Exactly nine weeks ago we left the Cave
to spend the summer in southern NSW and eastern Victoria. We took
two single sea kayaks (Prijon Marlins), some hiking gear and a few
clothes. Out of 63 days, we spent only two nights sleeping indoors,
swam, at least once each day, on 60 of those days and tallied up
about 30 days in the kayaks. A full chronicle of our adventures
would take too long too write, too long to read, and would reduce
glowing sunsets, clear aquamarine waters, a profusion of wildlife,
and too many magical moments to count to a tedious list, and yet, I
feel compelled to describe some of the highlights of those nine
weeks.
Near Kangaroo Valley in NSW's southern
highlands we paddled up the Kangaroo River to Lake Yarrunga and the
Shoalhaven River which pierces the wild Morton National Park along
calm waters dwarfed by giant sandstone cliffs rising 500 metres above
us. We swam in the Shoalhaven River, fought off habituated wallabies
and watched the moon rise over the surrounding cliffs. A day later,
we descended Bungonia Gorge, scrambling among the house sized blocks
between the narrow gorge walls of limestone to pass aquamarine pools
along the river to reach the confluence with the Shoalhaven River,
where we camped on a sandy river shore and swam in the warm water.
Morning Mist Kangaroo River
In western NSW, we visited the iconic
Dog on the Tucker Box, before launching our kayaks into the fast
flowing waters of the Murrimbidgee River and followed it downstream
on its twisting, turning journey to Wagga Wagga. We camped each
night by the river banks, dipped into the cold waters and listened to
the screech of Sulfur Crested Cockatoos morning and night.
From Thredbo in Australia's Snowy
Mountains we hiked from the valley floor to the top of Mount
Koscuiszko through open alp-lands with wide open views over the
surrounding mountains and enjoyed peaceful camps by the clear waters
of the Snowy River. The Main Range track took us past small alpine
tarns, over numerous peaks and by clear running streams. In hot
weather, we kayaked the fresh waters of Jindabyne Lake, camping on a
sandy beach, swimming in the warm clear water and watching a
spectacular sunset.
Murrumbidgee Sunset
On the beautiful Sapphire Coast of
southern NSW, we walked the Light to Light Walk through Ben Boyd
National Park from Boyds Tower to Green Cape along the stunning red
rock coast-line where we slept by the beach and listened to the
deafening cry of cicadas in the night.
The tiny town of Wonboyne, 200
residents, lies at the edge of the Nadgee Nature Reserve and, after a
Wonboyne Whopper at the only store in town, we walked to the Merrica
Ranger Station, camped for the night, then spent three days on the
spectacular Nadgee-Howe Wilderness Walk. We hiked through tunnels of
melaleuca forest, across coastal heathland, and along deserted white
sand beaches with the surf crashing on to the shoreline. A truly
wild and wondrous coastline. Emerging three days later at Mallacoota
in Croajingalong National Park with azure waters, prolific marine and
bird-life, and the calm waters of the inlet offset by the Tasman Sea
pounding onto the endless sand beaches, we spent two more days
paddling our kayaks around Mallacoota through calm mornings with
boundless fish splashing and on into windy and wild afternoons.
Dramatic Sky on the Nadgee-Howe
Victoria's coastline abounds with
inlets, estuaries and bays, and from Mallacoota, we travelled west
and paddled in Tamboon Inlet, camping by a small saltwater lagoon
separated from the pounding surf on 90 Mile Beach by a narrow strip
of land. Pelicans floated in the lagoon as sun set.
In Victoria's Alpine National Park we
spent two days walking along the high country among snow gums. From
Mount Feathertop we hiked through the alpine along The Razorback,
then descended a steep trail to the Owens River and a welcome
swimming hole. At nearby Mount Buffalo National Park we wandered
through giant granite boulders and past deep granite gorges, before
detouring back up to Alpine National Park to hike to the top of Mount
Bogong, Victoria's highest mountain.
Burnt Snow Gums Near Feathertop
Back on the coast, we wandered long
beaches near Cape Liptrap with the morning fog hanging over the sea,
kayaked through twisting mangrove channels on Anderson Inlet among
hundreds of swans, pelicans, ibis, oyster-catchers, herons and other
birds. In nearby Western Port, we paddled to French Island and
breakfasted on a sand spit surrounded by sea birds, camped by the
ocean and wandered old ruins by the sea-shore. On Phillip Island we
hiked around Cape Woolamai past scavenging echidnas and explored the
rugged and rocky coastline of The Nobbies where seals bask on the
offshore islands.
Using Victoria's excellent public
transit system we took the V-line bus into cavernous and bustling
Flinders Street Station in downtown Melbourne. For a couple of
country bumpkins, Flinders Street Station was nothing short of
amazing with 80 or so bus bays below ground and literally a dozen
rail-lines above ground with trains travelling all over Melbourne,
out to the suburbs, into the country and interstate. Melbourne also
has a fabulous tram system which is free around the downtown core and
worth riding just to see all the gorgeous old granite buildings
around the city.
Morning on the southern tip of the mainland
At the southern tip of Victoria, we
hiked for three days through Wilson's Promontory National Park
visiting the most southerly point of the Australian mainland, camping
by white sand beaches with azure waters and riding our boogie boards
in the gentle surf.
The massive and wild Nooramunga Marine
and Coastal Park is an amazing protected waterway containing over 40
sand islands and separated from the pounding surf of the Tasman Sea
by narrow strips of sand. We camped for five nights on different
islands and spent the days paddling through the clear waters as rays
glided under our kayaks, hundreds of sea birds took flight with a
thundering of wings, and soldier crabs seemed to number more than
grains of sand on the beach.
Soldier Crabs
At Gippsland Lakes, we caught tail
winds east through the islands and battled head winds up Bunga Arm to
camp with 90 Mile Beach and the surf of the Tasman Sea on one side,
and the sheltered waters of Lake Victoria on the other. North of
Bairnsdale, we followed the twisting Mitchell River from Angusvale
south to the Den of Nargun, ending a long days hike by swimming in
deep pools of fresh water.
In Cape Conran National Park, we walked
deserted 90 Mile Beach from East Cape to Point Pearl and swam in the
cold clear waters of the Tasman before launching the kayaks at Bemm
River and paddling across Sydenham Inlet to follow a narrow twisting
channel through drowned melaleuca harbouring plentiful sea birds to
Swan Lake.
From the fishing village of Eden, we
paddled rolling swells on Twofold Bay and explored narrow nooks and
crannies among rock reefs watching fish swimming through the kelp
forests in the clear green water. In Bournda National Park, we
camped by Wallagoot Lake and went paddling at dawn, accompanied only
by dozens of black swans, then walked the Kangarutha Track from tiny
Kianninny Bay to Hobart Beach where we swam in the ocean after our
days hike.
Morning Mist on the Sapphire Coast
North of Tathra, we paddled up the Bega
River as the water changed from clear green to river brown and into
Blackfellow Lagoon where fish jumped constantly from the water, and
then returned swimming off a sandy beach in the clear salt water.
In the Eurobodalla we walked the
coast-line from Tuross Beach to Congo, along the Bingie Dreaming
Track, an aboriginal dreaming track, past sea weed strewn beaches
with a three metre swell crashing onto the beach and sea mist hanging
in the air. Rock platforms at Wasp Head revealed starfish, anemones
and small fish in the rock pools and strange geologic formations –
ironstone box and gorgeous sandstone cliffs arrayed with colours and
sculpted by wind and wave into gracious curves.
At Batemans Bay, we rode a tidal rip
into the river and surfed our kayaks in a small swell. And, finally,
on a morning kayak in Jervis Bay off a deserted white sand beach we
paddled among pods of dolphins listening to their whooshing breath
and watching their graceful sleek curves as they cut the clear green
waters. A captivating end to 63 days of wonder.
Dolphin in Jervis Bay
