Thursday 21 December 2017 Pambula & Yowaka Rivers

High tide was at 10.47am today and as we wanted to woosh up the river with the incoming tide we needed to be on the water by 8.45am. With a car shuffle involved it was an early start and we left home, closely followed by S&V at 7.00am. We went straight to our pull out point up the Nethercote Road to drop of S&V's car. By the time we got to the Pambula River mouth G&R were already there unloading their boats.

With the tide coming in there was some slop to deal with and as we launched it was every man woman for himself herself. We were late starting and the first of the CKC were on the water at 9.05am.

The first being V as per; here keeping an eagle out for sharks and rogue waves while she waits for the rest of us

Mutual paddle admiration society

Looking back toward the river mouth, waiting for the stragglers - that was how far we had been 'wooshed' while waiting and by the time the stragglers caught up it was 9.20am

Beautiful water

Princess Carolina and her paddler make a perfect pic

After steaming up the river with barely a paddle stroke needed we crossed the lake

to enter the river once more where we had to contend with ?board skiers. After about a km we pulled in at the junction of the Pambula and Yowaka Rivers at 10.20am (having done 5.4kms in less than an hour and a half) where we found the convenient picnic table partially in the water. The peace of our barely deserved morning tea break was continually interrupted by the blasted ?board skiier zooming up and down the river and turning at the junction.

At 10.50am having taken to the water again, we scurried round the corner into the Yowaka River before the speed boat returned and after a few hundred metres peace reigned again and it was time to decide which branch of three we would paddle up

Heading up the right hand branch.

Shortly after the branches merged it was time to paddle under the Princess Highway

A lump of rock (not very poetic I know)

Nevertheless it is a striking lump of rock jutting out into the river

Paddling, or not, at its best

R in her new boat; it's first outing with the CKC

We've nearly reached the tidal limit

And the river narrowed

And narrowed some more

And became shallower as we neared the end of the line - those rocks up ahead.

A water dragon we disturbed as we sadly turned around, L&I had thought we would get quite a bit further

 Retracing our steps

Gone are the slappers and its in with the sleek, slide through the waters

Nearly back to where we left the car. Our pull out point is up ahead on the left.

Before we had all extracted ourselves from our boats R&G volunteered to 'fall' out of their boats (UNLIKE SOME I could mention).  It took R nearly as long to unpack all the loose stuff from her boat and person as it did for her to fall out of her boat and climb back in; both of which she did brilliantly (with a little help from V and me).  Next up was G, whose lovely boat is so stable he had great difficulty in getting it to tip over. G, not as nimble as R chose to swim his boat back to the shore - an equally important skill.

Finally, at 12.40pm we got all the boats and G&R's loose belongings up the steep bank and it was time to dig out the lunch.

After lunch S, L and R went to retrieve the cars and trailers from Pambula River Mouth and V, G and I depressed ourselves discussing the future of the world and got the boats ready to be loaded.  Another great CKC outing.

Trip Notes:
Put In: Pambula River Mouth
Pull Out: Picnic spot up Nethercote Road
10kms
3hrs 25mins (less if you take of the 20-30mins spent falling in and out at the pull out point)