Nerang River - Hinze dam

Nerang River - Hinze dam In early February 2012, while driving down the Numinbah Valley Road to Chillingham, I saw that the gate to the western boat ramp at Hinze Dam was open. When I returned that way three days later, I had time to stop in, and drive down to the boat ramp. First thing I noticed was that the water level was up, and sure enough, further back towards Nerang, the dam wall park was open. This meant that the work to raise the damwall level was finished. I was immediately curious as to how far the water had backed up the valley, past the Pine Creek bridge. The next weekend I drove down from Brisbane, and put a kayak into the upper dam waters. The following pages show something of the water levels, but what is really impressive is that new higher levels, shown in these photographs, are with the dam at 81% capacity. The old low level Pine Creek bridge is completely underwater, and the series of rocky pools that was upstream is now a drowned wonderland. Note that on the following page, the top photograph shows the new bridge from downstream, and the bottom photograph is taken from upstream of the new bridge. Compate the water levels with reference to the bridge crossbeams! below: old Pine Creek bridge- Swan Bay

above: Pine Creek Bridge - old dam wall level below: Pine Creek bridge new level

The distance from the old western boat ramp, (now closed, with a gate across the access road), to the Pine Creek bridge, used to be 1.5 kilometres. It is now over six kilometres from the new western boat ramp, up to the Pine Creek bridge. I put my small lightweight kayak in the water right under the bridge, after carrying it through thick vegetation. A careful look at the upstream photograph of the bridge (previous page) will reveal a group of guys standing on the bridge. No they weren t there to watch me, they were jumping off the bridge. Sooooo, paddling on upstream of the bridge, I ran into a whole lot of drowned vegetation, and had to thread my way between bottlebrush trees. A fair bit of log, captured by the tree branches, floating in the water too. It was much the same in the middle and eastern side of the river, and blocked on the western side. Once past this squeeze, about 600 metres upstream from the bridge it opened up again. There is a second pinch at the 1.4 km mark, next to small rocky slabs on the bank, that can be passed on the eastern bank edge, avoiding the bottlebrush trees. No doubt it will all change as the dam fills. For now, the drowned trees are still living, the water keeps getting clearer as you paddle upstream, and urban trash in the water is almost non-existent. It is possible to go two kilometres past the bridge at that 81% dam level.. below: old Pine Creek bridge- Swan Bay

Swan Bay below: old Pine Creek bridge-

Traverse Kayaking folding Sea Kayaks Swan Bay

A folding sea kayak is being manufactured in New Zealand. The stringers are anodized aluminium alloy, and the cross ribs of marine ply, with the possible option of HDPE (high-density polyethylene) on request. The hull is Hypalon, and the deck is made of waterproof polyester. The deck has YKK zips for access, and storm flapss to seal the zips. Specifications: LENGTH / BEAM: 520 cm / 65 cm WEIGHT: 20 kg COCKPIT SIZE: 71 cm / 42 cm MAXIMUM PAYLOAD: 150 kg BAG DIMENSIONS: 95cm / 60cm / 40cm Swan Bay

The owner, or interested kayaker can download a Detailed Construction Drawing, and an Assembly Manual from the webpages of the manufacturers. Assembly time, with practice, is said to be 20-25 minutes. If you are new to the idea of a folding kayak, the website of Traverse Kayaking has information about how a folding, skinned kayak has not only the advantages of being portable, but is also a more stable craft due to its flexibility. The price, new? Cheaper than comparable hard shell fibreglass kayaks. The price, in NZ dollars, is on the makers webpage. Swan Bay

Swan Bay

floating lanterns floating lanterns

Nighttime lights for travelling canoeists and kayakers are usually our LED torches, or some flickering campfire.sometimes you may want a different kind of light. Maybe it is someones birthday, or maybe you just want to enhance a beautiful evening. These floating lanterns work just as well on dry land, because the paper tower shelters the tiny candle inside from the wind. The photograph on the previous page was taken after the lanterns had been floating around on a lake, in light rain, for half an hour. One lantern should take no more than a couple of minutes, and any longer time will be only because you want to be creative with the scissors in making patterns on the paper. The making of floating lanterns can be an excellent activity for children on holiday or school camp, with the making and floating split in different daytime and nightime sessions. Anyway, enough with the waffle. The basic materials are: dished plastic barbecue plate dinner plate size works out at 10 cents per plate tea lights little candles that burn for two hours or so about 12 cents each A4 paper two pieces per lantern coloured is good scissors for cutting patterns in the paper tape for joining paper use your duct tape which should be in your emergency kit left: deep plastic BBQ or picnic plate You are going to join two A4 pieces of paper with some tape, using about a 2.5cm overlap. But first fold each piece and cut some patterns with the scissors. Then join, and join again to make a tube from the doubled A4. That size tube will about fully use the BBQ plate.. It will be wide enough that the tube doesn t catch fire, and if the candle goes out, you can get your hand in to quickly relight. Of course, if you don t tape the tube to the plate, you can lift the tube back off. ;)

making em, and trying em out indoors

Wollomombi Falls Armidale Great canoeing rivers start like this, on the eastern escarpment edge of the New England tableland, east of Armidale. Wollomombi Falls (walla mom bee) are located in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, 40 km due east of Armidale, New South Wales. From the very top to the very bottom the height is approx 220 metres although its biggest drop where the water falls is only 100 m. The Chandler Falls are located to the right of the Wollomombi Falls when viewed from the main lookout (seen in the photograph above, as the distant falls in the upper section of the gorge that runs lower centre to upper right). After they join, these rivers (Wollomombi and Chandler) are known as the Chandler River and become a tributary of the Macleay River. The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park lies along an escarpment between the Northern Tablelands, and the east coast. This country is characterised by deep gorges and waterfalls, extensive wilderness and dry rainforest. The main rivers in the National Park are the: Apsley River, Macleay River, Chandler River, Tia River, Styx River, Gara River, Yarrowitch River, Oaky River and the Kunderang Brook. Access to this country for canoeing is limited by the steepness of the terrain. The upper river sections contain waterfalls, and the deep valleys make for limited vehicle access. In the past it was possible to access the Chandler River just downstream of the confluence of the Chandler and Styx Rivers, on the 4WD Carters Road. This road is now closed, and access is on the National Parks and Wildlife Service Halls Peak Road (booking required and access fee) which is a steep track that requires a low-range 4WD. From there, canoe downstream on the Chandler River grade 2 water, past the Macleay River confluence, the Aspley River confluence, and the last Macleay River section (grade 3) down to Georges Creek confluence, and the meeting of the Armidale Kempsey Road.

above: Wollomombi Falls below: gorge country All images in this article copyright to and courtesy of Gordon Smith lookandsee A pictorial journal of life in rural Australia

The Oxley River Eungella to Old Lismore Road The Oxley River from Tyalgum down to Eungella is usually run as grade 2 white water, deserving the rating because of the two metre waterfall that is shot, halfway down. Below that section, the river from the road bridge at Travis Campbell Park, Eungella, down to the culvert road crossing on the Old Lismore Road is much quieter, and the rapids are pebble races. It still deserves a grade 2 rating, but only because the river current sweeps into overhanging trees and bushes. The launch point is on the north eastern side of the concrete road bridge, six and a half kilometres along the Tyalgum Road, from Byangum, and one and a half kilometres past the school zone at Eungella. Everests Road turns off north, and there is a 150 metre long section of parkland between that road and the river. At the western end of the park, down near the river, not seen until close, is a rough road down to the water. The launch point right under the bridge is a muddy hole, and it is cleaner to put in off a very low concrete edge from old bridge works, about five metres from right under the bridge. The river consists of a series of long pools separated by rapids. At water levels over.7.0 m on the BOM gauge for Eungella, you will find the river wide enough to avoid the vegetation at a few rapids, but a walk around them is on a pleasant river gravel if you can t. Approach a couple of low bridges with due caution, depending on the river level. You can finish at Old Lismore Road, or portage over the low bridge, and paddle an extra kilometre down to Byangum, and

launch bridge launch 5 m upstream from this past the bridge on the private road to the Hare Krishna Community looking upstream (left) and downstream right from that bridge

a couple of low bridges on the way

Old Lismore Road bridge looking back upstream from the above bridge

above: the launch point underneath the Tyalgum Road bridge, Eungella. A faint track runs to the water on the right hand, upstream side of the bridge. That s Everest Road to the upper right. The park is triangle shaped from near the house to the river.. below: the exit point on Old Lismore Road.

above: This photograph is an explanation of the state of the river at lower water levels. At such times, the water channel will be much narrower, and it will run under and through low tree branches. Higher water levels give the paddler a wider channel, and the ability to avoid the strainers. below: road map... use your pdf reader zoom button to see clearly

summit trail Mt Warning NSW Mt Warning Canoeists on many of the rivers in far north NSW will see Mt Warning in the background. The view from the mountain summit at 1156 m. is far reaching. The lookout platform on the northern side gives a view of the tops of multi-story buildings in Brisbane, 106 kilometres away, and the eastern platform offers a view down to Byron Bay. A tiny white spot on the headland will confirm the view of the Byron Bay lighthouse at 44.5 kilometres distance.

The trail to the summit is through rainforest, and the view from the top is often obscured by cloud or rain. The walk is pleasant in damp weather, as the trail crosses several small streams, and zigzags its way up. The distance up is 4.5 km, with the last 400 metres being a scramble up a steep rocky face with a safety chain rail. Mooball Creek view NSW Expect to take from 2 to 3 hours to top out, with half an hour less time coming down. The slow times are due to the uneven rocky trail surface. A steep drop is often to one side of the narrow path. There can be large crowds on the mountain, with slow passage times up the summit chain. Rous River view NSW There are National Park signs that count off the kilometres in one kilometre increments. The starting one kilometre section is a cruel never ending series of steep steps, so don t rush the start, and the track soon evens out. There are some equally cruel thorn bushes right next to the track, so pay attention to your surroundings. There are Gympie Stinging Trees near the track in places. These can give a severe sting requiring hospitalisation, with residual pain for weeks. The track off the mountain sinks into dark shadow after 4:00 pm in the winter months, so you should have reached the top and turned around by 2:00 pm, unless you are prepared for the dark. Sandals are not appropriate footwear, and you should have 2 litres of water with you. Access to the mountain (two hours from Brisbane) is on the Murwillumbah to Uki Road, turning off 9 kilometres out of Murwillumbah. Late comers on sunny days will not find a car parking space. Tweed River view NSW Clarrie Hall Dam view NSW Mt Warning view of Clarrie Hall Dam

STONE FISH TRAPS Fish traps in Queensland were constructed by aboriginal, South Sea islanders (sugar cane labourers from 1860 to 1900, and Europeans. The idea is that fish swim in over stone walls at high tide, and are trapped as the tide falls. Fish traps are oval, v shaped, circular, and rectangular. These fish traps shown, below, are on Murray (Mer) Island in Torres Strait. Rectangular in shape, they measure about 160 metres long, and 140 metres out from the shore. A shallow sloping shoreline ensures less destructive waves. images from Google Earth

An observer on the surveying voyages of HMS Fly in Torres Strait, 1842-1846, wrote of stone fish traps on Darnley Island, Torres Strait... Sandy flats, dry at low water, stretch out two or three hundred yards (180-270m) from the beach, covered with native weirs, for catching fish. These are walls of loose stone, about three feet (91cm) high, formed in curves and semicircles along the sand flats, each having a radius of one or two hundred yards (90-180m). They are completely covered at high water, but when the tide falls, (its range being about ten feet, (3m) many fish are left within these enclosed spaces, or, together with crabs and other sea creatures, caught in the interstices of the stones There are stone fish traps at many locations along the Queensland coast, including Hinchinbrook Island, and Hervey Bay. There is a group of five or so stone fish traps at Booral, a small village between River Heads and Urangan, Hervey Bay. above: Booral locality map below: Booral fish traps

There is a stone fish trap at Sandstone Point, Toorbul, on the shoreline that looks across Pumicestone Passage to Bribie Island. From the public carpark next to the beach, off Bestmann Road East, Sandstone Point, it is a pleasant half a kilometre walk up to the fish trap. Low tide will allow a close inspection, and footwear is essential as oyster covered rocks abound. The stone structure is in the intertidal zone, has a low stone wall in the shape of an arc and fits the general description of an Aboriginal fish trap. However, a Mr James Clark, whose family owned the land at Toorbul Point, claimed his grandfather directed South Sea Islander labourers to build the structure for the purpose of farming oysters. Other sources (including the local Abbey Museum, claim the structure is an aboriginal built fish trap. There is a large aboriginal shellfish midden nearby. However, a noted recorder of aboriginal life, Andrew Petrie, makes no mention of the fish trap although he writes of staying ten days or so in the area in the 1840 s. above: Sandstone Point locality map below: fish trap at Sandstone Point

above: the fish trap lies 100 metres the other side of the foreshore mangrove tree below: Sandstone Point stone fish trap

Red Beach Bribie Island

Red Beach is the strip of sand at the southern tip of Bribie Island, that runs east west from Buckley s Hole to Skirmish Point. There is a road, dirt the last half a kilometre, that runs right up to the beach. I had a look with Google to see why it is called red beach, and the answers were very ordinary, ranging from You can see Redcliffe across the bay, to I always see Red Backed Wrens in the scrub there, so I thought I would offer my two cents. During the dry years, which was the norm for about 20 years up to 2010, there was little water flowing from the freshwater swamps on Bribie. With heavy summer rain for the last couple of years, the lagoons and freshwater swamps have been filled, and there are freshwater streams running into the sea across the beach sands. The water is stained a deep red by paperbark tree tannins. On Red Beach, a small stream runs into the sea, and the red freshwater is pushed along the beach by seawater; the first couple of metres out from the shoreline is coloured red. Its a good reason as any for the name of a pretty beach. There are great views across Moreton Bay to Moreton Island, and Brisbane is visible down south across Deception Bay. If you visit here, you will probably find yourself sharing the beach with dog walkers, as this is an off leash area. On the way in you will catch a glimpse of Buckley s Hole Lagoon, a half kilometre long waterhole. The island is very low lying, and the car park for Red Beach is a dry island is the middle of a freshwater swamp. It can be a little confusing finding the road in, so I have put up a map. If you are driving down Toorbul Street, continue into Spowers Street, turn in Gregory, and follow Tully Street to the dirt road to Red Beach. It is signposted.

above: map with Red Beach carpark, lower right in the image. Use your pdf reader s zoom button to see clearly.