Tuesday 7 February 2023 Snowy River Estuary

 Exploring the Snowy River Estuary was plan for our last paddle before returning home. To take advantage of the high tide of 1.3m at 10.11am we left Orbost at 8.30am and found a good spot to launch past the boat ramp and jetty on Beach Road.

By 9.20am we were all on the water and after a brief confab paddled across the river and headed down river toward the mouth.

With a following wind we made good progress and enjoyed our paddle along the shoreline. 

In the distance we could see a seemingly stationary foam raft sitting out in the water.  It needed investigation. So S&I paddled over to check it out. The water beneath and around the raft was filled with suspended bits of detritus which gently swirled around. Immediately down stream of the raft the water was choppy and disturbed. We had no idea what was going on; S beat a hasty retreat and I found myself on the wrong side of the disturbed water. With some trepidation I paddled into it and much to my relief found there was no current and could easily paddle across.  

After giving it some thought L decided it was the point where the incoming tide clashed with the outgoing flow and caused the choppy little standing waves and why the foam seemed to be stationary.

Soon after passing the foam raft we could see breaking waves rolling in across the estuary. Deciding to give them a wide berth we paddled back upstream for a few hundred metres to get round a long sand bar and into the calmer water at the far shore.

Unfortunately our respite was not to last and opposite the entrance we had cross a few hundred metres of the biggest swell our little group have yet encountered. Once in the thick of it it was every person for themselves. Rising then sliding and wallowing in the troughs we concentrated on paddling and keeping our boats straight. We made it through, the only casualty being V's water bottle which was washed overboard never to be seen again. And of course being tense and concentrated I forgot to turn the GoPro until the very last moment after I had entered calmer water. 

We paddled on for a little bit then pulled up on a handy bit of beach. In need of a restorative and to give V time to properly mourn the loss of her beloved water bottle we decided this was as good a spot as any for morning tea. 

Whilst recovering we revisited our paddle plans for the day.  Not having taken into account the strong southerly swell when we laid new plans and figuring slack water would not be too long away we decided to paddle no further east along the estuary and to return up the river as soon as the swell hitting the northern shore had abated somewhat. 

After half an hour or so the water looked quite a bit calmer and we were all confident we handle it. And so it proved; crossing back was much easier and soon we were into sheltered water once more. But now we were paddling into a strongish head breeze and against the flow of the river which made us all aware of our tired muscles.

The new plan was to paddle back up river, past our put in point, cross the river and explore The Corringle Slips. Halfway back L decided we should halt for lunch to see if the breeze would die down.

As we ate V continued to mourn the loss of the water bottle; a very special bottle, it had been on many adventures having being carried on bikes, backpacks and kayaks all over the country.

Our lunch stop

About an 40 minutes later with no abatement in the breeze, we took to the water once again agreeing to make a decision when we reached our put in point. Needless to say, having had enough excitement for one day and with the outgoing flow getting stronger, by the time we reached our put in point at 12.20pm we decided to call it quits and save the Corringle Slip and the rest of the estuary for another visit.

Here's the video

Put In/Take Out: Beach Road

5kms