Right now, and for the foreseeable
future, we are based in Moruya, looking after a lovely older Collie
and a house on a few acres. And, it has been hot, almost every day
in the 30's with nary a sea breeze making it the eight kilometres
inland to cool the air down. Consequently, we have been out in the
sea kayak a lot enjoying the local waterways. There is a ton of
kayaking down here, open ocean or protected inlets, lakes and rivers.
Sunset from the house
Our first couple of trips were with the
Eurobodalla Kayakers. Regularly on Tuesdays, a group paddles up the
Tomaga River from Mossy Point. Apparently, you can paddle right up
to the Zoo at Mogo, but when I went we paddled up to and around a
little island in the river making a distance of about 10 kilometres.
This is a pleasant little paddle and there does not seem to be any
motor traffic to speak of. A really big sting ray hangs around the
boat ramp.
Our kayaks at Three Islet Point
Our next paddle was also with the
Eurobodalla Kayakers and we went down to paddle the calm clear waters
of Wagonga Inlet at Narooma. We launched under the highway bridge
and paddled out to the bar where three or four seals were lazing
close by the rocks. There were also many rays swimming in the
shallow waters. Wagonga Inlet has really clear turquoise water so it
is very pretty to paddle around the many inlets and bays.
Heading out to the Tollgate Islands
With the hot weather continuing, Doug
and I launched from Corrigans Beach in Batemans Bay and paddled out
to the Tollgate Islands which are about 3.5 km offshore. It is
always a bit disconcerting to start a paddle trip by heading straight
out to sea, but conditions were very good with a 1 to 1.5 metre swell
and barely any wind. Although the islands appeared very distant when
we started paddling, we arrived in just about an hour. We
circumnavigated the two islands but had to stand a fair way off shore
as large waves were breaking on the rocky reefs that surround the
islands. In calmer weather, you can paddle between the islands.
At the Tollgate Islands
On our return trip, we paddled
southwest and landed in a dumping surf - not our best idea - on
Wimbie Beach, then followed the coastline north, did a lap around
Snapper Island and paddled the length of Corrigans Beach. Snapper
Island has a big sea cave on the northwestern end, but, the swell was
too big to get in close.
Snapper Island
Closer to Moruya, we had a fantastic
morning surfing the kayaks at the southern end of Broulee Beach. The
most sheltered launch site is a bit of a carry, and the surf is
probably better at low tide, but we found very friendly waves along
the southern end of the beach near Boat Harbour. Sea kayaks are so
long that they can ride even small waves.
The Tollgate Islands look far away
The northerly flow continued with hot
weather and northerly winds, apart from our next paddle day when the
winds switched to southerly early in the morning. We had planned to
launch from Long Beach and paddle out to North Head which is on the
north side of Batemans Bay and got up to find the wind forecast to
blow from the south instead of the north. The winds however, were
not forecast to get above 15 knots and the swell was low (around one
metre) so we stuck with our original plan.
At Three Islet Point
It is really easy to launch from Long
Beach as there is a carpark right by the beach and even a water tap
for washing your gear afterwards. We paddled southeasterly in very
calm conditions past Chain Bay and Maloneys Beach before the wind
came up. By the time we got to Three Isle Point, the wind was up
around 10 knots and it was bumpy off the point which really sticks
out into the tidal current. I was glad we had thrown a few water
jugs in the boats for ballast so they did not bob around so much. We
managed to land in a little grotto just inside Three Isle Point and
scrambled on friable rock along the headland to view the Tollgate
Islands.
Seals in Wagonga Inlet
On the way back, we passed by Long
Beach and paddled past Square Head and landed at the mouth of
Cullendulla Creek. We had a brisk wind off our beams on the way back
to Longs Beach. A group of three other kayakers happened to be
pulling out at the same time as us and we met up with one of the
local sea kayakers who I had been in contact with via email. Neil is
a very friendly guy who not only fed us lunch at his house but gave
us lots of great local information on other kayak trips in the area.
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