Pambula river was today's destination. A high tide of 1.4m was due at the entrance at 1.36pm, reaching Tea Tree Point in the lake at 2.46pm. After noting the forecast change in wind speed and direction, calculation of paddling speed, when the troops would want a break etc etc and the ensuing straining of the brain, the plan was laid. Meet at the end of Coraki Drive at 11.30am, unload the boats, do a car shuffle round to the Pambula Lake Boat Ramp and get onto the water by 12.30pm - this would mean tidal assist up the river to the top of the lake and the breeze assist back down the lake to the boat ramp - perfecto!
But of course, as they say, the best laid plans.... Although we launched ahead of schedule onto the smallest of slops,
the water was so beautiful we floated instead of paddling. Upon reaching Severs Beach L declared a stop to fly the drone. The troops declared it was time for lunch and the plan went down the plug hole.
We threaded our way through the small oyster bommes to Severs Beach and exiting the boats was delayed by a bird none of us had seen before.
R suggest a Curlew and was poo pooed by the rest of us.
She was indeed partially right.
It is a Beach Thick-knee, formerly called a Beach Stone Curlew;
on the east coast, normally found north of Manning River, NSW!
After two drone flights and a leisurely lunch we continued on our way. Turning the corner at the Shark Hole we found the wind direction had changed (as forecast) and the breeze was now in our face. After another stop as R spotted a Sea Eagle catch a fish we paddled on into the lake.
We haven't paddled the lake in a long time and were disappointed to find the oyster beds have spread and there are very few places where you can paddle the shoreline so we truncated our circumnavigation and had some fun trying to surf the tiny swells as we headed back down the lake to our take out point at the boat ramp, reaching there sometime after 3.30pm.
Sunrise revealed a clear sky, heralding a lovely day for our outing.
Having set out from the Corunna Lake Picnic Area a little after 10.00am we headed up the lake and it wasn't long before we got our big 'oh wow' moment of the day. A Sea Eagle flew down the lake and opposite us circled, dropped down to the water and took a fish.
As you will see in the Video it was the first of many Sea Eagle sightings this day.
Heading up Olsons Creek we had our next encounter - this time an immature, presumably last year's offspring.
It took off when I pulled out the camera,
but didn't go far and this time stayed put.
Returning back down the creek we saw it again. It seemed that whenever we changed direction we spotted a Sea Eagle.
Heading down the lake on the Western side we turned into the large bay leading to the Corunna Cemetery and stopped at a sundrenched bit of foreshore for morning tea. After a good natter and some refreshments we paddled on and turned up the arm leading to the Old Highway bridge. Having gone under the bridge the waterway passed through cleared farmland and the water became increasingly putrid looking and was starting to pong by the time we encountered a fallen tree blocking further progress, some 500metres beyond the bridge. There were plenty of ducks and herons along this section who obviously didn't share our distaste for the condition of the water.
Emerging back out into the large bay we discovered a breeze had sprung up and a confab was called to discuss options. The result - return to where we had morning tea and stop for lunch, it being largely sheltered from the breeze, after which we would paddle down to the entrance.
After lunch, back out in the main body of water we felt the full force of the breeze as we angled across the lake and the small swells blown up by the wind. Rounding the corner leading to the bridge we hit sheltered water - it was time to relax and enjoy the birdlife as we poddled our way over shallow water to the closed entrance.
Discovering the breeze had dropped enough to fly the drone, we stopped at the entrance and enjoyed the view for 20 minutes or so whilst L droned. The formation of the rocky headland was especially interesting and we wished Bruce was with us to provide an explanation.
Once back on the water we picked our way over the shallows to the bridge and paddled the 2kms or so (into, thankfully, only a slight headbreeze) back to our launch site. As we approached the picnic area the Sea Eagle obliged with one last fly by. And thus we ended another great day out on the water at 4.10pm.
It was another classic winter's day on the Far South Coast and perfect for a paddle.
With a late high tide, 2.32pm 1.6m, we set off at 12.10pm. We had barely got out of the little bay when a motor boat, driven by a silly old fart, swerved in front of us seemingly deliberately. God knows why. Other than that, we had the river to ourselves and had a delightful afternoon paddle.
We stopped for lunch at the campground and then continued up to the confluence. As we paddled back the late afternoon light gave our surrounds a beautiful golden glow. By paddles end, at 4.45pm, there was a decided nip in the air and we packed up quickly, needing to get home to feed assorted animals and put the chooks to bed before it got dark.
Another pearler of a day on which to have a lazy paddle. After getting ready,
we launched at 10.50am. As we did we got our first sighting of the day of the resident Sea Eagle as it flew down the eastern shore of Little Cuttagee.
It is Le Tour time again so inevitably cycling was the main topic of conversation as we headed down the lake.
Lots of birdlife today - swans, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants, grebe, pelicans, 2 more sightings of the resident Sea Eagle, and another bird of prey, a kite or falcon I think. And beside the usual small bird life we had a good sighting of a Golden Whistler.
At Woolybutts Bay we paused and watch a mob of cormorants and pelicans fishing. Some of the pelicans chose not to fish for themselves and instead would wait till a cormorant got one and then would give chase trying, and sometimes succeeding, to steal the cormorants catch.
Eventually we paddled on and headed across the lake and entered the creek mouth. Once round the shady corner we entered shallow water and were soon passing over large schools of small - the largest being about 20cm long and the smallest, further up the creek, only a few centimetres in length.
Along the way in a 60 metre stretch we spotted, lying on the bottom, 3 large eels. Other than being dead they looked quite healthy. Various hypotheses were put forward, which led to some research later that night. Eels have a very interesting life cycle which you can read about in this short article:
Close to running out of water at12.10pm we pulled in for lunch
and set off again at 1.15pm for a bit more fish spotting as we paddled back downstream.
Here is todays footage. Put together by me, with some help from L, it's not up to the usual standard but it does give a reasonable representation of the days outing.
As we paddled back up the lake the pelicans and cormorants, along with a couple of what looked like terns were now fishing the eastern end of Far End Bay. Suddenly one of the terns took off with a mouthful of fingerlings, closely followed by the other tern. Then down swooped a kite/falcon (was it the one we had seen earlier?) and gave chase. They swooped and banked, climbed and fell - just like the planes in all the WW2 battle of britain and red baron type movies (now I am showing my age!). They slowly disappeared across the lake until they were too far away for us to see the outcome. The other question we were left with was: was the other tern just following its pal or was it trying to steal its fish??
That little excitement over we paddled for home in the increasingly chilly air. Nearly there.
Full of vitamin D and wonder at all the wild life we'd seen we ended our paddle at 2.40pm and headed home; where once unpacked it was time to light the fire. That night it got down to 4oC which is very cold for us.
An outstandingly glorious day on which to paddle - and only two days after the Winter Solstice.
After getting home from our paddle last week and discovering we had missed the middle, and longest, lead of Merriwinga Creek we decided to revisit Wallaga Lake and paddle Couria Bay and creek and savour the exploration of Merriwinga Creek upon our return.
Back from their culture fix, we met S&V at Payne's Island a little before 10.00am and set to unloading the boats and
getting ready to paddle. At 10.15 we launched and although the entrance looked inviting we resisted its allure and
headed under the bridge as planned, paddling across the lake to Couria Bay. Once there we hugged the northern shoreline exploring all the little bays as we poddled and chatted our way up the arm.
Before reaching the top of the arm and with everybody's tummies rumbling we crossed to the southern shore which was bathed in sunshine and headed back up the bay looking for somewhere sheltered to pull in for some morning tea. At 11.50 we found such a spot.
As we sat basking in the sun, morning tea morphed into lunch.
Taking to the water again at 12.55 we headed back up toward the top of the bay and after a couple of false starts on my behalf we found the entrance to Couria Creek. Although shallow the water was crystal clear; sadly the banks were soon clear of any vegetation other than kikuyu and it wasn't long before we were halted by a fence crossing the creek.
Once back in the bay we headed straight back to the bridge and the entrance to Merriwinga Creek. As we entered we met a couple an their dog in a canoe exiting the creek. A little further on we met someone inflating paddle boards at Serendip.
As we paddled on, looking for the lead, kanga's kept popping up their heads from the tussocks to check us out which accounts for the myriad of tracks through the tussocks you can see at the end of the video.
Having found the lead we wanted we entered and were soon in single file, negotiating the tight turns. Large schools of fingerlings and small schools of 20-30cm fish darted all around us. At one point I caught a glimpse of a large bird I couldn't identify - if you can, please let me know.
The first real obstacle we encountered was the walkway across the creek. However with some repositiioning and some hoicking and shoving L and I got across and of course, S&V just cautiously floated over.
As the creek narrowed the obstructions grew in number; the reflections were mesmerising and the sense of adventure high. Eventually, for the gals, caution won out and at 2.37pm we called a halt here, as seen in the pic below.
However, L in a 16'6" boat threw caution to the wind and paddled on for another 70m or so. The last half of which, he said, were somewhat anxiety ridden - the choice being continue on and hope to find a widening in which to turn or back paddle negotiating tight bends and obstacles. Luckily he found a widening and with a lot of difficulty managed to turn his long boat and make his way back to us.
As we paddled back we heard voices and as we approached the last bend before the creek crossing we had the slightly disconcerting sight of the heads and shoulders of three seemingly disembodied people floating across the top of the reeds. Merriwinga Creek was proving to be a popular spot this fine winter's day.
Back at the crossing I picked a better line and managed to get across the walkway with a minimum of hoiking, likewise L. S once more floated across and V having missed the sweet spot required just a little shove.
As we poddled back a I managed a snap of one of the several kangaroos we saw. As per usual the GoPro battery had died well before we had got back to the crossing. Speaking of which, there was so much chatting, nattering and gossiping going on for the first half of the paddle that L, had to, with a great deal of time and effort, (he repeatedly tells me) replace the sound track.
Having paddled back down the creek we crossed the lake, landing on Payne's Island at 3.25pm thus ending a truly delightful outing on Wallaga Lake.
Note: The limit to which L paddle up Merriwinga Ck is wrong. It should be about 1cm less on the map.
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,
It was a bit of a dud day for a paddle on the Far South Coast - being unusually cold and overcast. However it was the only day KT & G were available. They are back up this way again, based in Merimbula, doing some walking with their local club.
Along with R, we met at the Yacht Club at 10.00am and after greetings all round, got ready to launch.
By 10.30 everyone was ready to paddle.
Heading first for the entrance, we passed over heaps of jelly fish, some of them tiny. Once we reached the bottom part of the lake the water shallowed and we found most of the sand banks had disappeared and the deeper channels had filled with sand. However with some toing and froing, pushing and shoving we finally made to the deeper water at the closed entrance - all except L who had followed a promising channel for some way before it petered out. By the time he had backtracked a long way we making our return.
While at the entrance we saw a Swamp Wallaby eating on top of a little dune - you might spot him on the Go Pro footage - and then spotted another sitting quietly on top of the rearmost dune.
Speaking of Swampies, I think Old Wal has met his maker - we haven't seen him for over four months. Here is a short clip of Old Wal from a couple of years ago. He was a regular visitor to our garden for more than 10 years and a demon in S&V's vegie garden when they forgot to close the gate :) :)
After returning to the main lake L called for a confab - the question - it being so cold, did we want to call it a day or continue paddling? The short wearing, hardy Victorians were quick to speak for paddling on, and why not - the cold breeze was starting to weaken and feeble sunlight was breaking through the cloud layer.
Here's the mornings GoPro footage:
A tad before noon we pulled in to find G had already scouted at our lunch site, a sunlit patch tucked behind some tussocks. Having donned more clothing we settled down to enjoy our sangers, other assorted goodies (courtesy of R) and a good catch up.
40mins later, with a deadline to meet,
we took to the water again to continue our paddle up the lake.
With the day being so drear we'd packed the Go Pro away. And wouldn't you know it, bird sitings came thick and fast. First this Kingfisher who let us pass close by before flitting off.
Next was a small flock of swans who ignored our presence. Then four pelicans glided low, as in just a few inches, over the water, parallel to us, for 75 metres or so before pulling up slightly to bring their feet forward for a bit of a ski until they were floating quietly on the water. Beautiful.
Finally, just as we called to G, in his usual spot out front, that it was time to head back, he called back and pointed 'what's that'.
We all looked. Out in front of him was a black blob appearing and disappearing into the water. "A seal" somebody said. "No, it couldn't be" said L and I. As we quietly paddled closer it popped its head up to have a good look at us and by golly it was a seal. We sat and watched until at last it vanished from our sight, wondering how it came to be in the lake.
After that little delay it was time to paddle steadily back across the lake to the Yacht Club, once again mesmerised by all the jellyfish floating by. We beached at 1.45pm,
giving KT & G plenty of time to pack up, load the boats and have a last chat, before heading back to Merimbula and the Walking Club meeting.
And for KT, who had read on line that Wallagoot was last open in 2008. The lake was open when we paddled it on Thursday 8 July 2021 (and it was a beautiful sunny day!).
PS. I'm pleased to announce the Far South Coast turned on a perfect winter's day for day 1 of the Walking Club's hike.
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