Wednesday 17 May 2023 Lake Yarrunga Day 2: Tallowa Dam to Monarch

 With another substantial Wilde's breakfast under our belts we left Kangaroo Valley just after 8.30am to return to Tallowa Dam.  It took awhile to get the gear and boats down to the water and then a while longer to stuff a seeming mountain of stuff into hatches that seemed a lot smaller than when we did a practice run at home.

Eventually, with much pushing and shoving, a spot was found for everything and at 10.25am we launched for our jaunt up the Shoalhaven Gorge.

Keeping well clear of the spillway we got our first glimpse of the gorge ahead.

The first part of the paddle was upon glassy water,

however as we approached the amphitheatre a slight breeze 'back' breeze started gently helping us along the way.

KT & G were awed by the height of the cliffs and how insignificant we humans had become.

Poddling, then

drifting, before

poddling some more we slowly made progress up the gorge.

There is Monarch Bluff in the distance. It is under its watchful gaze we hope to make our home for the next two nights.

More drifting and gazing - we were in danger of getting cricks in our necks.

KT's close up of Monarch Bluff 

To our delight when we reached Monarch camp, at 12.05pm, we found it vacant and set about laying claim.

By 12.32 we had the last of the gear unloaded - how did all that fit in our boats? - and after selecting tent sites we started to erect camp.

KT & G, practised campers, had their tent up in a jiff and sleeping gear sorted soon after.

Whilst L & I were still muddling along erecting our tent, KT set up the cook site and G gathered a mountain of firewood for the cold night ahead. Eventually, with the sleeping arrangements sorted and the tarp set up to shelter us from the forecast rain it was time to relax with a cup of tea and a snack; soaking up the warmth of the afternoon sun and listening to the singing competition of the Lyrebirds ringing out around our camp.

As the heat of the day started to leak away G lit the campfire and it was soon time to start adding layers clothing. Sitting around the campfire as dusk fell, the Lyrebirds were still at it and we could hear one, close by, chortling and singing and rustling in the forest. Suddenly KT spotted it, high in a tall, skinny casuarina overlooking our camp. Outlined in the last of the evening light it sang, as if to us, its repertoire before flying/gliding clumsily down into the bush somewhere behind our camp. A truly magic moment. 

Later that night, replete, after a delicious ragu and pasta, courtesy of KT, we heard a strange noise which, after some thought, KT identified as the bleating of a goat and L&I remembered seeing one across the river on our first ever trip up the gorge.

No rain having eventuated and despite the nip in the air we enjoyed sitting around and watching the 'bush telly' for a few hours before retiring to bed. 

You will see in the footage below that little remains of the ghost forest, the Black Summer fires of 2019/2020 and the subsequent floods having destroyed the majority of it.  L sent the drone up 100m which gives you some idea of the height of the cliffs around Monarch Bluff.  Further up the gorge they reach heights of 400m.

Trip Notes:

7kms 

1 hr 40 mins