With a forecast of rain, 30km WSW wind and a top temperature of 18 degrees it was not looking promising for a pleasant paddle.
7am weather check in Traralgon – blue sky and sunshine but windy.
Radar check – band of heavy showers coming through off Phillip Island/Wonthaggi but little else and no wind south of the Strzelecki’s. We had been promised rain on Friday and what did we get - precious little – BOM does not always get it right. So with suitable wet weather gear packed and a can do attitude (after all rain is just water and we paddle in the stuff), fingers crossed that BOM got it wrong, I set off for Cowwarr Weir to paddle with my intrepid colleagues Pat and Marie.
As I left the heavy showers arrived – windscreen wipers on fast, travelling down to Traralgon the wipers on mmm..... starting to doubt my decision. However, by the time I arrived at Cowwarr wipers were on intermittent with brief dry periods. At 10:10am as if it was planned, the rain stopped and out came the sun.
One of the benefits of paddling in inclement weather – we had the whole weir to ourselves. Due to recent rain and release of water from the Thompson Dam the water level was up and there was significant streamflow. A number of the usual obstacles (rocks, tree branches) were no longer present – being fully submerged with the increase in river height. A solitary platypus was observed swimming across the river, before duck diving in front of Pat’s boat.
Making our way up the gorge, through warm, crystal clear water we were fully protected from any wind. Traversing the rapids (3 sets) called for a bit of elbow grease and digging deep to maintain forward motion but we successfully navigated them. A short stop for minor adjustment on footpegs and we continued upstream.
Reaching the fourth set of rapids we moved into a shallow eddy to better observe a way forward. Flood had brought down trees and formed an alternate pathway – perfectly navigable. Making our way up to the top of the fourth set of rapids, we were then greeted with a beautiful stretch of water with a further set of rapids at the end. We made our way to the fifth set of rapids and again found a safe route. As we came out near the top of the rapids a very large ? trout darted away into the middle of the stream.
With rain again threatening we decided not to go further and made our way back. Retracing our steps along the rocky pathways formed in the previous floods, wading through the river between rapids 5 and 4 and back to our boats, and the joy of paddling the rapids on the way back.
A Quince Tree growing on the waters edge was cause for a short stop to pick some fruit - poached quince (yum yum) before our return to Cowwarr Weir, and strong winds that had arrived whilst we were up the Gorge.
It was an absolutely perfect day of paddling and exploring; inspiring a future trip with hard shell kayaks and inflatables to explore further up stream and return to the kayaks on inflatables down through the rapids!!!!
Thank you to Pat and Marie for a wonderful paddle and exploration, for believing in me, and to BOM for not getting the weather right.
Avenel