Last time I paddled this section of
coast Doug was in Vancouver and I was pursuing my straight line
policy to try to keep up with the bigger boys in home-made boats and
saw very little of the hidden beaches and rocky coves between Narooma
and Mystery Bay. A local bus runs past the Mystery Bay Road twice a
day, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon and
simplifies the whole shuttle affair. Doug dropped me and the kayaks
at the Jetty Park in Narooma while he drove down to the Mystery Bay
turn-off to catch - or miss - the bus. After setting up the kayaks,
I spent the time climbing laps around the excellent kids playground
to stay warm. This caused the adults some consternation but, as
usual, the kids loved it.
Glasshouse Rocks,
pc, DB
Meanwhile, Doug was standing at the
turn-off to Mystery Bay waiting for the bus which came by just a
minute or two late at a steady 120 km/hour leaving Doug at the curb.
Luckily, a local "tradie" gave him a ride into town and I
barely noticed he was late. Turns out, the bus stop is actually 250
metres north of Mystery Bay Road for the northbound bus, and south
for the southbound bus.
Exploring around Glasshouse Rocks
pc, DB.
Wagonga Inlet is famous for clear water
and big rays and both were in evidence as we paddled out past the
breakwater. Usually there are seals hauled out on the rocks but it
must have been too cold as we did not see any. The rocky headland
directly underneath the golf course has amazing big sea caves which
we paddled into. You might not know these are there unless you go
right into all the little bays. After having a play around these
rocks we continued down the coast to Glasshouse Rocks. These little
islets off shore don't really look like Glasshouses but they do offer
some interesting paddling.
A cool arch near Corunna Point
pc, DB
Another longer section of beach follows
as you paddle south past Handkerchief Beach to Barunga Point. There
are a couple of semi-sheltered landings, depending on conditions
along the way but a big easterly or southerly swell would make
landing challenging. There are more rocks and cliffs at Barunga
Point and then a short section of beach to more scattered rocks at
Bogota Head. We had dolphins with us the entire distance along this
coast.
Paddling past Glasshouse Rocks
pc, DB
The best part of this paddle is from
Corunna Point to Mystery Bay where there are rocks, gulches,
gauntlets, and sea caves. We took our time exploring this section
before pulling into Mystery Bay where there is a handy tap for
washing gear. Doug walked the 2.5 km out to where we had left the
car and arrived back before I had even finished my thermos of tea.
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