Over breakfast at Angels we made plans for the day. L was very keen to paddle Callala Bay so it was decided it would be our first stop to check out conditions. After hooking up the trailer we headed to Callala where L was very excited to find the bay very calm and, he declared, perfect for a paddle. However it was not to be so Plan B was enacted and we set off again to find Coonemia Creek down which we could paddle into Wollumboola Lake.
After a couple of missteps we found the creek which, it must be said, did not look very inviting but we had hopes for the lake and unloaded the boats at the very muddy put in point. Just as we had one more boat to unload a fisherman appeared from downstream and said the creek and lake were 1> metres lower than normal and were both very shallow and a bit manky. So we reloaded the boats and went for Plan C - Swan Lake.
However something good did come from out aborted paddle. The fisherman told me of a good 8km or so paddle on the Shoalhaven River putting in at Nowra and paddling upstream along an attractive rocky shoreline to the zoo and up Cabbage Tree Creek to a waterfall. Sounds like a good paddle for the future.
After reloading the boats we headed south for 30kms or so and found a great launch site beside the inlet to the lake in a nice shady park with toilets and a white sandy beach from which to launch (not a bit of mud in sight). An added bonus for G who was not joining us on this paddle was a cafe overlooking the park to which he could repair after fixing the rudder on his boat.
Packing the boats - on the white sandy beach! On a beautiful sunny day
By 12.15 we were on the water ready to paddle. The water was of suprisingly good quality, given the dry summer and that the lake has not been open for years.
We headed directly across the lake to the opposite shoreline
R, confident in, and loving her new boat is happy to stay way out from the shore
Rounding the point
and heading further up the lake
we crossed over
to head up the first of two creeks
After a kilometre or so L returns, his way forward having been blocked by fallen trees
We paddled back to the lake and stopped for a break. During which a sudden wind squall came out of nowhere and upended V's boat. I was very relieved we had not been paddling when it hit. Concerned about a change in the weather we cut our break short and resumed our paddle and headed up the next creek.
Which had a very different atmosphere from the first creek
Having hit the end, we turned and head back down and up another short arm, all the while with L waxing lyrical about camping here in the Tammie Norrie :( :(
By the time we returned to the lake a breeze had sprung up and we hugged the shoreline until it was time to cross the lake. R was thrilled with the stability of her boat in the slight swell and reveled in her paddle back across the exposed section of the lake. By the time L,R&I made it back across the lake, S was already out of her boat and V was heading to join her but we three decided to paddle a little way up the inlet
Once under the bridge, the inlet opened up and was very pretty
with loads of bird life on view and obligingly posing for us
Both Greater Egrets and Little Egrets were on show
We paddled on
and R spotted a sea eagle high up the dune
The sea eagle watching us
watching it
We had paddled a little less than half way along the inlet but thought we should return to the rest of the gang who, we hoped, were patiently waiting and we finished our paddle about 3.00pm
After loading the boats S&V headed off and the rest of us sat down at a convenient picnic table for a fag and a breather. We were quite keen to stay another night in the area and paddle Congo on the morrow but unable to get hold of V&S to tell them of what could be plan D, L thought it not a good idea to leave their boats unattended for half a day so we too headed home, stopping at Bateman's Bay for an early dinner on the way. Another two paddles ticked on the bucket list.
Trip Notes:
Put In/Take Out: Park just after the bridge over the inlet
10.2kms
2hrs 50mins
