has continued past the get out point.

Not knowing what the river does below this point we do a quick reconnaissance drive down stream to check out the river.  The bush is so thick we can’t see the water from the trees.  We do find an access track though which goes down to the lakes edge which the Mersey flows into.  So back to the get out point we go where Anthony, Evan and Bob put in to search for and recover the missing boat.  The river was pretty high on the banks with not many eddies to speak off so it wasn’t a surprise that the boat flowed all the way down into the lake.  There we found the boat full of water but in otherwise in top condition.  It was quite peaceful paddling on the lake.  Well peaceful apart from the sound of a revving Land Cruiser trying to get out of a bog that is.  Steve had backed the boat trailer down to the waters edge so it would stand out to those on the water.  Good idea in theory but didn’t allow for the slippery gradient to get back out.  After deflating the tyres, unhooking the trailer and much standing around coming up with bright ideas the car, trailer, boats and people are recovered.  Same could not be said for Steve’s reputation.

After locating the access road and the get out point at Lemonthyme Power Station for the Forth River the day before we were pretty confident of a smooth trip down the Forth.   The guide books describe the access road as rough and recommend a four wheel drive and chain saw.   They have also described it as a classic wilderness trip.   We have 3 four wheel drives but no chain saw.   How bad can it be?

The road starts off fine.   After awhile the road deteriorates but is still manageable.   We then get to a rough creek crossing.   Peter looks a bit worried in the Subaru so we leave it behind and load the gear and people into the two big four wheel drives.   However not far down the track we come to a large tree blocking the access.   A chain saw would have been perfect about now.

The maps come out.   We are still a long way from the get in but only about 300 m away from the river.   There is no way we are going to get to the put in but if we can get to the river we should still be able to at least paddle the second gorge.   A creek a short distance away looks like it will give us access to the river.   We get into our paddling gear and head off down the track carrying our boats.

At the creek we find that the bridge is out so we wouldn’t have got any further even if the tree wasn’t there.   We head in along and in the creek.   Only 300 metres but what a tough way to get to a river.   We drag, float, carry and finally rope up and down to reach the river.   The persevering paddlers are Steve, Bob, Peter, Anthony, Paul, Graham and Alison.   It is getting late and we’re stuffed so we have a quick lunch before heading off down the river.

The river is mainly grade 2 with a few gravel races but there is a nice grade 3 rapid in the gorge which is fun.   All too soon we’re at the power station and the get out.   The level is minimum 1.66 at the gauge at the logging track bridge.   It’s taken us an hour to paddle it.   The access difficulty to the great paddling ratio makes the Forth not one of my ‘must paddle again’ rivers.

Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ALJSeO45NU

The next day we split into two groups.   There is an opportunity to paddle the Lea River.   The Lea, site of the Lea Extreme race, is a steep creek with a couple of grade 4 rapids.   We’ve found a guide to show us the lines so Geoff, Graham, Evan and I are the ‘Lea Team’.   The other crew, Anthony, Peter, Paul, Bob and Steve are heading to the Ouse River.   As we part company Anthony wishes us ‘a bigger epic than them’!

We head off, Emily with us to help with the shuttle and chill out.   The plan is to meet our guide, Harry, at Lake Gairdner.   We arrive at the lake at the appropriate time.   No Harry.   After awhile we realize we’re in the wrong place.   We quickly drive to the right spot and meet Harry.

His opening comment is, ‘I can’t see too many creek boats?’   Our response, ‘Is that a problem?’   Harry, ‘Not if you’re good paddlers.’   Our stress levels are rising as we drive to the get in.

The river starts off as a mountain stream with small easy rapids.   Then the gradient increases and the rapids begin.   The first is the imaginatively named ‘First drop’.   Harry is a man of few words and gives us brief instructions before disappearing down the 2 m drop.   It’s a drop into a hole and then a large drop.   The instruction is to boof the drop.   Our boofs need a bit of work but we all get down.

From there a multitude of rapids follow.   Harry knows every inch of the river and gives us very precise instructions of the various moves.   We boof and maneuver our way down the river.   We reach the first grade 4, the interestingly named ‘Screaming Plastic Surgeons’.   The line twists around and then over a 1 metre drop, followed by a 3 metre drop, which needs to be hit in the centre.   A boof off the first drop would be good.   Harry, Evan and Graham enjoyed the ride so much they carried their boats up for a second run.

‘Proctologist’s Twist’ isn’t far away, another grade 4.   This rapid requires a move onto a shelf in the centre of the river.   From there you slide into a slop and then over the 4 metre drop.   All good fun.

By the end of the run our boofing had improved considerably, which was good as the last rapid, ‘Ankle Breaker’ required a boof and a turn at the same time to avoid slamming into the ‘ankle breaker’ rock.   After explaining the line Harry takes another in order to try it out for next week’s Lea Extreme race.   He slams into the rock and his bulkhead gives way!   Better that than his ankles.   It certainly shows us the value of having a guide for a river like this.

We paddle a short distance along the lake to where Emily is waiting with the car.   What an experience!   While we ate lunch and packed up, Harry did another run as training for the race.

Harry is keen to visit a nearby winery in Wilmont so we join him.   It’s a very small winery run by a very interesting character.   The owner makes a great range of wines, including various fruit wines.   He also makes kirsch, calvados and cider.   Graham is keen on the cider and fills his water bottle for a few dollars.   We then head back to camp to compare notes with the Ouse crew.   We hadn’t had an epic so what about them?

Click here to check out the Lea paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7adT8TTOIM
and here for the headcam view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw3zIpq_o-o

The “A” team set off to paddle the River Ouse while those that didn’t make the cut went off to paddle the Lea.  The River Ouse is located in the central highlands near the Great Lake.  The coldest place in Tasmania apparently which is probably why the Antarctica Training Station is located there.  We stopped in to see if we could borrow a penguin to guide us down the river but alas they wouldn’t come out and play, too cold. 

We set off below the dam wall with 2 turbines running.  The first few kilometres were grade 2 and exposed to the wind making it impossible to keep fingers warm.  As the gradient and difficulty increased the river became more protected from the wind.  We had our fingers back.  It didn’t help Paul and Anthony though both swimming on the first decent grade 3 rapid.  Paul’s hand was quite cut up and bruised and was in no state to continue paddling.  The road was only about 1 kilometre away but it was hard work hauling the boat though the waist high sub alpine vegetation. 

The remaining 4 paddlers continued down what was left of the river, keeping an eye out for the 8m weir at the end.  We didn’t want to get washed over it.  There was no chance of getting washed of the weir as nearly all the flow was being diverted down a canal/race.  It would have been pretty nasty going down the race as there were several stoppers in it and low head clearance.  As it turned out we all dropped into a pool above the race entrance and it was easily avoided.
Click here to check out the paddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faQyGVr44IM

Finally to our last day of paddling.   The weather is fine and we opt for an easy paddle to finish on.   Graham and his family are heading to Freycinet to enjoy another week in Tassie so we say good bye to them.   We head to the Leven River and the section between Gunns Plains and Clarke Bridge.   Paul and I lounge in the sun on the bank while Catherine rides the car shuttle and the paddlers enjoy the river.

After the paddle it’s down to Devonport and the ferry back to Melbourne.   As Geoff, Val, Paul and I wait in the queue, in Paul’s recently repaired vehicle, it fails to start!   Peter, Anthony and Emily are behind us but they don’t have any jumper leads.   Steve does but they have already gone through the security check.   Bob volunteers to ‘run’ them up to us.   This causes the security guards to panic.   After confirming that he wasn’t a terrorist Bob is escorted up to where we are stuck.   No luck with the jumper leads.   The engine is dead.

It’s tempting to leave Paul to it and head on to the boat.   But I don’t fancy carrying my gear and boat.   Fortunately at this stage the security guards suggested that the ferry company could tow the vehicle onto the ferry.   Yes, anything to get on the boat.   After waiting for absolutely every other vehicle to drive on to the ferry, they tow us.   As they do so the engine starts, looks like it’s the starter motor.

It’s been a big week of paddling.   We’ve paddled some new rivers and enjoyed some old ones.   We conquered the Styx and didn’t walk out of any rivers.   We didn’t lose any gear we didn’t subsequently find and in fact we came home with more than we left.   But we still didn’t manage to paddle the North Esk and another run down the Lea would be fun, perhaps there will have to be a return visit?