Day 14 - Are we there yet?

After 13 days and 497km, the last day was finally here. I called a number of places to find accommodation for Saturday night however everywhere was booked out except River Village on the Victorian side outside of Echuca. As it turns out it was only another 6km along the river. That last 6km was less than an hour on the water but it seemed like an absolute eternity. Immediately I enjoyed a long shower, did some washing, put on some clean clothes, then went into town and played tourist. Bec (sister) arrived at 9pm and thus ended my journey. The river experience was great but now I was truly focussed on cleaning off and getting back to the Gold Coast. There are certainly no regrets and I will be back to complete the last 1700km in the not too distant future.

Final hurdle - Hauling all my equipment and kayak up the long staircase

Final night at the river

The final days of the journey

Day 13 - Into the canyon!

I was certainly worried about my equine friends crashing the party and at 3am there was a huge splash and the sound of something large moving through the water. That had me feeling completely edge but relaxed when I came to the realisation that there was nothing I could do regardless. Startling a horse at close range with my headlight could be more dangerous than just going back to sleep. At first light I was up in a shot and sure enough the brumbies were back in the scrub just behind me. They quickly retreated when I appeared. I was happy to be back on the river with less than 75km to my new destination. It was only just over one big day on the river. The first part of the days journey was through 'The Narrows' between the wetlands in Barmah forest. The river and vegetation closes in through this reach so much so that you would swear it was a completely different river. It was perhaps the most tranquil couple of hours of the journey. Immediately after passing through the narrows and after Barmah the river changes completely! Suddenly the river banks go from being approximately 1m high to reaching heights of 5-8m towards Echuca. The now extremely wide and open chasm that was the Murray River became like and oven and in the endeavour to progress a huge distance I was really beginning to suffer from heat stroke. I took another 3pm break to allow some more shadows to spread across the river. The final stint in the afternoon was more pleasant. I crossed paths with the fourth and final snake. Funny coincidence that every one was swimming from Victoria to NSW! At days end I had travelled 58km and had a megre 16km into Echuca on the Saturday. Meanwhile my sister was not to arrive until Sunday! After a few phone calls I finally found some accommodation for Saturday. I thought it might be nice for my sister and niece if I had a thorough scrubbing before they arrived. After 13 days of being almost continuously covered in dirt it was going to take some time to remove.

The river closes in at 'The Narrows'

Barmah wetlands...far more land than wet land!

Expected to see many more emus than this!

Random river shot

Day 12 - Nothing to do but paddle

Today was just another day on the river. With so many twists and turns the river has changed very little over the last few days...until now. On the approach to Barmah forest the river becomes significantly narrower and faster flowing. The water level seems to be quite high with respect to the bank but speaking to the owner of the Picnic Point Caravan Park, the water level is usually only just below the top of bank. Now it is a clear 1-1.5m below. As is the case almost everywhere, the river is extremely low. After several days absent, I finally encountered snake #3. It was swimming across the river and we were on target for a collision so I hit the gas. Looking back as it continued to cross I realised how slow they are through the water. Suddenly I felt a whole lot safer. That feeling of safety evapourated in the evening when I finally found a point to pull the kayak up for the night. Shortly after unloading the kayak and setting up my tent around 8 brumbies came bolting out of the forest straight at me. They came to a sudden halt around 50m away and took a good look at me. I held my ground and slowly approached them and they bolted back into the forest. At many locations there are cattle that graze the banks and drink from the river. Cattle are generally easily frightened and disappear where as horses are seemingly more intelligent and curious. This had me worried as I knew they would be back at some stage. Again, it would be unintentional but a swift kick from a horse would have me in a very bad way. I went to bed with an uneasy feeling in the stomach and planned to be up at very first light to try and leave asap. Today was very productive regardless of the heat covering 49km.

Morning on Day 12 and starting to look pretty rough

Lunch break on another hot sunny day

Progress map to Day 12

Day 11 - Relief!

It was such a relief overnight as the winds dropped rapidly as forecast and I enjoyed a reasonably comfortable sleep. Reasonably because the calm winds and clear skies resulted in some very cold conditions once more. The forecast for Wodonga was 2 degrees so we would have been very similar. It was a somewhat late start today not being in the river until 9.45am. With the wind just a whisper compared with the previous day I decided to push on and aim for another 50km in case there was more bad weather to come before the weekend. It was very uneventful on the river. I did see my second fox but they are not particularly exciting. The river has changed somewhat with very few decent sand bars for camping unlike upstream of Tocumwal. Fortunately I did find one that was reasonable and I took advantage of it and set up tent.

Delux accomodation with great river views!

A reasonable sand bar to haul up the kayak

Recent progress map

Day 10 - Hang onto your hat!

Day 9 was an easy nights sleep on a big sand bar just downstream of Cobram but come 3am the wind really picked up so much so that at 4am I was out pushing as many pegs as I could find into the relatively soft sand. It was a most unwelcome wake up call. Unfortunately those blustery westerlies had set in for the day which proved a big issue given my general westerly travel direction. At several straights facing west the waves were well over 1ft and the squally wind turned the paddle into a very undesirable sail. Fortunately Tocumwal was just over 20km away so I aimed for that as a minimum for the day. About 5km upstream the river suddenly became very snaggy and shallow, a common theme of the trip. With the wind and now the snags my mood was quickly souring. I stopped at Tocumwal to get a paper and check the weather forecast. As expected the winds were from a gusty front passing Victoria and that winds would drop quickly overnight. Whilst waiting it out at Tocumwal I took the luxury of a bite to eat and made a few phone calls. Whilst there I bumped into a guy who was going for a quick paddle as part of his preps for the Murray Marathon. He informed me that the river was actually significantly lower the previous week so I guess that is a stroke of good luck. After a long break hoping for a drop in the wind I decided to push on. I passed under the bridges and looked up the barrel of the next straight with white caps everywhere and decided to call it quits for the night. At that site I met a lovely couple, Owen and Karen, who were on their post retirement tour of Aus. They invited me over for a hot drink and then dinner. I also managed to catch the evening news and had internet access. A great opportunity to send a surprise email or two! The company was greatly appreciated as the near complete absence of boats on the river continued.

A tasty treat from the bakery

The Big Cod at Tocumwal

End of a very challenging Day 10

I even finally got around to doing some washing!

One of 3 Koalas seen just around the camp site

Day 9 - Wet undies!

The decision had been made, my trip would end at Echuca on the weekend. Only 250km to go now. All the lonely time on the river was now a heavy weight on my shoulders and my mood had now slipped from excitement on Day 1 to boredom that bordered on depression at times. There was a whole life waiting to begin for me on the Gold Coast with my beautiful partner Joy and there and nowhere else I wanted to be. The only thing I could do was continue to paddle as whilst paddling I could always feel the end getting closer. During the previous evening I had my first real scare as a big roo came bounding down to the river very shortly after turning off my headlight to get some sleep. It was certainly packing a bit of weight as it thudded across the sand bar. Certainly I was comfortable that there was nothing that would deliberately cause me harm on the river but if a roo like that stumbled into my tent it could be very serious. Day 9 was very hot and the wind made life very challenging anywhere with a sizable fetch to the north west. Regardless of the conditions, I was now on a mission with a defined timeline and I intended to do the hard yards early in case conditions deteriorated further. Overall I covered another 54km and was now within 200km of Echuca. My highlight for the day was taking an unexpected swim. It was late in the day and was starring into the falling sun with a rippled water surface. The glare managed to induce a loss in concentration, mostly due to the fatigue of a long exhausting day, and I simply did not see a huge log in the river parallel to the flow that had about 2m of log showing about 5-10cm above the water level. I rode straight up it and swung perpendicular to the flow. I thought I could salvage the situation like Day 1 but I just could not hold it. I spent the next 15mins in the middle of the river sitting on the snag bailing out my kayak with a 400mm tin can. Considering my water bottle, maps, and thongs were all by my side I am very lucky nothing was lost. Even though initially unwelcome, I guess the trip would not have been complete without one capsize. It was a hot day and cooling off was quite pleasant.

Yet more river around every bend with more snags to negotiate...

Pulling stumps on Day 9 and starting to look very scruffy

Progress to Day 9

Day 8 - Crossing the wall

Early in the morning I came to the realisation that it was closer to 30km to the wall at Lake Mulwala rather than the 20km I had previously thought. This meant some serious energy was going to be expended reaching the wall by 12pm. The deadline was set because Kristian was to meet me there and help carry the kayak from upstream of the wall, along the road, over the bridge, through the caravan park and finally down to the boat ramp (around 500m). We were very happy when that was all over with. The morning paddle fortunately did not prove as challenging as thought. Markers clearly identified the path through the everglades and Lake Mulwala. Fortunately also, although the wind was howling from the west yesterday afternoon it had eased off significantly in the morning. Strong westerly winds would have made for fun with the large open water body. After pushing hard I easily made the journey in time and had plenty of time to push on further downstream in the afternoon. The river downstream of Lake Mulwala returned to a shallow and snaggy channel but the flow was minimal. Very little water was being released from the Lake Mulwala at that time. Overall for the day I managed around 52km. This put me well on my way to Echuca and the end of my Murray adventure...for now anyway.

Curious pelicans as I head from the Everglades to the open lake

Welcome to Lake Mulwala and the drowned forests

Finally, the wall is in sight!

Camp site on big sand bar for night 8

Day 7 - Back on the river!

Somewhat reluctantly after a relaxing morning of fishing it was time get back in the drivers seat and get moving once again. This evening I only intended on travelling to Bundalong (approximately 20km). The Everglades upstream of Lake Mulwala are a mess of channels and wetlands and I had worried I may struggle to navigate through her on the following day. Furthermore, Lake Mulwala is a drowned forest and full of large snags. On the short stint in to Bundalong I suddenly encountered significantly more boat traffic. In fact, it was the first time on the entire journey I had to cross the wake of a moving craft. Just upstream of Bundalong I came across 6 blokes in 3 tinnies hooning around. Was a little concerned about being swamped but managed to get some good local knowledge from them regarding camping grounds around Bundalong. This was extremely useful as the river banks in that area were generally covered in thick vegetation with very few sand bars. I had been making best efforts to avoid camping close to towns but in this case it was the only practical option. In the end Bundalong was a very sleepy town and apart from the sound of dogs barking and distant street lights it was a reasonably peaceful nights sleep.

Another nights camping along the Murray River

Sunset on the Murray

Serenity on the river

Current location

Day 6 - Time to take a break

After a steadily increasing workload over the 5 days previous, I was very happy to have the day off and a small sleep in. This was made easier by a few passing light showers. A negative side to this though was a large drop in temperatures and strong westerly winds. To date I had been lucky with minimal windy days. I spent the first half of the day just hanging around waiting for Kristian to arrive. When he did we grabbed the boat and took off to try and catch a few yellowbelly. Unfortunately we only caught 3 Murray Cod (closed season) about 40cm long so they all went back. More than anything it was just brilliant to have the company. Although my body was coping well and becoming stronger with the workload, I was struggling more and more everyday being away from friends and family. When I leave tomorrow it will be difficult as I know it will be another week of solitude. It was enough to convince me to bring forward my finish line to Echuca on the following weekend. I accepted simply that although the trip is interesting and challenging, it is an experience that would be greatly enhanced if not done solo.

Camping at Brimin

My first Murray cod for the trip

Bait yabbies and shrimp

The river rabbit - not the first european carp I have caught!

Day 5 - Finding rhythm

After a very slow and tricky start to the trip it seemed I had built up some real momentum. Today was another example as I clocked up another 51km and pushed through from upstream of Corowa to Brimin where I was meeting Kristian the following day. There was enormous incentive to push through the pain with the carrot being a full day off. Prior to my trip I had only completed approximately 100km of paddling in the last couple of years. Brimin would be approaching 200km in just 5 days. A full day off would prove extremely beneficial in allowing the usually lazy muscles a chance to recover and become stronger. It was an extremely challenging day though. The river become a wider slower channel around Corowa and proved reasonably easy to navigate. It is there I crossed paths with my second snake. This was another black snake but substantially larger than the first. Again it was swimming across the river but I always maintained a keen eye for the moving snag. Approximately 15km upstream of Brimin the river changed dramatically. It suddenly branched off into numerous faster moving channels. The channel I followed was very difficult to negotiate with snags crossing the majority of the channel at many locations. A few bad split second decisions were made but I managed to avoid the big snags and stay dry. It was true to say I had more than a few hairy moments very similar to Day 1! That day truly helped my decision making process with regard to the remainder of my journey. I would speak with Kristian tomorrow to establish an exit strategy.

Photo from the pilot seat

Few friendly Cockies hanging out at the snag

Black snake number 2 (perhaps 1m long)

Lunch break and chance to escape the blazing sun

Finish location for Day 5

Day 4 - Finally a change is in the air

Overall, the first 3 days on the river have been carbon copies. They start with a frost, followed by a clear warm day and the temperatures plummeting 5 degrees in 10 minutes as the sun disappears. Day 4 saw the first sign of change. The NW winds were up and some high cloud began streaming through. Finally...no frost tonight! Some rain would have been nice but not too much that would flood my tent. What eventuated was around 10 spots which was perhaps fortunate given my tent location. The river has continued to settle down over the last 2 days with reasonably slow flows but occassional spots where snags have to be negotiated carefully. At least now the flow is slow enough that if I make a bad decision on path I can hit reverse and change my approach. Today the big first was seeing a big Wedge Tailed Eagle give the other birds hell. It landed on a snag perhaps 15m away. They are an awesome sight to behold from close range! More solid progress today as I managed an early start and over 45km. Body still feeling fine with the increased workload. I will keep pushing the envelope to see if I can manage my initial long term goal of 50km/day as an average.

Lunch break and a chance to finally get the pfd off

Camp for night 4

River covered and camp site for night 4

Day 3 - Much a muchness!

Yet another frost overnight. This time I thought I would at least take a photo to demonstrate what I am dealing with. My sleeping bag has been alright but even fully clothed I find myself shivering through much of the night. Yesterday was a dramatic improvement on day 1 but I need to up the km/day sharply to begin making some real progress. Today I stepped it up a little further to cover 42km in the day. The body is not loving it. Although I feel the paddling rhythm improving with every day, the heat has taken a lot out today and for the first time have been seriously contemplating pulling the pin on my trip well before Goolwa. Today was a day of firsts. First roo, first snake and first fox. It was only a small black snake, perhaps 40cm and swam 2-3m in front of my kayak. I did see it some time before that.

Scratching the ice off the kayak in the morning

Taking a photo each morning to see the changes to general appearance

Late in the day passing by the cliffs around Howlong

Camp site at end of Day 3

Overall progress map

Day 2 - Much to plan...

After the trials and tribulations of day 1, I was certainly hoping for a change in fortune with respect to river conditions and greater kms travelled for day 2. I was greeted with the second frost in as many nights but I had prepared myself for being very uncomfortably for however long was required. From Albury the river generally changed to a slower flow and greater width. There was still an enormous number of snags throughout the river but generally much easier to navigate. Today I had my first encounter with a Platypus in the Murray River. The kayak is very quiet and I was able to sneak within a couple of metres before it took a dive for deeper water. Apart from that there has been significantly less wildlife than I had thought. Also far less boat traffic than anticipated. I passed no boats on the river at all today. A consequence of low river levels and closed season on Murray Cod and Crayfish. Another 38km travelled today. Hard work but rewarding. The shoulders were sore but overall the body was holding together well. Certainly it was very liberating to strip off at the end of the day, hook up the hot water bag to a tree and have a reasonable wash off.

Lunch break and looking very classy in my hat

Camp setup with tent on sandbar

Camp site at end of Day 2

Day 1 - This was not on the brochure!

The previous evening my mate Kristian and I headed for the Hume Wall and finalise the start point. We then continued on to camp just off the Omeo Highway heading towards Mitta Mitta. Another beautiful day up there but clear days seem to be followed by frosty evenings!

Due to the cold and damp conditions we made a late start and did not arrive at the start point until after 10am. Unloading the kayak from trailer, packing it will all the essential equipment, and then finally setting off took another hour plus some. Finally after much preparation I was on my way. The first day was not what I had anticipated at all. It was less than 1km downstream of the wall before I passed under a bridge where the water was so low that i bounce the bottom of the kayak over a large boulder. After the bridge there were snags absolutely everywhere and a straight stretch of river had to be treated like a slalom course. Through the course of the first day I took one wrong turn into a dead end, smashed into one snag which destroyed one rod and reel attached to the top of my kayak, hit another snag side on which swung me perpendicular to the flow and I thought for sure into the river and several times became stuck on the shallow rocky bed. The common river scape was for bends with wide unpassably shallow rocky sections with the slightly deeper areas loaded with snags. I wish more photos were taken but I was honestly too concerned with trying to make the most kms possible in difficult circumstances.

Later in the day I came across a group camping along the river. With channels going everywhere I stopped to confirm I was still on the main Murray River channel and to see how far on to Albury. They were extremely hospitable and invited me to camp there for the night with Dave, Dom and Jack. Thanks again guys...after that horrid first day bouncing all over the river it was good to have to company. Only 21km of the proposed 2225km covered. It was an enormously challenging day.

Arrival at Hume Dam Wall

All loaded up and ready to hit the river

Stumps Day 1 - Very happy to be off the river

From left: Dom, Dave, Jack