Sunday 7 June 2026 Cuttagee Reflections

 Woke up to a sublime winter's day: sunny, cloudless blue sky, no hint of a breeze and warmish. The urge to get on the water was irresistable and we shot down to Cuttagee for a quick paddle before leaving to join L's sister, 3 nieces and a great nephew for lunch.

As we arrived at the lake we disturbed a bunch of pelicans and cormorants hunting fish. The pelicans are canny; having fanned out and driven the fish into shallow water they wait for the cormorants to get the fish then they harry the cormorants into surrendering their catch.

Setting off on glassy water we saw the pelicans and cormorants had regrouped in another corner of the lake and were hunting again.

We edge crept up the lake, delighting in the reflections and the bird life we saw. A highlight - a Sea Eagle and Whistling Kite sitting in the same tree.

After a brief stop in 'Rain Forest Cove' where L, upon getting out the drone, realised we were running out of time, so sadly no droning on this beautiful day, we started back.

Paddling back down the lake the water remained glassy - a first we think, usually we paddle home into a head breeze.

As we turned into Little Cuttagee we saw a Sea Eagle pursuing a bird, possibly a grebe. They disappeared behind the tea tree and about 30 or 40 seconds late the Sea Eagle reappeared with something clutched in its talons. It flew across the lake in front of us and landed in a tree. Paddling quietly over I spotted the Eagle on a branch as downy feathers were floating down from its perch. So it had caught the bird.

As I set off again another Sea Eagle flew down the lake and glided into the forest near to where the other Eagle was perched  - what a resplendent end to a superb paddle.

We packed up, hurried home, showered and left again for lunch and a lovely afternoon spent with catching up with some of L's family.

Thursday 4 June 2026 Lake Durras

 We headed up to South Durras with the intention of paddling Lake Conjola and Lake Tabourie (both closed and very full).  Unfortunately the weather was unkind and although sunny, the wind was fierce and cold which put paid to our plans.

Instead we walked, talked, ate and lolled away the first day at the end of which L declared we should, the next morning try an early paddle on the nearby and more sheltered Lake Durras.

Accordingly we set off at first light and drove down to the Lake Durras boat ramp where, having unloaded the first boat the cold wind made itself felt cutting through our clothing in (by Australian standards) an icy blast. Already somewhat less than enthusiastic I called for a vote - and lost. So we donned more layers and finished unloading and got ready to brave the water.

We launched at 6.45am and headed up the lake straight into the cold head breeze. After paddling for approx 1.3kms we reached a lea shore and relief from the wind. With the lake so full we could pick our way through sheltered reaches as the sun rose and warmed our backs. We then braved the wind again and crossed the lake into the sheltered Bartleys Creek Arm. 

Having mooched 3/4s of the way down the sheltered and sunny side of Bartleys Creek Arm we turned around and headed back to the main lake and turned right, rounding the point into the unnamed but also sheltered arm. Once again we reveled in the sun and paddling smooth water. About half way down we stopped for morning tea and a bask in the sun.

Setting off again we could hear the wind in the trees above and behind us and, aware it was forecast to reach over 20kmph around 10.30am, we decided to head for home.  Crossing the lake back to the lea shore was a bit of a slog but having reached it it was easy paddling until we reached the entrance to Bull Shark Bay. Here we paused while L erected his sail and with the wind at our backs he was blown all the way back to the boat ramp - his longest sail by far. R and I poddled along behind also ably assisted by the wind, reaching the boat ramp bang on 10.30am

I was grateful to have been outvoted as what started as a try it and see turned out to be a most pleasant outing and we were three very happy chappies by the end of our outing.

Having forgotten to change the battery at morning tea the GoPro died just at we reached the rough water on the main lake so sadly no footage of L's successful sail.

Trip Notes:

Lake: Closed and full

Put In/Take Out: Durras Lake Boat Ramp

9.25kms

3hrs 45mins

Tuesday 28 April 2026 Caledonia Yawl: Maiden Launch

 After several years of intermittent construction it was finally time to test the seaworthiness of L's handiwork.

The original idea was to sail her however an onshore breeze put paid to the idea so we unloaded masts, boom and sails and L rowed her out to deeper water, away from the hazards along the shoreline.

Having taken a bit of footage with my phone of L rowing away up the lake 

I hurried back to where we had unloaded the kayak, donned the Go Pro and pfd and paddled madly after him to get some footage.

Unfortunately I forgot to check the angle of the GoPro and nearly chopped L's head off.

Other than the oars, the maiden voyage was a success - nary a sign of a leak. The next outing - to a lake with a boat ramp is eagerly awaited.

Also, we have been bereft of pythons since the 2023 bushfire (other than the one we discovered in the engine bay after stopping in Tathra on our way to Melbourne) so it was a great excitement to nearly tread on this one on the 30th April.

 

Neither of us has seen her again, so sadly, tho' happily for the rats, I don't think she has taken up residence.

Sunday 26 April 2026 Cuttagee Lake

Arrived down at the lake to find a haze hanging over the water due to the fuel intensifying burns going on in the area.

The smoke had dissipated by the time we took to the water just before 9.00am.

Look who is back. :) :)

We paddled on glassy water, watching various small groups of swans taking off and

catching up on the news as we poddled up the lake.

Then into the creek.

Another tree has recently come down.

We could get round the end, but when it collapses completely it may prove impassable.

Just after the crossing we came across Dan, a friend of Sam. We spent an informative 20 minutes or so chatting to Dan and learning about the intricacies and benefits of cultural burning before continuing on.

The amount of fish in this upper reach of the creek was astounding - huge schools of medium and large fingerlings came swarming past us - one school after another.

At 11.00am we pulled in just short of the paddlable limit for morning tea.

50 minutes later we set off again and

paddled quietly back, finishing at 1.20pm. 

11.25kms

Wednesday 22 April 2026 Wallaga Lake: Dignams Creek Bay

 Went to hook up the trailer this morning and noticed its tyres looked somewhat deflated. However with no-one joining us today there was no panic as we waited patiently for the little inflating machine to work its magic.

So it wasn't until 9.30am that we launched onto the inviting looking waters of Wallaga Lake and headed for Dignam's Creek Bay.

Rounding the corner we passed over the first of many underwater gardens. We bypassed Long Bay and edge crept round Yum Point looking for seals - non were in residence. However watching the masses of fingerlings darting about in the underwater garden made up for the absence of seals.

After dipping into Green Bay and stopping to gaze at the remains of an aboriginal midden we headed for Snapper Point, our favourite spot for a break and another midden, and found most of the beach now underwater, still there was enough dry land to haul out for morning tea and the first drone flight.

Paddling onwards toward the mouth of Dignams Ck we encountered a large flock to twittering little birds swirling in and out of the tree tops attracted, we presumed, to the eucalypts flowering high overhead.

The further up the bay we paddled the more dense the jellyfish became. Upon reaching the mouth we skirted wide to avoid the swans and entered the creek round the western most island passing a few of the pelicans not currently making their way to Lake Eyre. After paddling a short way up the creek and rounding the biggest island we headed downstream and up into a lagoon for our next stop.

Here as you will see, there was a bit of an oopsie resulting in the end of drone flying for awhile. 

After recovering his sangfroid and all the bits we packed up and paddled homewards and were happily surprised upon reentering the lake to find the forecast breeze hadn't manifested so we had a remarkably pleasant paddle back up the lake to our put in point.

Other than the oopsie - a lovely outing, rounded off with a stop for a gelatti on the way home.

By the by, recently a report on micro plastics in the estuaries of New South Wales was published by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority. The Far South Coast has 3 of the 5 estuaries with the lowest levels of micro plastics; they being Wallaga Lake, Middle Lagoon and Nadgee. That's the good news - here is a link to an news article about the report of if want to depress yourself with the bad news:

https://region.com.au/how-far-south-coast-estuaries-rate-on-microplastic-contamination/956044/

To cheer you up again here is the footage from our paddle

Put In/Take Out: End of Fairhaven Point Rd

Wallaga Lake: Closed. Water level at Regatta Point: 0.59m

12kms

Thursday 16 April 2026 Wallaga Lake: Black Lagoon and Narira Creek

Launching from the end of Fairhaven Point Road we paddled away from the shore with no fixed destination in mind. S&V opted for Narira Creek so we headed to the right. 

With the lake closed and the gauge at Regatta Point reading .60m we glided easily over the sand bars at the entrance to Narira Creek. Passing Meads Bay with just a glance we paddled up the creek and through the narrow entrance into Black Lagoon. 

Poddling along the shoreline S spotted the so named Serenity Seats on the Black Lagoon walking trail and called a stop for morning tea.

We completed our shoreline crawl of the western part of Black Lagoon before re-entering the creek and paddling up river through farm land for about 3km before being stopped by an electric fence crossing the creek. As there was a barely submerged sandy beach and a tree for shade just up the slope we pulled in for lunch.

We'd barely settled before the landowner drove up and from the otherside of the river (which made for a rather awkward conversation) and said we were on private land and asked what we were doing. Apologising for being on her land I said we were just having some lunch and asked if she would like us to go. Thankfully, cos we were all hot and a bit buggered she said we could have our lunch and told us that private land started at the high water mark.

The landowner left us to it and while we munched we mused about the actual meaning of  high water mark and watched with amazement all the fish activity taking place on the barely submerged, orange algae strewn beach where we landed. They were hunting something and the bigger fishes backs would come half out of the water as they hunted in the shallows.

There was lots of fish activity in the creek as we paddled back - one nearly landed in S's lap. At one stage a couple of Sea Eagles circled overhead and I wondered if the murky water hindered their hunting.

Back down near the mouth of the creek we took the narrower western lead out into the lake and paddled through broadside choppy water back to the launch site. As S had hoped, the creek was sheltered.

Now, just in case your are interested here is the meaning of high water mark - tho' how one is to know where it actually is, is beyond me:

In NSW, the Mean High Water Mark (MHWM) is the legal boundary between private land and tidal waters, generally defined as the average of high tides (spring and neap) over a year. It is not a fixed, visible line, but a dynamic, surveyed boundary representing the "mean of all high tides" that often determines Crown Land ownership. 

NSW Spatial Services +2

12kms

Sunday 5 April 2026 Wallaga Lake Entrance and Merriwinga Creek reed beds

Hoping to beat the Easter Sunday hordes and the rising breeze we left home a tad before 7.00am and headed for Paynes Island, our launch site into Wallaga Lake. As we carried our boats to the waters edge there were only two fishing tinnies on this part of the lake and the breeze largely non existent; so it seemed our plan was working :).

With the lake currently closed and the water level quite high we decided to head across and cruise along the edge of Honeysuckle island seeing Ibis, Swans, Egrets, and Masked Lapwings along the way.

Then crossing to the western shoreline we paddled up to Wallaga Lake Reserve seeing a Common Greenshank/Sandpiper type bird (if you can identify it, please let me know), and a little further on another one missing a foot. 

Having paused for a moment at the closed entrance we picked our way along the eastern shoreline passing a mixed group of Pelicans, Terns and Seagulls before pausing again to wait for a tiny immature, I think, Red Capped Plover to approach our boats. 

We continued on and by the time we reached the entrance to Merriwinga Creek 5 tinnies and 4 fishing kayaks had joined us on this side of the bridge - hardly a crowd.

200 metres up the creek, other than the sound of wrens warbling in the reeds, fish jumping, plopping and swirling the hush of the red beds descended and we were transported into another world.

With the high water level we glided over the footbridge and on up the creek, further and further until it was so narrow L called a halt.  I managed to back paddle around obstacles for 30 or so metres to where with 5 minutes or so of back and forth I eventually turned and then back paddled back to L in order to retrieve a phone, pinpoint our location and change the GoPro battery. Then it was L's turn to reverse paddle, under my directions, around obstacles and bends the 100 metres or so until we found somewhere we thought it possible to turn his longer boat. We were a little optimistic and his kayak got jammed. Pondering for a bit L instructed me to ram the bow of his boat which, other than nearly tipping him out of the boat, did the trick and managed to free him.

Chuffed with our success we paddled back to explore the remainder of the reed bed. At the eastern reach L stopped to fly the drone. Unfortunately it was not a success, he having inadvertently toggled on the zoom, so he was discombulated and the resultant footage is blurry. However, if you are keen, check out the blog entry of 24.6.2023 where there is some great drone footage.

Once back at the entrance to Merriwinga Ck we turned east and paddled to the little beach. However when we reached it we decided, with the sun gone and the breeze bordering on cold, to forego morning tea and head straight back to Payne's Island.

At 11.30am we were loaded up, in the car, ready to head for home. And the icing on the cake - as we turned out of Payne's Island there in front of us was a Sea Eagle perched on the crossbar of the power pole unconcerned by the traffic passing below.

A short but fun paddle.

Put In/Take Out: Payne's Island

7.08kms