Wednesday 27 February, 2019 Nelson Lagoon

G & R arrive at Nelson Lagoon at 12:30pm for a 1pm put in.  On the road trip G had enquired as to how far the walk from the car park to the Lagoon was and I had very dismissivally answered that it was 100 metres, there abouts.  Well, triple that! it was 300 metres, through soft sand at the very end,  and down a set of stairs onto the beach!  I took a minor shortcut with my vessel and veered off the track, slid my kayak down a steep but short embankment and on to the beach sand.  Much easier, I felt, than tackling the soft sand and stairs.

G & R's arrival and set up at 12:30pm.

S&V and L&M on their arrival at 12:50pm.  Some opted for the stairs and others opted for the 'cliff slide'.  A minor miscalculation, w've put in about an hour too early.

CKC getting on the water and set to paddle out to the entrance of the Lagoon.

S relaxed and waiting patiently for all boats to be out on the water before take off.  (FYI: we learned  just why S was so chilled - her month of not having to cook meals was imminent!

And off we go, still in relaxation mode, out to the mouth of the Lagoon at 1:25pm.

With the tide still coming in it was quite shallow and took some effort and manoeuvering to reach the entrance to the Lagoon.  Some of us looking longingly out to the Lagoon opening and wanting to venture out to catch a wave or two. Others not so much.

It was decided Lunch at the entrance was the way to go, on a hard packed sandy beach in amongst a crop of strategically placed rocks that served as seating and tables at just the right height.  G had to ditch the peddles and engage the paddle in order to join us for lunch.

A relaxing lunch at 1:45pm was enjoyed whilst V&S brought us up to speed on the political candidates' visit to Bermagui, they being the only CKC particpants who attended.

At 2:20pm it was time to get back on the water to explore the Lagoon.

The crystal clear emerald waters were full of fish of varying species and sizes. (Further upstream we floated over a banjo shark (or fiddler ray as it is otherwise known) a member of the ray family and therefore no need for the CKC to panic!) It is the most variety and number of fish concentrated in any one area, that we've seen yet.

After battleing the shallows once again we made it upstream where the banks were made up of Mangroves and along the edges we spotted skate fish resting in the shallows.

Oyster beds adorn this part of the Lagoon and to avoid the shallows it was necessary to hug the oyster beds line to stay afloat.

Up ahead in amongst the oyster beds we spotted two oyster workers, one in the usual motorized, flat bottomed boat and the other uniquely on a SUP board paddling from bed to bed attending to his crop. A most unusual but efficient mode of transport for just such a job we all thought.

A lone Magrove surrounded by its roots system filtereing out the excess salt water.

4:25pm sees us arrive back at the Lagoon entrance and ready to disembark and go on to savour the delights of the Tathra Pub.

Yet another brilliant paddle that has offered up some new and interesting sights. After hauling our boats up the steps, back along the sandy track and loading them onto the trailers we decided a reward was required so we headed a little further south and had an excellent dinner at the Tathra Pub.

Put In/Take Out: Nelsons Lagoon (note: a 300m kayak carry/wheel along a sandy track with steps down to the beach is required)

High Tide at Tathra: 4.18pm  1.15m

7.11kms

We started an hour too early.