News & Events

November 2009 Snowy

‘Down the Snowy – with Whitehorse Canoe Club’ a write up from new club member - Don Butcher

Unemployed again! I embraced my newly found freedom and through the wonders of the net I joined Whitehorse Canoe Club (the Snowy trip on the calendar – had me grabbed). A Long awaited rekindling of my love of white water paddling? But, with a group of complete strangers, round a dozen of them! How would it go? How would my rusty kayak skills fair? There were a few questions floating through the mind.

I hadn’t paddled white water in something like a dozen years. My paddling significantly slowed for a time there – moving to Darwin in 1997 crocs moved the mind onto other things (not quite true – after a few years I found Litchfield National Park, and Darwin’s Rapid Creek are great when the monsoon sets in :),
Driving down from Bendigo would my old car make it through Melbourne’s legendary traffic? A 1968 Austin, not unlike a giant mini that likes to cruise at 55 mph. Would I get lost? No, all good! So in Paul Sorrentino’s car (without Paul!) I headed east with Grant, his son Steve and Val - owner of an old glass boat. ‘Wow’, I thought ‘a boat design older than my dinosaur Dancer’.

As we climbed to McKillops Bridge in the mini bus it was dawning on me ‘oh oh I’m committed now – no pulling out now!’ The reality was setting in – this is a remote place, which I knew… But jeez I hadn’t even seen the Snowy yet! The gorges were out the window and over there somewhere.  Thirteen different boats and thirteen happy campers: Richard, KeesJan and Suzan, Grant and son Steve, Val, Ian and Bryce, Me (Don), Alison, Bron, Peter, and Mark.
It was a mix of boats – old and new… My Dancer out of retirement! Seemingly my last proper paddle was down the Grose River in Sydney’s Blue Mountains in the mid 90s. The Penrith slalom course was only hinted at. Surely I’ve paddled since? Well yes the Mitta last year – though that was largely in an open canoe – white water boat with air bags, and part of a Uni course – I love open white water canoes.

Paul was right - great camp sites and wildlife: kestrels screaming about on wild gusts, and up high on the gorge edges wedge tailed eagles wheeled, and a sea eagle down in the gorge. Goannas a pleasure to see – as in Australia’s north toxic cane toads have lead to their virtual disappearance. Water dragons, ducks and swans.
As far as the paddling went there were few swims from the group, though we were amazed at the number of get out of jail cards Richard seemed to possess – amazing! A-frame rapid – made for a magic lunch spot on our second day. At around 0.9 m on the gauge the paddling was not bony – kinda perfect in a way. We only met one other group on the river – a group of guys with small rafts passed us at our second night’s camp below Gentle Annie.
I was astounded to learn that the entire length of the river has had its willow trees removed, I later learned this from a search of the net, and that crews were airlifted in so they could work their way down the river poisoning individual willows by hand. It was plain to see from our 4 days of paddling nearly all willows were dead and those beautiful Kanooka trees would at soon regain their ground, a beautiful tree indeed the Kanooka – known as water gum at times. They resemble flood beaten gumtrees.

Despite Alison warning us no plague of huntsman spiders materialised and while on spiders on my return to paddling I have recently survived a red back and a white tailed spider crawl out of my boat over my legs …. So it’s a ‘be kind to spiders time’ for me.  I love to travel and read a book from the very place I’m travelling in. I have to recommend a book by Don Watson – so much history under the wheels of Paul’s car as we headed across ‘Gippsland’, it was to have been ‘Caledonia Australis’ if Scottish pastoralist Angus McMillan had his way – but the Polish wanderer Strzelecki had the good fortune of his name sticking after a journey down from NSW he struggled through to Melbourne. Naming the region after the NSW Governor George Gipps. It was on the same journey that he named Australia’s highest peak Kosciusko.
I vow to one day return for a longer trip, ideally in an open canoe – I love white water canoes.  Till then I hope to sharpen my skills up with my battered old slalom C1 at the Australian championships at Eildon January 7,8, and 9. See you there.

Ps. Does anyone know the history of this building and a Flying fox in the vicinity, Dargins track meets the river on the western side?
 
Ps2 If paddling or traveling Gippsland read: Don Watson’s book ‘Caledonia Australis: Scottish Highlanders on the Frontier of Australia’ Its Brilliant!

Click here to see a slide show from the trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEzrh1mZiDY