STRAHAN TO COCKLE CREEK – FEBRUARY/MARCH 2003
Participants.
Jeff Jennings
Matthew Watton
Rex Brown/Brian Wallace – Victorian contingent
Jamie Fergusson
Anthea Fergusson (for weeks 1 and 2)
Dave Slowitzky (for weeks 3 and 4)
Sarah Boyle
Jean Jackson
Graeme Soden
Sue Shearman.
This report written by Sue Shearman:
Saturday 22nd February - Strahan
Arrived at midday at Strahan after an early morning start to find a huge group of kayaks and bodies all milling around at the water’s edge. Lots of different kayaks and lots of new faces. The NSW trio had their gear all over the place having got off the boat only that morning. Cec, Bob, the Pauleys (some friends of Sarah’s) and the Boyles had come to see us off and in the case of Cec, the Pauleys and Tony Watton to kindly help us in the car shuffle arrangements.
Everyone seemed knackered – I think that the rush to get everything organised gear-wise for the trip as well as work had been exhausting for everyone. It was thus decided that we would leave from Macquarie Heads the following morning with a leisurely afternoon planned to either paddle to the Heads, or spend it packing, catching up and relaxing. Rick Boyle and a friend of his paddled, but the rest of us elected to take the other option and drove out to the campsite at the Heads. There wasn’t much choice with the camping, so we ended up next to a couple of permanent shacks hoping that the owners weren’t going to be using them that particular night!
Our trial pack started badly with a flat tyre on the Subaru (it always seems to be the back left!!) and me sticking a hook on Graeme’s fishing lure into the back of my left hand . Anyway, luckily the trial pack didn’t go as badly as everything appeared to fit very easily. We had decided that I would take all the food (except for the lunch bag) as Graeme’s boat still reeked of fibreglass (it was newly built kayak) and he would take all the tent, sleeping bags and mats, stove, clothes, fuel and water. Sarah’s pack didn’t appear to go as well and as a result of me having some extra room, a few items headed my way. Jeff had left one wetsuit boot in one of the cars that headed back to town in the afternoon, so I took the extra pair for him to use later on in the trip.
A nervous night was followed by an early start – awake at 5am for a 7am departure.
Sunday 23rd February – Gorge Point - 30km
With an easterly pattern of weather prevailing, there was not a wave to be seen through Hells Gates when we set off in the morning. There was an eerie fog blanketing Macquarie Heads which added to the nerves. I remember saying to Cec that I was a tad nervous at setting out, to which she replied that she would have been too. She also added that a healthy respect of the seas was a good thing – never becoming blasé about the prospective conditions.
We had tried the couscous/fruit and nuts combination for the first time this morning and neither of us found it very palatable. In retrospect the breakfast were a huge problem as obviously trying things in the comfort and calm of home was very different to the early mornings, rushed packing and pre-paddling nerves of the trip.
With an outgoing current we were soon speeding out towards Cape Sorell and on our way south. After hearing the forecasts for so many years of rather large swells reached at Cape Sorell it was a huge relief to have only 1.5 to 2m swell and virtually no wind, so the fabled spot didn’t lead up to the apprehensive expectations. The rocks were so different to the east coast – jagged, sheer and uninviting. However because the swell was so small we could paddle in close to the shore without any danger of being swamped by a larger wave.
Unfortunately I had woken up feeling lousy with a headache and nausea. This lasted most of the day and in retrospect was probably due to all the rushing and stressful times prior to leaving. The others appeared to cope well with the relatively easy day but I struggled.
We paddled past Sloop Point but didn’t stop – we found out later on that Bob Bush had paddled across Macquarie Harbour and walked over the Sloop Point thinking that we would be camped there for the night. Regrettably not. We ended up at Gorge Point where the landing was easy with no surf and set up camp on the beach. Amazingly enough it was hot enough to swim and snorkel and think about getting out of the sun as much as possible.
Matty, the complete water creature went in for a surf - with his black wet suit on could have easily been mistaken for a seal. He then pulled out his full-length lilo and fins and proceeded to surf in on some waves and then lie around in the shallows getting away from the March flies and heat. Hilarious!
It was a relief when the sun finally set.
Monday 24th February – Hibbs Point – 30km.
Another easy day – good flat conditions only marred by loads of Mozzies which came out to greet us at every opportunity. Not just the occasional little one but lots of rather large and hungry ones!
Hibbs Pyramid looked like the Sphinx from the SE aspect but was renamed Mozzie Hill because of large number when Jeff was trying to get a group photo below it. We camped on the beach again and put up Sarah’s Tarp for some sun protection. Had a great snorkel in the afternoon seeing lots of fish and abalone, but time was limited in the water because of the cool water temperature. Jamie collected 4 Abs and a crayfish for dinner and was good enough to share the former with the rest of us.
Jean and Brian went on a water search for the group and found a stream (and apparently a good camping spot) north of where we were camped. The latter then paddled to Hibbs Pyramid and climbed that for some good views up and down the coast.
Before this trip I saw Tony Gaiswinkler’s photos of Hibbs Pyramid when they arrived last summer. In comparison we certainly had it easy. They had had 5-6m swell around Cape Sorell the first day, camped at Sloop Point that night and went onto Hibbs Point the second day where they were stuck for the next 4 days. The seas were a mass of enormous waves and white foam. He also had a photo of the pyramid after the weather had improved in which the conditions were very similar to our experience.
Tuesday 25th February – Shanks Rocks – 50km
A huge day – woke without a headache for the first time in 3 days and set off at 7.30am. We tried cooking our breakfast the night before again – this time rice and tuna. However, with the early am rushed start and feeling nervous it didn’t go down too well for either of us (and later on, didn’t sit too well for Graeme).
Around Hibbs Point there were breakers of approx. 2-3 m height with clapotis off the cliffs. It would be amazing to see these cliffs with the usual 5-10m breakers. I felt ok through there because the Adrenaline was flowing freely, but from then on the yawns, tiredness and intermittent nausea set in.
Around lunchtime we came to the Wanderer River where it is possible to camp. It seemed absolutely impossible from the sea with huge breakers on both sides of the bay. Matthew and Jamie went in to investigate and managed to land – miraculous. We all then followed and landed in no surf in a little bay on the southern side.
It was then a 4 hour slog to the Mainwaring River and a possible landing. Graeme had become seasick for the first time and had had vomited not only lunch but breakfast as well. He said that he felt better after bringing it all up and seemed to be paddling normally – however I was quite worried about him. Lots of fishermen use the Mainwaring as a base for their trips and the mosquitoes were apparently very bad there, but the swell was worse. Matthew went in to have a look and admitted afterwards that he had to put in a few rather quick paddle strokes to get out of a few potentially bad situations. The rest of us gave the area a wide berth - which turned out to be not wide enough as a series of 7-8m rollers came in. They were enormous walls of water, powerful and awe-inspiring. Some looked like the top 1-2 metres was going to break which had us all adrenaline pumped and paddling hard. I will never forget the sight of 4-5 kayaks all climbing up the face of these waves and despite their length of 18 feet, looking small and insignificant. I was too wired to get out the camera and amazingly enough, so was Jeff. Conditions must have been tense for him to also put down his camera.
There is an overpass just passed Kingston on the Southern outlet on the way into Hobart from home that has a sign on it saying – Clearance 6m – no wonder I was nervous!
It was then a tired 5-6km paddle to The Shanks and I was pretty zonked by that stage. There were lots of rocky outcrops, reefs and bombies around the area which meant that there again were lots of large and frequent breakers. Matt chose a good line for us to take between two set of breakers – I must admit being worried as there was so little room for error that if one of us had gone too close to one of the breaking waves and “got done”, the others would have been unable to do anything to help. Again we had basically no surf at the landing and found a great campsite away from the sand. It was amazing to look back at the way we had come, as from the shore it looked very impressive and almost impassible.
Unfortunately Anthea had glanced off a rock on her way into shore which was bad luck as we had all passed over it without any mishap. When unpacking it was found that a hole had been made in the side of the boat and the rear compartment had quite an amount of water in it. I don’t think that any gear/food was damaged and Jamie set-to with the fibreglass and resin. The new Penguin boats do appear to be a lot more flimsy than the old ones and Jamie made the comment that the same rock probably wouldn’t have damaged his old boat quite so badly.
After a large feed we crawled into the tents and with a full stomach and a tired body, had a fantastic sleep.
Wednesday 26th February – Cowrie Beach – 20km
Around the fabled Low Rocky Point today – like Cape Sorell, the seas didn’t match up to expectations in size and ferocity.
Leaving from the Shanks the seas were not as rough as when we arrived. We both took seasickness tablets. We took a different path out through the breakers which was pretty benign. Within an hour Graeme was feeling a little sick again.
The NW swell was 2-3 metres and past Low Rocky Point the seas evened out - apart from the ever-present swell. We had to go through a section of breakers just before Cowrie Point which was enough to get the Adrenaline flowing again - the fear of the large breaking wave is enough to make me paddle like the proverbial! Once through these it was onto Cowrie Beach, a glorious little sandy, south-facing bay.
After lunch, checking out the campsite and discussion about options for the rest of the day, it was decided to stay there rather than go onto Nye Bay, a further 15km south. The following day the NW winds were due to increase in strength before a SW change – the swell was also due to increase significantly in size. A few of us had fears that the swell in and out of Nye Bay would make both the landing and take-off difficult.
For the afternoon we had a delightful walk to Low Rocky Point – approx. 16km return. Initially the track wound through buttongrass with an occasional mudhole filled with bladderworts and sundews. Closer to the lighthouse there were glades of tea tree and banksias – glorious. We saw a couple of ground parrots on the way there.
For a while we stood/sat on the rocks overlooking LRP – I have heard the name mentioned so many times and never in my most mad dreams have I envisaged paddling there. Both Jamie and I agreed that 6-7 years ago when we first started paddling, if someone had said to us that we would be paddling from Strahan to Cockle Creek, we would never have believed them. It seemed to be taking a while to sink in to my stubborn mind that I was actually doing it!
Thursday 27th – Bond Bay – 65km
Another early start today and on the water at 7.45am. The forecast was for NW conditions initially and then swinging around to the west then to the SW with a front due to pass later on in the day. However we started to sail immediately and headed down towards Nye Bay in approx. 4-5 metre swell. As it turned out it was lucky that we hadn’t decided to stay there as the swell in and out of the river looked interesting and about 3m. The wind gradually picked up and the swell got bigger – about 3-5m but overall quite manageable and the fear factor wasn’t that great. Mulcahy Bay also looked rough as well as Alfild Bight, both places that are possible to land, in the right conditions.
After 4 hours we were already down towards the entrance to Port Davey guarded by Pyramid Rock and the Coffee-Pot. Graeme got hit by a large wave with his back sail up, had tried to brace but capsized. He said later that he had tried to roll but was unsuccessful. Both Jamie and I went to the rescue and had him back in the boat pretty quickly so he didn’t get too cold. Brian had had an exceptional day – only having made his sail the week before this trip and sailed for a few days, he coped well with the conditions. He did say later on that he was very happy that Jamie had stayed close to him for the day “just in case”.
The clapotis around the Coffee-Pot was pretty lumpy and I was glad of the wind and sail to minimize the time actually spent in it. It was a relief to enter the fabled Port Davey – we had a spectacular view right down to SW Cape with the other islands dotting the foreground. Between North Head and St Vincent Point a lot of trees had died probably due to fire. Phytophora was another thought. For the first time we could see the Breaksea Islands guarding the entrance to Bathurst Harbour and Mt Rugby in the distance. It really was an awesome bay and I can well understand why it lures so many people to explore its shores and mountains. We saw our first yacht today heading towards us from the top of Payne Bay with its sails up. Our last 3km of the day into Bond Bay were straight into a rip-roarer of a headwind. Graeme and I were the last in as he had put out his fishing line and got it tangled up in kelp – while waiting for him, I must admit that I was salivating over the prospect of fresh fish for dinner, but alas, it was not meant to be!
It was good to get into camp and stretch the body after 9 hours in the boat – surprisingly enough it wasn’t that weary having sailed most of the day. The campsite wasn’t anything special but had a two-sided shelter which proved to be very useful in the rain over the following few days.
Jamie found that Dave’s boat was leaking and water had got into some of their food in the back hatch. He thought initially that it was due to the boat getting rolled in some surf at the beginning of the day at Cowrie Beach or when we landed at a small beach just inside Port Davey. This was to prove to be a problem later on.
Friday 28th February – Bond Bay/Davey Gorge – 30km
A late start today – 10am on the water after a leisurely breakfast. We ate heaps last night after the big paddle (which made up for the fact that I only had fruit for breakfast and a small mars bar when we arrived in Port Davey). The entrance to the Davey River was guarded well by rocks and shallow water. A few kilometres further on is Settlement Point and Piners Landing. The former was inhabited in approximately 1820 for 30-40 years with 60-80 people. They must had lead a tough life there – the men logging upstream and floating the logs down – I am sure that there were lots of injuries and deaths with that form of work. The women wouldn’t have had it any easier, giving birth in the bush and trying to feed and look after a family in that isolated area. There is a story that some of the kids who had been born there hadn’t seen a horse until one was boated in when they were approximately 10-11 years old. There isn’t much there now, only some old bricks, metal work and one of the landings.
We then paddled 8-9 km up the river which varied in width and scenery. There were lots of swans, but no other wildlife to be seen on the banks. As the river gradually narrowed we paddled into the gorge which had whitish rock walls and deep tannin stained water. After the ruckus of the sea for the last week it was quiet and serene. We all made it up one little rapid and then couldn’t get any further so stopped for lunch and water collection. Miraculously the sun came out for the 20 minutes for lunch before the drizzle and wind returned for the homeward journey. The current made for an easy trip back with rain squalls alternating with sunny periods. It was good to arrive back at the campsite and not have to think about setting everything up as usual.
A three-course dinner – soup, curry and chocolate whipped dessert. Beautiful!!. However I think that on these long trips next time we will take more of the latter – good for calorie intake and psychological wellbeing when everyone else has desserts!
Saturday 1st March – Bond Bay – Rain/Hail/Rainbows
The first day of autumn and the temperature feels like it too. Rain squalls, hail storms but again some great sunny spells for drying our gear and warming up. A double rainbow over Bond Bay had the camera buffs running for their cameras and the beach.
Sarah’s tarp again proved its mettle, making our two-sided shelter a tad bigger for cooking and socializing, as well as a water-collection device.
A lazy day was had by all – eating, drinking, talking, walking – the first day in as long as I can remember that nothing has been planned and nothing has to be done. Relaxation mode is the forgotten state of mind.
Sunday 2nd March – Bond Bay – Kelly Basin.
This morning gannets were diving for their breakfasts when we first woke up – they are such beautiful and graceful birds. Often paddling they come and explore just like the Albatross – when they get close, their tail feathers go down, presumably to reduce their speed, and then their heads follow for a good look.
As the forecast was still for wet and windy weather it was decided to further explore where we were. Matty made a suggestion to climb a peak at the western end of Kelly Basin which should give views not only of the entrance to Port Davey but up the west coast from where we had come 3 days before.
Once we rounded the corner from our campsite it was a difficult paddle straight into headwind across the bay. Anthea was in the double with Jeff and said later on that she had been very glad of the fact and how fast it was possible to go in those conditions with two people paddling in unison. Brian appeared to have no problems and almost kept up with the double. Poor Sarah on the other hand, struggled to make progress against the wind and when a squall came through (increasing it to over 20knots) was blown sideways and couldn’t paddle against it. I let my boat do the same so that we were together should anything happen.
The walking was relatively easy with most of the terrain being either buttongrass or heathland. There was the occasional patch of thicker vegetation namely banksia and tea trees. There was also the white waratah which had finished flowering already, epacris and euphrates. The peaks around had ridges of white quartz that glowed when the sun could come out in between squalls. The view over North Head and up the west coast was amazing. Although the seas didn’t look that big I am sure that they were easily breaking 4-5m waves, but it is so hard to estimate when a few hundred metres above.
The paddle back was a sheer delight with a good tail wind that had unfortunately decreased since the morning. Also when we sailed across the shallow water at the entrance to Kelly Basin it felt like the boat was dragging its butt!!
Thinking further about the climb today I bet that not many people climb hills like that one around this area. This would be in stark contrast to the early explorers and perhaps even people such as Deny King who explore so much of this area by foot.
So another good day and how it is flying. It is amazing to think how this area was formed as it is so different to the glaciated landscape of New Zealand. Approx. 9000 years ago when the sea level rose the valleys in SW Tassie were flooded.
Monday 3rd March – Bramble Cove – 15km
We ambled eastwards to the other side of Bond Bay and gradually followed the coast down to Kathleen Rock and the Breaksea Islands. The rock is so different here to anything I have ever seen before, with vertical slabs, caves, archways and multitudes of rocky islands. With the wind and spray and bouncy (but small) seas it was easy to get cold and by the time we reached Bramble Cove I was feeling it. However a quick rush around throwing a frisbee and putting up the tent and tarp got me warmer.
Jamie decided that he should look at where Dave’s boat was leaking and filled the back hatch up with water. The water trickled out from around the rudder peg – apparently Dave had repaired this before but again was enough of a problem to warrant doing something about it. Lots of suggestions from everyone but in the end Jamie decided to use silicon gap filler as a start and then discuss it further with Dave when he arrived. That is the beauty of fibreglass boats - holes can be made and filled very easily but it is a different kettle of fish with plastic.
After a late lunch it was decided to climb Mt Stokes behind the cove. Jeff and Rex (and later on Matt) paddled around to where the path actually started but the rest of us headed off on a path behind the campsite and then up a prominent ridge on the side of the mountain. The going was a bit slippery with lots of yabbie holes. It was distressing to see some of the White Waratah and Tea trees dying – apparently the former is very sensitive to Phytophora which could now be in that area. I wonder how much the yachties are careful with their footwear with travelling around the area? Anthea gave a whip snake a fright by stepping on its tail.
The climb took us an hour and was well worth every minute. The view was spectacularly beautiful – up to Kelly Basin, the west coast and the Davey River, and down to Noyhener beach towards SW Cape and across to Cox’s Bight. It really was amazing. There were lots of heath and euphrates flowering. While we were on the top a figure in a red raincoat was spotted running up the mountain – Matty had decided to join us. The other two we met up with on our way down,
The downward slide was a quick one indeed and we arrived just in time to shelter under the tarp before the next rainstorm – Jeff and Rex got caught in the middle of it with the latter having a few spectacular falls/slides down the path. Jeff managed to film one which should be amusing. While we had been away something had gnawed a rather large hole in one of Jeans dry bags to get at some Parmesan Cheese – therefore all food was put away in the boats at night.
We tried some mussels for entree courtesy of Jamie – cooked in hot water till opened, then sautéed quickly in oil and garlic – delicious. Graeme also tried a few.
Tuesday 4th – Bramble Cove – Breaksea Islands
The day dawned over cast and raining and felt like it was continue all day. Motivation seemed pretty low with most of us heading back to tents/bags around lunchtime.
After a siesta I was woken by a voice calling Susannah! Michelle and Jose had arrived in their double – the rest of their party had been waylaid by had weather and Morrie Wolf not sailing unless the seas were under 5m at the WaveRider. Both Mark Broadly and Sarah’s dad (and his group) were due to have arrived last Friday but the weather had not been permitting. Anyway it was great to see them both and catch up on what they had been doing around Bathurst Harbour since their arrival by plane.
Later on in the afternoon everyone got motivated to go for a bit of a paddle so we headed out towards Breaksea Islands. Jamie and Anthea instead went to Kathleen Rock where Jamie was going to dive for Crays and Abalone. Around the eastern side of the islands it was pretty calm but once we had gone through one of the narrow passages to the other side it was a different sea – lumpy but relatively small. Michelle wasn’t really very confident so they headed back to Bramble where she climbed Mt Stokes - up and back in 1 hour which was impressive!
We meanwhile had a whale of a time exploring the many caves and archways within the islands. Some were astonishingly beautiful – amazing caverns and tunnels. The fear factor set in a couple of times with the “singer sewing machine knees” doing their stuff.
A sociable cook-up together was a great end to the day.
Wednesday 5th March – Claytons –
An early start and we were off sailing down Bathurst Channel. We had a look at the water set-up for yachts near Schooner Cove – a waterfall directed into a collection bucket and then into a pipe for easy access. I presume Parks had made the barrier for the yachts to tie up.
We then went around into Schooner Cove to find a heap of kayaks – Sarah's dad and Mark Broadly’s groups – they had arrived early in the morning after a horrendous overnight boat trip with Morrie Wolf in which 5 out of 6 had been very ill. They had left late in the afternoon as Morrie had work with the fish farms and had been km out to sea because of the seas. It sounded like the swell had been quite large and side on, and that plus the smell of the diesel was enough to set them puking over the side. Nobody ate anything or managed to grab any sleep from what I could gather. The latter group had 7 barrels of gear – from camp ovens to blow-up sinks! Their plan was to base camp as anything else would have been impractical with that amount of gear.
We then sailed further east looking for the grave of Critchley-Parker who came to SW Tassie looking for somewhere for the persecuted Jews of Europe to come and live. He died a lonely death only 20m from a track that could have saved his like.
The wind strengthened and we sailed up Bathurst Narrows into the harbour. The boat felt a tad sluggish in the narrowest parts and my guess was that the current may have been on the way out. The first view of the main part of Bathurst Harbour was breath-taking. I suppose I had in my mind an idea of what it was going to be like, but this was better, much better. Ranges and ranges of mountains in the distance, lots of little harbours and clear clear water. We sailed past the Celery Top Islands and onto Clayton’s where the Wilson’s used to live until ? a decade ago. The landing next to the jetty was muddy and small – after all the glorious beaches we had landed on so far, this was not very salubrious. Clayton’s is now a rundown house that a lot of the yachties frequent, as there is a jetty and fresh water in the tanks. Some of their garden still remains with fruit trees and Rhododendrons. A few feral plant species unfortunately were still thriving, namely agapanthus (my favourite), foxgloves, forget-me-nots and fuschias.
We went for a short paddle with Sarah to check out the Roaring 40’s campsite. They have definitely done pretty well for themselves to have bought the site. It is a sheltered spot with canvas tents set up on permanent platforms, with a central open sided shelter for cooking and eating. There were pit toilets and a shower. All was spotlessly clean and tidy despite its location.
Back to Clayton’s, then a walk up Mt Beattie for a splendiferous view back up the channel to Break sea Islands. So as not to have to do battle with the fabled rats, we pitched the tent, but cooked inside. I opened and shared our bottle of Stones Mac to toast our arrival in Bathurst Harbour – straight to my head. We organised with the others to have an early start on Mt Rugby the following morning which unfortunately I forgot.
Thursday 4th March – adjacent to Roaring 40s campsite
Owing to my forgetfulness, Jamie, Anthea and Brian set off early to climb Rugby. I wish that they had reminded me/us of the plan – the Stones Mac must have erased a few memory cells. Brian ended up coming back as he had forgotten his boots and had remembered, luckily, before getting too far. We thus climbed with him, Sarah and Jean. It was steep and shrubby so the thighs quickly became covered with scratches, prickles and bruises. More to add to the collection! However the view from the summit was fantastic – with views over the Arthur’s, Federation Peak, PB, the southern islands and the west coast. Graeme took a picture of me close to where the photo of Phil was taken over a decade ago. I shall enjoy sending him a copy of it.
After basking in the views for a while and gorging on Scroggin, we headed back down again but initially on the wrong track. We came to the top of a few cliffs so had to ascend again to find the right one. Only Brian managed to down climb to the right track, but he is like a mountain goat!
We had a leisurely paddle back to Clayton’s via the Celery Top Islands, to pack the rest of our gear. We had decided to have a night to ourselves and mentioned this to the others. Thus as they headed towards Melaleuca we just headed across the bay to next to the Roaring 40s campsite and set up there. It was an idyllic spot, with a fantastic view back over to Mt Rugby while sitting on the smooth pebbly beach cooking dinner.
Friday 7th March – Melaleuca
This morning I felt a million miles from the sea – silence and the haunting cries of swans replaced the cries of the sea birds and crashing waves. The paddle up to Melaleuca was beautiful – we were just in time to get the reflections on the tannin-stained water before any breeze or boat stirred it up. The lagoon proved to be very shallow as the tide was going out, but finally we made out Jamie’s waving figure and headed in towards the campsite. The Railinga is moored at the entrance to the lagoon and is a magnificent looking vessel.
I felt that we had been away from the others for longer than a night as we were greeted by some of the mob at the water’s edge. Dave had arrived and was looking well and relaxed. He had had a scenic flight into Melaleuca and was raring to go. He had brought us a couple of smoked chooks as well as some fresh fruit – amazingly only one was eaten the night before when we were away. Delicious. He and Jamie spent the afternoon trying to fix the leak around the rudder in the storm that proved to be mostly successful (in hindsight).
We pitched our tent in the trees near the boats – most of the others it appeared were in the huts (with one “snoring hut” already designated).
A lazy afternoon was spent between the huts, birdhide and Deny King’s place. And of course, eating.
Sarah, Jean and Brian went for a walk up Pandora Hill with the former two continuing up onto the New Harbour Range. Apparently they had fabulous views back over the southern range and beaches. It looked pretty calm in Cox’s Bight but as they said it is somewhat hard to assess wave height from so far up in the ranges.
Saturday 8th March – Melaleuca
Woke up with rain on the tent – I think that it must of rained most of the night as whenever I woke I could hear it. It didn’t appear to be too bad initially, but soon worsened till heavy rain and mist set in. As a result, Anthea’s plane didn’t arrive and with the satellite phone discovered that it was unlikely to be able to come over the weekend. It sounded like the weather was worse in Hobart and despite the rain and mist clearing in the afternoon, Cambridge was still closed in.
So another lazy day, eating lots, sitting and appreciating Deny’s garden, and swimming off the Roaring 40’s jetty. The garden must have been fantastic in its heyday – roses, fruit trees, raspberries, white crisp apples, foxgloves, ferns, a huge old Huon pine, paddymelons and lots of peaceful and private nooks and crannies to contemplate life and the wondrous nature around. It is such a characterful abode with a welcoming air about the place. It is indeed easy to see why the man has been given such a “legend” tag.
The other two groups arrived last night - Rick’s and Mark’s mobs. I wonder if we have the record for the “most kayaks at Melaleuca at one time” – sixteen kayaks in all. The launching tomorrow is certainly going to be interesting as the area is tiny!
Sunday 9th March – Balmoral Beach – 30km
A late start this morning as we were waiting to see if Anthea’s plane was going to arrive given that the weather had improved. It was then a very muddy exit from Melaleuca, as we had not realized that at low tide the lagoon was extremely shallow. Most of us had to get out of our boats and drag then across the stinking mud sometimes sinking up to our knees and thighs! It really was pretty gross and unfortunately there is some footage courtesy of Jeff of me crawling through the mud!
We then explored the southern side of Bathurst Harbour and onto the Old River. This was beautiful with Huon Pines right down to the water’s edge (apparently this is the only place in Tasmania where the pines grow in such close proximity to the salt water) and dense, cool and quiet forest. We went up approximately 2km until stopped by a log jam and rapids that even the double couldn’t power-navigate through, so we turned back.
As the plan was to head back to Clayton’s, four of us, Sarah, Jean, Graeme and I told the others of our plans to head to Balmoral instead, so we sailed off on a different tack for the Bathurst Narrows. It was a fantastic and exciting sail – the light on the range was glorious and the seas were a breaking steely-grey with white streaks. Everyone’s sails made a colourful contrast with the backdrop so hopefully my photos come out. Moulting Inlet would have been one of the more interesting spots with a narrow inlet surrounded by forest clad mountains – spectacular. It would be good to explore that another time when the weather is more conducive and we have more time. We just managed to get in through the narrows on the course we had taken and continued right up to Balmoral Beach. This is the jewel of the area – a glorious white beach with the steep little hill behind. There were a few camping sites tucked up in the bush behind the beach. By the time we set up camp and cooked tea on the beach with the backdrop of Mt Rugby, it was pushing 8pm and the rest of the evening was spent star-gazing and generally appreciating this very special place.
Monday 10th March – Balmoral Beach – 20km
A leisurely start then scramble up Balmoral Beach for a wonderful view back up to the north part of Break Sea Islands and down to Bathurst Harbour – a clear and sunny morning made for spectacular scenery. While up there, Matt, Jamie and Brian sailed passes going at great speed with all sails up. We coo’eed to each other but they kept going - we found out later on that they were off to Mt Berry for a climb.
We lunched on the beach with Rick’s party and then sailed across the bay to the Spring River and paddled approx. 5km up there. It proved to be very different to the Old River – a wide open valley with shrubby vegetation on either side rather than forest. There were the remains of an old logging pen in the side of river. When we couldn’t paddle any further due to a log jam, we collected some water and then headed back downstream. The headwind back across the bay wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Shortly after our return we were joined by the double and Dave – they had been up Mt Rugby and had had spectacular views from the summit. Rex admitted to being a tad tired after the big climb! Another relaxed night was had – apart from the mozzies which were much more ferocious than the first night.
Tuesday 11th March – Spain Bay –
Sitting on Balmoral Beach while the other are getting ready around me – the sun is coming up, lighting up the beach and mountains. Mt Berry and Rugby still have cloud obscuring their peaks but across Joe Page Bay we can see for miles. The water is lapping on the smooth white pebbly beach. Mornings like these make me more nervous about the South Coast - the contrast of the calm to the turbulent and unpredictable.
We set off for Bramble Cove where the Odalisque, owned by Peter Van der Woude, and a few other boats were moored. He came across in his dinghy for a chat as he had recognised the Penguin FG motif on the front of the boats (his brother’s company made most of our boats). His feeling was that the weather was going to change considerably towards the end of the week and suggested that we leave earlier than we originally planned.
We thus had a case conference on the beach when we arrived – the forecast was indeed for two SW fronts to come through on Thursday and Friday. A few us thought that it would be better to paddle around SW Cape on Wednesday rather than Friday and put it to the group. After discussion it was agreed upon, but not happily I feel by all the others and so we packed up and headed for Spain Bay via a circuitous route.
Firstly we had another look around Break Sea Islands – however it was more rough than the last time we were there with waves breaking through most of the caves and archways. Dave ended up in the drink and Brian managed an incredible save supporting on kelp while at 90 degrees to the water! The blowhole on the southernmost island wasn’t really strutting its stuff so we paddled into a mild headwind to Forbes Point. We then explored the coastline on the way back – the quartz was very different again with some of the slabs set at amazing angles. There was a “breathing hole” which literally did that as the swell came and went.
Spain Bay was a little haven of a beach with no swell or surf and a great campsite on the southern end. After gorging ourselves on the abalone that Peter Van der Woude had given us, we had an early night due to the proposed 7am start.
Wednesday 12th March – Ketchem Bay – 45km
How to describe today ? Awesome, magic, lucky, towering, majestic, funny……………
Honestly we had the most amazing day – left before 7am after packing up in the dark after a really bad nights sleep. The sea was practically flat calm as we headed towards Hilliard Head, rounded this and then down to Stephens Beach. The seas around East Pyramid and Muttonbird Islands were calm, a far cry to the conditions that Matt has had on previous trips when he has been 2-3 km out to sea for safety. We had fantastic views of Noyhener and Window Pane Bay, the latter ideallyic with lush mountainsides above a glistening white beach. Island Bay was fascinating with its cacophony of islands. We had a quick stop in Mulcahys Gulch, a NW-facing deep gulch with clear green waters. The last point before rounding the cape was Flying Cloud Point – what inspiring names!
The weather was supposed to be NW winds freshening to 30knots before a SW change but this certainly wasn’t the case as we had blue skies, nearly no wind and calm seas. A fishing boat kindly reminded us of the fact that days like these number only 5-6 per year which made me feel even more privileged to be there.
Around SW Cape the rock changes to granite from the quartz and this was readily apparent even to non-geologists like me. We rounded the cape on the outside of a few kelp-covered rocks as there were a few waves occasionally breaking over them. Once on the eastern side there were seals galore – lots of young pups fooling around in the kelp and following the boats.
It was then a leisurely paddle around to Ketchem Bay a glorious little sheltered beach with great campsite at the western end. There are also streams at either end which made for a good swim.
Thursday 13th March – New Harbour – 8km.
Sarah and Brian went for a wander up Mt Karamu – approximately 16km and 5 hours return. The rest of us slothed the day away on the beach reading, writing, eating etc.
Matt had decided that as the SW winds were due to freshen and the swell increase it would be better to move to New Harbour as apparently it would be better in those conditions. The bay is about 4km deep (north to south) which helps to dissipate the strength of the waves - as well as a couple of small rocky islands at its entrance. What was supposed to be an easy 8km paddle ended up being a major rescue job for Jamie.
Matt and I were initially paddling together towards a narrow passage between rocks and the headland. I didn’t like the look of it as it seemed that the waves were breaking at both ends, so decided against going through. Matt went through without any problems and Jamie followed. The first indicator that there was something amiss was when the water level between the rocks suddenly descended about 2-3 metres. Then a huge wave from the other end hit Jamie. Miraculously he managed to survive that one and keep upright but not the next which knocked him over. We raced around the other side to find Matt already assisting. Initially he became caught between Jamie and the rocks and took him a while to extricate himself and even longer to get the towrope to him. By this stage Jamie had already tried a re entry roll which had almost worked and had thought of attaching his towrope to the front of his boat and then swimming out to Matt, but it had got caught up on the back of his boat. Anyway finally Matt managed to get the towrope to him and towed him out of the gulch – he did an amazing job. Anyway, after all that excitement there was only a small amount of surf in the middle of the beach where the campsite was located, so there were not any more spills to end the day.
Friday 14th March – New Harbour
Dawned wet, mizzley and foggy with limited visibility. As it cleared slightly during the day we headed west on the SW track and walked to Hidden Bay – a glorious walk through buttongrass plains and forest, ranging from teatree to rainforest. Magical. Unlike New Harbour there were some decent sized waves coming in which we sat and were mesmerized by for ages.
Saturday 15th March – Maatsuyker Island – 20km.
I am sitting outside after dinner watching the muttonbirds returning to their nests, the currawongs overhead and a squall heading across the vista in front of us. The view stretches from SW Cape to the end of Cox’s Bight making it almost impossible to decide where to look! If someone had said to me years ago when I first started paddling that I would paddle to Maatsuyker Island, I would have laughed at them – dreams can come true after all ……..
What a great day – from New Harbour we paddled and sailed the 20km to Western Rocks and onto Maatsuyker. The sea was approximately 2-3 metres and pretty lumpy as we got closer to the island. The double and Jamie headed off to look at The Needles and the rest of us headed for the landing site where we came across literally hundreds of seals. We found out later on that they were Fur Seals and all males in that colony. We waited for most of them to lumber, fall and shove their way down the slope and into the water. So elegant in the water but so cumbersome on land. The hillside was also dotted with muttonbird nests which I would of thought would be a touch hazardous given the size of some of the seals!
The landing site consisted of rocks only as the original jetty had long since been destroyed leaving only the old gantry that is rapidly corroding away. Dave landed first, the honour given to the only plastic boat in the party and was followed by Matt. We gradually all landed and stacked the boats up on top of each other and against the cliff hoping that the seals wouldn’t be too tempted to lie, or attend to their calls of nature all over them!
We then hauled our gear up a steep pathway through a gorgeous glade of teatrees and ferns to the top of the haulage way and onto a green carpeted road which led us to the houses. There are three in relatively good condition given their location and we had been told that we could use the middle house for our stay. We met one of the new caretakers, Richard, who seemed quite welcoming and told us the dos/don’ts of the island. Wendy who we met a short time later seemed a little more relaxed about us being there and I think welcomed some company. Their vegie garden close to our house looked pretty productive – the years of guano from the million pairs of muttonbirds nesting on the island would have to make pretty good compost!
Sunday 16th March - Maatsuyker Island
A day of relaxation and exploration on the sunny holiday isle of Maatsuyker. Richard and Wendy gave us guided tours of the lighthouse which was fascinating. It was built in 1890 and apparently finished within 18 months. It used to use whale oil but now of course is mechanized. There are three levels within the lighthouse with 45 steps in total. On the first level there are rows of cylinders in a shelf that used to contain signal flags – they are now in the museum The second level is where the lighthouse keeper used to sit and work and the third is the light itself. The old light with its hundreds of prisms was amazing in its beauty and simplicity. We stood out on the platform on the top level and wondered at the view and our amazing luck at being there to appreciate it all. The pathways leading to the lighthouse have teatrees growing around them forming tunnels – it reminded both of us of the scenery one would expect in Tolkein’s “The Hobbit”.
Wendy had surpassed herself and made us Heritage Potato soup direct from the vegie garden and accompanied by warm freshly-baked rolls – delicious! Later on she had a turn in the double with Rex - we all thought that she must be the first woman ever to have her first sea kayaking lesson at Maatsuyker Island! After an initial hiccup, with Rex falling in while trying a slick manoevure to get in, they had a fantastic time paddling around the seal colonies. She did amazingly well for her first time and said that she would like to meet up once their stint on the island was over for another paddle. The views from the top of the haulageway were mesmerizing – across de Witt, Flat Witch, and onto Prion Beach and Pindars Peak.
We spent the evening with Wendy and Peter at their house. When we arrived the evening was far too interesting to go indoors. As the moon was almost full, the shearwaters made dramatic shadows against its luminosity as they returned to their burrows. Also as the lighthouse sent its rays of light into the night sky it occassionally hit one of the shearwaters sending a beam of reflected light in another direction. It was fantastic.
Once indoors Richard showed us some photos he had obtained at the Salamanca markets of the Tasman and Maatsuyker Lighthouses 100 years ago. There was one of the opening of the latter with men in formal attire standing on the platform next to the light as well as around the base. He also had a photo of the Ironpot lighthouse near to Hobart before the three-storey house was washed away in a large seas. Really interesting.
Monday 17th March – Anchorage Cove, Louisa Bay
With the forecast of N-NW winds at up to 30 knots earlier in the day than originally forecast, most people were up early and packing. Jeff and Rex were already off photographing the dawn before I was out of bed!. A quick clean of the house and then down to the boats. Our footprints were clearly visible around the boats from the previous day which made it unlikely that the seals had ventured close to the boats. Maybe it was the bright colours that had frightened them away. Needless to say though, there was seal hair over and in everything despite the spraydeck being on the boat.
A couple of people didn’t want to go to Flat Top Island which was 8km away due to the weather forecast and so headed straight to Louisa Bay. The rest of us paddled east in pretty flat conditions with no wind at all. A few seals followed us most of the way there, cruising not only in front of the boats but also underneath. The shearwaters, terns and gannets were also all around. Flat Top Island had the sentries on duty – cormorants in lines along the upper rock edges! It also had an amazing cave through the middle with one entrance to the south and one to the north . Jamie went through it first and said afterwards that it had been a tad “interesting”. Lots of waves hitting side-on and there were numerous ledges and overhangs to get injured or stuck underneath. The double also went through but I decided that it certainly wasn’t for me!
We then paddled across to the SE part of de Witt Island where a blowhole was loudly doing its stuff - it was possible to hear it from a couple of kilometres away. Dave and I went in for a closer, then a closer look and then got drenched by an enormous blow! The water in the gulch was phenomenally beautiful though – the clearest light blue/green in colour and aerated like a spa. Magical.
We explored the east and then north sides of the island. Around Temple Corner the rocks were truly fantastic – bent and folded, smooth and rough. Impossible really to describe adequately and I doubt whether the photos will do them justice. For the last couple of kilometres heading into Anchorage Cove we had some strong headwinds but nothing too major. We are camped at one of the beaches in Anchorage Cove facing Louisa Island and the Ironbound Range. The northerly had arrived as forecast but we seemed to be pretty sheltered where we are camped. However the seas were a mass of white-caps from about 500m out.
Tuesday 18th March – Deadmans Bay – 18km
The wind howled for much of the night still from the N-NW and when we woke this morning Louisa Bay was seething with white-caps. We took off and followed the coastline to where the waves meet on both sides of the sandbar that joins to Louisa Island. The sandbar there that can make for some pretty turbulent water that wasn’t the case today – just some bouncy and fun waves.
We paddled, sailed and braced our way down the impressive coastline – amazing rocks and formations under Havelock Bluff. Some of the gusts were probably up to 25-30 knots which made paddling and sailing somewhat unpredictable. Graeme went in for a dip while trying to put up his sail as he didn’t have a firm grip on his paddle when a gust came and so couldn’t brace. Round the last point into Deadmans Cove (or Little Deadmans Bay) we had some headwinds but the beach itself was sheltered. Apparently this is the case in most conditions because of the reef and rocks at its entrance. The shore is steep and rocky which is awkward to land on especially because the rocks are slippery, but the campsite is sheltered and under the trees east of the fast-flowing creek. There was one tent already there – a lone bush walker who turned out to be a GP from Hobart.
Wednesday 19th March – Cockle Creek ~ 50km
The views paddling east from Deadmans Bay were fantastic but a trifle eerie. The forecast was for a major front with gale-force SW winds but strangely everything was calm. Towards the south the sky was dark and ominous and the seas gray and unwelcoming, but nothing eventuated while we were on the water.
The swell off Prion Beach was reasonably large – I have no doubt that the surf would have been more-than-exciting as usual. Precipitous Bluff loomed dark and foreboding in the distance as did the Southern Ranges. Because of the forecast we didn’t really have the time to explore as we did around SW Cape which was a pity as Surprise Bay and Granite Beach both looked incredibly beautiful. The latter in particular has the most amazing cliffs, very similar to the organ pipes on Mt Wellington, which extend right out to the cape. Apart the capes there was a small amount of sloppy waves and rebound but otherwise it was calm for most of the way. No wind at all for sailing.
It started to rain shortly after we reached Cockle Creek so we set up the tarps and tents. Jamie, Rex and Jeff were picked up by Anthea later on in the evening. She arrived with some Gourmet Pizzas to share which certainly gave the tastebuds a treat! The plan was for Jeff and Rex to return with their car and ours in the morning for Graeme to use. However it was a wet and cold night – really the first for the trip.
Thursday 20th March – Hobart
Matt set off at 5am to paddle to Lauderdale – Graeme got up to see if he needed any help with carrying the boat down, but he was pretty organised as usual.
We had a much more leisurely start – on the water at 8am with the intention of paddling to Coningham for me, and Hobart for Sarah and Jean. However about 2-3 km out of Cockle Creek we realized that the weather and seas were worse than we thought – steep, breaking 2-3 metre seas with 15-20 knot winds. No fun at all! We made hasty decision to turn back and took twice the time to return to where we had started.
We spent the rest of the morning in the information booth trying to keep warm and moving. Shortly after lunch the others arrived and we were on our way home.
Matt meanwhile had had a bit of an epic returning to Lauderdale but had made it back in about 10 hours (100km approx) – an amazing feat!
Overall, an amazing trip to somewhere I never really expected to be able to paddle. Also to an area far more beautiful than I ever expected.