After stowing our gear spread across 5 kayaks we made it out onto the waters of Tallowa Dam by 8:40am. Not bad...not bad at all! L in Big Red, M in Dani, R in Bluey, and V & S in their Slappers, all packed to the gunnels.
Away we go, heading toward the beautiful Shoalhaven Gorge that can only be accessed by non powered vessel.
Aahh......the serenity! An easy paddle up with no wind to interfere with our progress.
A slight breeze has washed over the river now but nothing too inhibiting. Our first break at 9:41am, after a couple of kilometres, sees us taking refreshements 'on water' except for L who decided a leg stretch was in order. This was our first close sighting of the majestic cliffs that loom out over the river becoming ever bigger the further in we travel.
Our first Water Dragon Sighting! We all heard the splash and thinking it was a fish we were delighted to see that it was a Water Dragon swimming the width of the river. It then clambered up onto a semi submerged tree trunk seemingly exhausted after its mammoth swimming effort. It was very small and the river is quite wide here.
As we kayaked further in, there were many more splashing sounds as more and more Water Dragons, sunning themselves on the rocks and boulders, dived into the water as we came upon them. Here L was able to slide quietly up to a Water Dragon sunning itself on a boulder to get a close-up. This is the beauty of kayaking, with a bit of luck it's possible to get close to nature without disturbing it.
And this is the brilliant outcome of L's stealthy manoeuvring.
Our first bathroom break at 11:25am with access to a strategically placed Parks toilet.
Looks suitable for camping but we're not yet far enough along in our journey to set up camp just yet. Fossicker's Flat 15 Kilometres from Tallowa Dam, or something close by, is our first day's destination.
Further along the valley we come across our first river rock gardens. Simply stunning and similar to icebergs in that there is far more rock below the water than above it. These were interesting and fun to navigate. We're really feeling the heat now. Wet-shoes have come off and there's much dipping of hot feet into the water to cool down as we travel along.
Stunning cliffside rock formations that reach right down into the water. Just loved paddling along the edges. The colour of the rocks and water ever changing.
More rock gardens to navigate and our campsite at almost 13 kilometres coming up on the left. It's 2:40pm and we've been paddling for 6 hours. Time to set up camp and enjoy the scenery.
Crystal clear waters as we navigate the rock garden just before the entrance to our designated camp site.
And here we are at 2:40pm, approximately 1 kilometre short of Fossicker's Flat but a perfect place to set up camp. And there's a Parks toilet here too, not to mention the resident snake that V had to shoo off before pitching their tent. Once set up M & V wasted no time in casting a line in the great hope of catching a feed for dinner.
And here is Camp Central where we gathered, cooked, ate and socialised. If you look carefully you can see M down by the river fishing......and hoping like hell she doesn't catch one. M did not want to have to deal with it in the unlikely event that she caught one! A group of paddlers in Canoes arrived and thankfully continued on to Fossicker's Flat to camp for the night.
Pre dinner drinks of red wine and tea, dinner (supplied by R) Thai Fish Curry with Rice. Custard and Snakes to follow for dessert (supplied by L). With dinner eaten, wine consumed and festivities over it was off to bed early - a cool night but not cold.
First light, Day 2 after a fitful night's sleep and up at 5am with M to see a low fog atop the water and looking up to the cliffs opposite we watched the sun come up and light the top of the mountain.
Day 2: As planned we set off for Fossicker's Flat after a liesurely breakfast and not far from our camp was another rock garden to be navigated and some rather shallow waters that saw us scraping our kayak bottoms at times. Here we encountered the canoeists from the previous evening making their return trip.
We did have to get out of our kayaks and drag them across a very shallow part of the river but we were able to continue on until we reached a gravel race 1 kilometre from camp and just short of Fossicker's flat. We all set off on foot for a short walk to a stoney beach then returned to our kayaks where L cooled off in a rock pool.
The gravel race looking from Fossicker's Flat toward our kayaks.Time to return to camp for some well deserved R & R.
This was our second camp visitor. We'd had a visit the night before from a very cheeky Possum that climbed right down the tree and rifled through our belongings and cooking paraphernalia, stopping on occassion to stare us down. We covered and stowed our belongings before bed but could plainly hear the possum once again attempting to go through our stuff with much clattering and banging going on for a short time. This Goanna was also not too backward in coming forward and was very happy scouting around for food right in the centre of our camp site whilst we sat around and watched it.
It became hotter as the day went on and after lunch it was decided that we take a dip in the river. M did it in style firstly going in up to her waiste and then deciding her chair would be a better option and so M sat on her chair in the water watching as first S then V and finally R took the plunge, fully clothed. IT WAS FANTASTIC!! So cooling, and we soon dried off in the heat.
With L reading and V & M fishing it was decided that S & R would go for a dusk paddle downstream where we saw so many fish of all sizes. The water was like glass, it was still warm and we had a quiet, peaceful paddle to end the day. On our way back we could see M fishing in the shallows and as we approached a loud scream went out - M HAD CAUGHT A FISH!! What to do? What to do? V was summonsed with gusto and V, being the prefessional she is, literally took things in hand, grabbed the fish, removed the hook and it was decided that 'release' was in order. And with much relief from M the fish escaped into the water with a few FU flips in the air. M's fishing rod was retired very quickly thereafter.
A delicious dinner of Mushrooms Arabiaci with pasta (supplied by V & S) downed with our bottle of Aldi wine (not too shabby either) decanted into a plastic bottle (you can't say we haven't got style) and another great day and evening passes. Lunches for the entire trip were supplied by M & L and they too were none too shabby either. We ate right royally during our 3 day adventure.
Day 3: Awake a little later today and with breakfast consumed it was time to pack up the campsite and attempt to stuff everything back into, and onto, our kayaks. We were finally ready to leave and on the water by 9:02am hoping to take advantage of the wind at our backs for the return journey.
As you can see our dry sacks are looking a little less full on the return journey.
YES!! I SEE IT NOW V & S!! THE KOOKABURRA!!
No wind assist yet :-(
10:16am and it's time for a break. Still no wind assist.
The breeze is just beginning to pick up.
Lunch stop at 12:15pm at what looked like an idealic spot but sadly it was muddy and we all sank into it as we disembarked our kayaks. By this time we were all feeling the effects of the return trip but managed to russle up lunch and eat it without too much conversation. By now the wind has picked up and we were looking forward to an easy paddle back from here. Huh!....famous last thoughts!!
S was the hero and very graciously launched all of us out in our kayaks so we wouldn't have to sink up to our knees in mud. THANKS S!!
S carried an umbrella the entire trip with aspirations of creating her own wind assist in the form of an 'Umbrella Sail'! Not much luck until now on the return journey and with the help of M rafting with her you can see they had quite a pace going. In fact they're going so fast their hair is flying out behind them!!
After some challenging wind conditions we all made it back to Tallowa Dam safely by 2:14pm, albeit exhausted. And now it's time to unpack the kayaks, load them onto L & M's brilliant Kayak trailer (engineered by L) and head for somewhere to stay for the night. Too late in the day to travel the 4 and a 1/2 hours back to Bermi.
Kangaroo Valley Village was our first option for an overnight but we soon felt it was far too hot there and decided on an overnight in Husskison on the beach. On the way V & S & R drove to Cambewarra Lookout, as suggested by M & L, and the views from there were outstanding, a must see. Drove on to Husskison and on to our motel where we were grateful for a hot shower. Walked to the pub on the corner in a down pour of rain and had a few drinks and a very tasty meal, then it was back to our rooms and much earned sleep. Woke early the next morning and we all walked to the Angel cafe on the corner and had a delicious breakfast, AND.....best of all, a Gusto coffee.
All in all a very successful first kayak camping trip, with hopefully more to come.
Trip Notes:
Put In/Take Out: Tallowa Dam Boat Ramp, Kangaroo Valley in the Shoalhaven
28 km approx.
6 hours upstream
5 hours downstream
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