Christmas Paddling 2010

For when the usual haunts are too big for our skills....

such as the "Butchers Knife" Rapid on the Barron Gorge....

And the "Cheese Churner" Rapid on the Barron Gorge.... we then revert to :


A usually Babbling Brook that turns into a seething torrent....well for Grade 2 paddlers....

Freshwater Creek : Crystals Bottom Pool to Redlynch Valley Bridge

The river run on the Crystal Cascades Gorge Rapids at this time of year are inundated with the gods of kayaking from the Cairns Kayaking Club, who run devastating rapids like "No Fear".


However being true to the first rule of kayaking - only run rapids of which you are confident in doing - brings us to the Grade 2-3 section beneath the Gorge Rapids (of which are Grade 4-5).

This section of rapids generally have pushy water at Grade 2 level where the adventurer needs to clearly read water dynamics to ascertain the flow, pick up on any water pillows (water flowing over rocks and boulders), and dodge any tree limbs that threaten to unseat the unsuspecting paddler.

The crew for the paddle (Dec 27th) were Adro, Lucky, Dano, Tangles, Flick, Tank, and Flounder all in kayaks, and we were also joined by Dan and Eddie in a small two man raft.

Most of this expose will feature around the Grade 3 Drop rapid of which everyone took part in. But with the lead up to this rapid, we all had our share of drama and fun. A safety note for this though is that there are a couple of downed trees across the river of which we had to carefully navigate, and to be utterly safe, you can always portage (carry the boat and walk) around them
.

Eddie and Dan navigating their way through the rocks. Footnote : Dan was the absolute virgin paddler, of which we carefully watched.

The crew after a downed tree. We eddyed out mostly where we could on the stretch between the bottom pool and the Crystals Bridge.

The Drop Rapid : This is a Grade 3 drop of about a metre and a half to which it flows into a boil basin, and then the paddler needs to negotiate a rock wall to get into the flow. You need to paddle middle to left of middle for the correct line. Too far right heads you into a nasty tree branch. Safety Cover was set up, and the group went through three by three with the raft heading out in the middle of the group. (Adro to the left about to jump into the boil).

Once you negotiate the drop, you splash through the boil at least about chest deep, follow the river flow after the branch and head river right.

(Dano splashing through).

(Flick negotiates well)


Once you leave the secondary rapid, you can then either eddy out right or left.

A no-no. The raft boys headed too far right and had to fight with the tree branch. Dan then complicated the matter of not fending the tree branch away however, then grabbing hold of the branch (another no-no) and of course as always happens, the boys went swimming. In this case, the boys were covered by Adro, Tank, Tangles, and Flick. While Flounder and Dano paddled off in search of dropped paddles (another no-no). Footnote : those paddles were recovered a further 100-200 metres down river luckily.

(Flounder leaping above the wave train)

The Crystals Bridge is another small portage due to the water pipe shown left. This is where we recovered one paddle....the other eddyed out another 100 metres down stream.

This water pipe is a great indicator for water levels further up. But this is a dangerous spot as the water pipe can turn into a strainer where a person can get entrapped easily if they do not eddy out ot the right in the appropriate time.

After the carnage of the Drop Rapid, the crew then set about running the grade 2 rapids below. The Boulder Slip past did not claim anyone, but the Liana Hang Vine Rapid did. Adro managed to cut across Flounders Bow only to be upturned, then turning his (brand new) Nevis paddle into two small hand paddles, thus then eventually losing them to the river when he decided to submerge for a swim. Yep, he snapped it straight in half....and they disappeared. This is how it goes sometimes on the river.

Eddie and Dan surrendered a paddle (Adro's old faithful) and the crew continued to play in the small Grade 1-2 rapids that followed, occasionally eddying out to take in the scenery that is Freshwater Creek.

Flatwater Relaxing.....

The Redlynch Bridge provides an easy extraction point for paddlers. However, on a safety point, please be aware of the river levels as the older bridge is a lot lower to the water than the main bridge. This can also act as a strainer depending on water level.



Please remember : If you paddle the fabulous waterways of this great country, always take nothing away except for photographs and memories, and do not leave anything behind except for your footprints in the sand.