Friday 8 February 2019 Clyde River/Cyne Mallowes Creek

We left home just before 8.00am. Enroute to pick up G&R and their gear up we made a quick diversion to Bazza’s for a couple of Bhan Mi to have for lunch. G kept us entertained as we drove up the highway talking to his new toy – a go pro. Can't wait to check out the results and see if he has any of his daughter’s talent.
Our plan has been to get on the water by 10.30a, however it wasn’t until 10.45 that the last of us, being me, took to the water. With sap sucking heat (30oC) and humidity already making itself felt, it was a day of keeping hats wet and dousing ourselves with water.

Ready to head upstream



And under the bridge



Beautiful, glassy water



There goes G, still apparently talking to himself



The jellyfish in the Clyde are humungous




About 11.05am we turned up Cyne Mallowes Creek



According to Google Earth there should be a path through these mangroves



And there was.



Finding somewhere to disembark for lunch was tricky. Most of the land along the river is privately owned. In the end, at 11.45am we had to resort to tresspass. At 12.30pm we launched again



to continue our journey upstream to the head of the creek. An odd variety of jetties, in various stages of dilapidation, are dotted along the creek.



Firstly exploring the northern arm



hmmm, which way will be best?



R&I lagging a little behind, discover S heading back



Having made it only a 100 metres or so beyond this point



After retracing our path, we headed up the southern branch









The end of our exploration



Retracing our route






A little downstream of the junction we found G tucked under some shrubbery in the shade, his GoPro having run out of battery, he had nothing to talk to and our approach awoke him from a nap.
We paddled on



and stopped where we had had lunch for afternoon tea. About 2.35pm we resumed our paddle



Although we were paddling under a clear sky, once around the next couple of bends we could see the forecast thunderclouds massing and we paddled steadily homewards. We finished the paddle at 3.25pm and to the accompaniment of thunder first rumbling, and then lightening and thunder crashing, we packed up in record time -15mins. The rain hit in the last few minutes and were soaked to the skin in seconds. Luckily we were underway before the hail hit. We crawled our way through near zero visibility to Bateman's Bay where we pulled over to wait until the worst of the storm was over.

I am happy to report that we made it to Bodalla, with minutes to spare, for our obligatory icecream from the dairy.

Trip Notes:

High Tide at Nelligen: 12.05pm 1.42m
Started paddle at 10.45am
Put in/Take Out: Nelligen Boat Ramp
14.5km
4hours 40mins