Wednesday 13 November 2019: Snowy River, upstream of Wood Point Camping Area, Yalmy

On Monday the NSW  gov't declared Tuesday to be a catastrophic fire day for the Sydney and northeast NSW area and the whole of NSW and Victoria faced a total fire ban. In the early hours of Tuesday the change came in and we woke to ferocious wind, stronger than forecast and we dreaded what would happen when the change reached those parts of NSW and Southern QLD already trying to combat bushfires. The Loft House, our AirBnB, sits high on the hill overlooking Lake Corringle and Marlo and it felt the full brunt of the wind. Watching the branches of the weeping tree being blown horizontal and the whitecaps on the lake get bigger and bigger we decided to give paddling a miss on Tuesday.

Wednesday dawned and all was still. However by 8.00am the wind was back, tho not as ferocious as Tuesday. We ummed and aahed and eventually S & R said 'what the hell, let's give it a go'.

We reached Wood Point camping area about 9.40am and it was surprisingly protected down in the valley. After unloading the boats and getting ready

We hauled or carried our boats down to water

 S&V were, as usual, the first onto the water

By 9.55am we were away paddling upstream.

L having spotted a beautiful plump red-bellied black snake gleaming as it basked on a sunlit patch of sand called us over to have a look and in doing so disturbed a green hued water dragon who had to slam on the brakes and change direction as he nearly collided with the red-belly.

Feeling slightly guilty for having upset the wildlife, we paddled on against the flow and occasional gust of wind

 And then this kingfisher, sat obligingly for his portrait to be taken

 Whenever the wind picked up it was hard going - if you stopped paddling you went backwards.

 Patches of  grasses made surreal patterns in the water

It was hard work paddling against the flow and gusting wind so we stopped for a break at 10.44am. V, S & R pulling out onto a convenient beach.

And lastly here comes L, who was having a hard time of it

mainly, we discovered when he made land, because he had a large, long stick stuck in a scupper hole that had been dragging along the bottom in the shallow bits. No wonder he felt he was getting nowhere!

Anyway, 30mins later, we took to the water again and L, now stickless, took the lead with a few well placed paddle strokes

 Threading our way through some shallows, experience told and here V has just reentered her boat and S continues hauling as L, R & I successfully seek out the deeper water

A little later, S is hauling once more as we paddle on by on the other side of the river

Hmm, we're about to hit another sandplug

The person to follow, as S had now learn't, is R who, whilst having an unfortunate tendency to hit every snag in a creek, is a whiz at finding deeper water where there is seemingly none.

Over the plug and back into deeper water

We pulled into Sandy Point at 12.45 for a well earned lunch. Not counting the 30mins for morning tea, it had taken 2 1/2 hours of constant paddling to do the 6kms to Sandy Point

While eating we were treated to the sight of a wallaby swimming down the river. Perhaps because we were where he intended to land, he kept swimming right around the point until he disappeared from sight.

With S reluctantly roused from her nap we took to the boats once more, hopefully for a more relaxed trip back downstream.

At 1.55pm we were on the water ready to float :)

back down this lovely section of river

Past flood debris

 Floating along when the headwind dropped

Following the leader through the big sand plug above Wood Point

The closer we got to Wood Point the more constant it blew

Having a quick breather in the shade and sheltered from the wind before tackling the last section to our take out at Wood Point.

onwards again

The wind blowing R's hat flap horizontal - at least, now that we were paddling with the water flow  the effects of the wind were largely neutralised.

Only another couple of hundred metres to go and we all made it back downstream without the need to portage :)

The Wood Point dunnies - a welcome sight

By 3.20pm our little armada had made its final landfall. It had taken us 1hr and 20mins to float back downstream - even in the face of a headwind! We were all a bit weary but sad another fabulous paddle was over.

And after some dekinking it was time to haul or carry the boats across the sand and back up to the trailer. By 4.10pm we had the cars packed and the boats loaded and were more than ready to head for home.

Trip Notes:

Put In/Take Out: Wood Point Camping Area, Yalmy
12kms
5hrs 30mins (Incs 1 hr 40min of breaks)

Water Levels:

McKillops Bridge: 6.11am  .79
Basin Creek:  5.13am  2.12
Jarrahmond:  5.00am  1.15