Saturday 17 June 2023 Wallaga mouth and Merriwinga Creek

 With the weather being forecast to turn cold next week we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and opted for a little paddle around the part of Wallaga Lake that lies east of the bridge.

Collecting R along the way, we drove to Payne's Island on the southern side of Wallage Bridge to put beside the conveniently located public toilet.

On the water at 10.25am we headed over to Honeysuckle Island and paddled up its northern shoreline as we headed toward the closed entrance following the deepest channel we could find. 

As you will see in the video, as we drew closer to the entrance it was sometimes a bit of a squeeze between the rocky shore line and the edge of the sand plug now blocking the entrance.

After back tracking a little we found a shallow channel that cut across the sand plug and this we followed until we were passed the entrance and could head to the eastern shoreline. By now the wind was gusting quite strongly from the northwest and it was a slow slog until we rounded the corner where we were sheltered from the worst of the wind.

Passing a little stretch of sheltered beach we turned in Merriwinga Creek.  Here, we were completely shielded from the wind and had a very pleasant time exploring, as L dubbed it, the labyrinth. (Upon viewing the drone footage that night we realised we'd missed the entrance to the longest lead of them all! - a good excuse for another visit before the lake is opened again). 

Upon our return to the lake we headed back to the little beach we had passed earlier and pulled in for an early lunch at 11.55am. 

Enjoying the sun upon our backs we lingered long until a change in the wind direction left us exposed to its vagaries. Nearly through packing up the wind died away which gave L a chance to fly the drone. 

Getting back onto the water about 1.40pm we paddle down to the wonderfully antiquated wooden bridge. 

And as is becoming a habit, as we drew near the GoPro battery went flat.

Whilst there this equally antiquated truck passed over

Returning under the bridge we headed back to Payne Island,

ending our paddle at 2.00pm.

Trip Notes:

Put In/Take Out: Payne's Island

Lake closed

6.37kms (R guessed correctly)