Compiled by John Beesley
The Hunter Valley Canoe Club held a weekend paddle at
Tallowa Dam in the beautiful Kangaroo Valley on the 11th & 12th
February.
Unfortunately only Ron and Carrie Elliott and John & Kim
Beesley were able to make the trip.
John organised his good friend Geoff Gibson who lives in
Nowra, and has paddled the dam many times, to act as guide.
Ron & Carrie camped Friday night at the reserve camping
ground near the Bendeela Power Station in their large tent. John & Kim were
hosted by Geoff and his wife Marla at their home in Bombaderry on the Friday
night.
Unfortunately for Ron and Carri, but fortunately for John
& Kim it rained very heavily Friday night as it did at times on the trip
down from Newcastle.
Saturday however saw an overcast sky with low hanging clouds
on the mountains west of Nowra.
Intermittent rain was predicted and there was discussion as
to whether we should continue with our plans to camp overnight on the dam.
Naturally we chose to leave the comfort of a nice warm bed
under a solid roof for skimpy nylon in the bush!
We arrived at the Tallowa Dam wall at about 8:30am and
proceeded to load all our gear we would need for the overnight stay into our
kayaks.
Ron and Carrie were using the same boat (Elliott Kayaks
Tomaree) that proved so successful on the Murrumbidgee trip. John and Kim
paddled their trusty Elliot Kayaks Nomad and Geoff paddled his Raider X sea
kayak.
With gear packed we headed up the Shoalhaven River side of
the dam. The dam was constructed on the junction of the Shoalhaven and Kangaroo
Rivers. A recent addition to the dam is a fish lift. This lift is essentially a
large bottom opening box. The fish are enticed with air bubbles into a channel
that contains the box. After a period of time the box is hoisted via an
intricate winching system out of the enclosed channel and up and over the dam
wall. It is then lowered into the dam and the fish are released into the dam to
allow their breeding migration up the river system to continue. We watched the
lift a few times and on every occasion we could see fish in the box so it
obviously works!
Apparently the reverse occurs when fish traditionally travel
down the river systems to the sea. This is a fantastic initiative to maintain
our native fish stocks and is applauded.
The paddle to our planned camp site was only about 12km so
we took our time and explored anything we thought may have been interesting.
The overcast sky and light intermittent rain (finally the
weather bureau gets it right), cast magnificent light on the four hundred metre
high cliffs surrounding the canyon we were paddling in. Low clouds below the
cliff tops hung onto the mountains like fairy floss.
The colours of the extremely dense and lush semi tropical rainforest
in the ravines were exquisite and gave off almost every shade of green
imaginable.
The heavy rain from the night before gave birth to dozens of
waterfalls cascading down the sandstone cliffs. Some were only slight wisps of
water dancing in the breeze as they fell lightly onto the lush bush below but
there were a few with a considerable volume of water that could be heard
tumbling into the chasms formed over a millennium.
We all agreed it would be difficult to find a more beautiful
place anywhere in Australia. The light rain and overcast sky enhanced the
experience.
Despite the beauty Carrie was beginning to feel the cold so
she and Ron pushed on a bit harder to warm up. Geoff, John & Kim pulled
into one of the many small campsites along the banks of the dam for a cup of
tea and a bit of cake – you don’t have to rough it all the time!
After ten minutes or so we paddled on slowly exploring nooks
and crannies, discovering small cascades flowing into the dam and just taking
in the experience.
After a few more kilometres we came across Ron & Carrie at a slightly larger camp site having lunch.
This was not the site Geoff and I wanted to stay at despite
its beauty as we knew of a secret spot (and unfortunately for you readers it
will remain a secret) a bit further on.
We convinced Ron & Carrie to look at our favoured site
and once they explored it a bit they agreed to spend the night there.
By now the light rain had stopped so we unpacked all our
gear and set about putting up tents and organising all the gear we bought
along.
Kim and I went minimalist as we were unsure how much we
could fit in the Nomad. Small doubles are not ideal for overnight camping trips
but we were surprised what we managed to fit in. I reckon we could have even
fitted in a spare pair of socks each…but that would be way too much luxury!!
To our surprise Ron and Carrie bought a table and fancy
chairs. I was disappointed not to see a candelabra but Carrie promised this will
be packed on the next trip.
Geoff, not knowing what we would all be bringing, bought
triple of almost everything – especially when he knew we were in for a bit of
wet weather. This paid off as he had a very good light fly which we set up just
in case it started to rain again.
After all the camps were set up we settled in under the fly
for a bit of late lunch. As soon as we did light rain started to fall again so
it was a good thing we set up the fly.
As luck would have it as soon as we finished lunch the rain
stopped, the clouds began to move away and the sun came out for a glorious
afternoon.
It was decided we must have a camp fire to ward off the
dangerous animals in the area.
There was a Lyre Bird close by making all sorts of wonderful
calls so we needed protection.
The call to collect fire wood was made and as we are all
paddlers the only way to collect wood had to be by boat.
Ron and Carrie decided to search the bank and dam but no wood
was produced. I didn’t think sunbaking and swimming would give good results but
they seemed to be having a good time.
Geoff, Kim and I headed up river about 600m where we came
across an English fellow camping in a lovely small camp site. This site was at
the beginning of the shallow water and bit further on small rapids flowed.
I believe a well known camping spot is only a few hundred more
metres up river known as Fossikers Flat.
We explored the banks and a bit into the bush keeping an eye
out for our legless friends. We managed to find and return about six small
sticks, hardly enough to waste a match on.
This called for more drastic action so Geoff and I took to
the bush, dodging the many stinging nettles, in search of sufficient wood to
ward off the very dangerous Lyre Bird.
With some perseverance we managed to locate enough dry wood
for a nice little fire.
After all the strenuous work Kim and I went for a swim,
which doubled as a bath with no soap of course to look after the environment.
We swam about fifty metres downstream onto a large flat rock. Whilst we were on
the rock a couple we saw back at the dam wall came along in a double. They
appeared perplexed as from their position they could not see our ‘secret’ camp
or any boats or other people. I asked them if they had seen a kayak further downstream.
I explained we had paddled to rock, laid down and promptly fell asleep. When we
woke up our kayak was gone!
The look on the girls face was priceless. I did however
explain the true situation…Ron and Carrie were cacking themselves.
Geoff knew of a waterfall behind our ‘secret’ camp site and
wanted to show it to us. However the walk turned out to be quite difficult as
we needed to traverse the creek bed to reach the water fall. We travelled a
little way up the creek bed but decided not to proceed any further than a small
pool as we did not have appropriate footwear or clothing...maybe next time.
Interestingly the creek bed we walked along was dry in patches and a bubbling
brook in others. The only explanation being that the water must travel
underground in spots and then rise to the surface in other areas.
It was now getting late so we decided to prepare our dinner.
After the success of the Back Country dehydrated food packs
we took on the Murrumbidgee trip Ron, Carrie, Kim and I all had some form of
this quite nice pre prepared food.
Boil the prescribed volume of water add to pack, stir, seal,
wait ten minutes and Bon Appetite!
Dinner and washing up over (lick the spoon) it was time to
tackle the camp fire.
Luckily Geoff and I had many years in the scouts which
proved absolutely useless getting the damp wood to burn. I was fanning the smouldering
heap with little affect.
Luckily for us during dinner Ron had a tipple of what I term
his special Clarence Town water, but I think it actually comes from Russia in a
clear bottle, and he somehow breathed life into the flames by just blowing on
it.
Once the fire was up and going we rested comfortably knowing
we were safe from attack by the Lyre Bird and we had a most enjoyable evening
telling lies about paddling and camping adventures.
When the wood was all gone it was time for bed.
The next morning welcomed us with crystal clear skies and a
beautiful day.
Breakfast for Kim & I consisted of Back Country Muesli
and Yoghurt, add 200ml of cold water wait ten minutes and yummo.
Ron & Carrie had Back Country scrambled eggs which they
said was very nice.
It was time to pack up and begin our paddle back to the cars
at the dam wall. This is when minimalist camping is a blessing and Kim and I
were the first packed up and ready to paddle which is very unusual as Ron and
Carrie have this process down pat.
As it was a beautiful day we took our time. The scenery in
the sunlight was completely different to the day before and it was like a whole
new adventure. A pair of enormous wedge tailed eagles soared over head
effortlessly on the breeze coming off the cliffs.
Many of the waterfalls we saw the day before were just wet
rocks and nowhere near as impressive as what we had witnessed.
The paddle back was absolutely beautiful with the sunlight
on the bare rock faces.
We were amazed at how many people were on the river this
day. Obviously there were quite a few people that started after us on Saturday.
We were glad of our secret camping spot as it is really special to be able to
enjoy a pristine camp just with friends.
Along the way we stopped for morning tea and a bite to eat
and then headed straight back to the cars.
Luckily we did as when we reached the car park we looked
back and to our surprise there was a huge black cloud following us. We hastily
packed all the gear into the cars and loaded the boats. Just as we finished it started to rain and
thunder…good luck or good timing…I choose good planning (and a lot of luck).
As it was now about 1:30pm we decided to head to Kangaroo
Valley Village pub for lunch. Their speciality believe it or not is a bucket of
mussels in a house speciality broth. It
is guaranteed to contain a minimum one kilogram of mussels. Carrie tried it and can vouch on the quantity
and quality.
After a most enjoyable lunch we bid our goodbyes to Geoff
and had an uneventful trip back home.
Footnote: we enjoyed the trip so much we all agreed we will
return. This return trip is planned for
5th & 6th of May 2012. This time we will be camping
in luxury at the Bendeela Power Station Reserve and doing day paddles to areas
not previously covered but guaranteed to be just as spectacular. The grounds
are suitable for tents, caravans and campers. Facilities consist of drop
toilets only.
