Tamboon – Cann River Paddling
Swapping the wrath of nature, the deafening silence of birdsong, and the devastation of the landscape we escaped to the beauty of nature at Peachtree Campground - Tamboon. Sunshine, crystal clear water, birdsong, forest as far as the eye can see, peace and tranquillity only interrupted by the noise of eager fishermen and their boats as they came in from a successful trip on the Inlet.
Having set up camp, a trip down to the water to “drop in a line” was the order of the day – proving most successful for Peter with 3 Bream and a flathead making their way to the fridge. The Inlet was vastly different from our previous trip when the mouth of the inlet was closed which had resulted in water backing up, such that the jetty was under water. With the inlet open, the lower water level exposed a lovely sandy beach, visited by pelicans eager for a feed of fish cleanings, and a family of ducks – “mum, dad and the three kids” the latter having no fear of humans and keen to sneak a taste of “prawn bait” the moment your back was turned. Unfortunately, the sand only extended to the waters edge, where silt created a sticky layer of mud – not my cup to tea at all!
Friday 16th – (Michelle)
Leaving Peter to fish for the day, 7paddlers set out at 9.30am in near perfect conditions to paddle up the Cann River. The sun rays played in the water creating golden ripples as we approached Lake Furnell, a small shallow inlet which we ventured into, in some places only a few inches of water. We left Lake Furnell and having stopped for morning tea continued up the Cann River which was very shallow in parts & most of us got beached at one time or another, but finally a channel was found to avoid the sand bars. We saw Sea Eagles, Swans & ducks & a water dragon. We continued up the river until it became too shallow, stopping for lunch and those keen – a swim in the river. We returned to our campgrounds in the afternoon, later enjoying a dinner of fresh fish cooked on the campfire - bream & flathead compliments of Peter & Roz. That evening we had sightings of a little furry animal with a long nose possibly a bandicoot. (Noel later confirmed this was indeed a Long-Nosed Bandicoot – common down East Coast Australia – pointy ears, white underbelly, lighter colour on body). A large goanna had wandered around the camp in the afternoon also bower birds, kookaburras & even a Sugar Glider call was heard.
Friday 16th - (Mark)
After a night camping in the Croajingalong NP at Peachtree Reserve campground on the shore of Tamboon Inlet, six of us set off upstream at 9:30 am to explore the Cann River while Peter remained and fished. I’m a sit-in kayak newbie (as opposed to my usual sit-on-top) and I hired the SBWC kayak for the first time. The weather was warm and calm making paddling pleasant and easy. The first notable sight was a sea eagle perched and well camouflaged against the bare grey branches of a dead tree. Other birds seen included an azure kingfisher, and various ducks and cormorants. A few water dragons were also seen. Further along we diverted to Lake Furnell for a look around. A few members used this as an opportunity to discuss paddle attributes and test out each other’s paddles.
Further upstream the river remained wide, but we had to navigate around shallow sandy areas, and even porting kayaks over the sand if we selected the ‘wrong’ course. We had lunch at about 6.5 km upstream from the start when we found a nice sandy spot with deep water for swimming, however only Avenel and I went swimming. Other than swimming I managed to get wet twice more when trying to get in and out of the kayak on my own without Pat’s generous help to stabilise my kayak. I also had the opportunity to try out different paddles and kayaks from other members. Total distance paddled was about 15km. Later that evening we were treated to freshly caught fish cooked over a fire, as Peter so generously offered from his catch of the day.
Saturday 17th February
Up at “sparrows” so we could be on the water by 8.00am. With two extra paddlers in the team (Jackie & Peter) we set off for the entrance. The water was quite busy with numerous boats with keen fishermen on board, we had been spoiled the day before having had the river to ourselves. Good conditions made for easy paddling, once past the huge sand dune we could feel the stream flow. Ever cautious we pulled up well short of the entrance and walked over the sand dune to the ocean. We were greeted by rolling surf waves pounding onto the pristine beach, such a contrast to the quiet estuary waters.
The entrance seemed as good a place as any to celebrate Roz’s birthday….ocean breezes make for tricky candle lighting! After a leisurely coffee break and stroll on the beach it was time to hop in the kayaks and make our way through the shallow lagoon into the channel. Some of us paddled close to the jetty with a variety of small boats moored, a picture of tranquillity. I imagine the owners enjoy an extremely quiet existence, boats being the only means of transport to this remote community. Small fish were quite active jumping frantically around our boats. The right-hand bank of this waterway is lined with trees of various shades of green contrasted against the orange/brown tinged boulders. As we neared our destination careful navigation was required to avoid shallow waters, a couple of us got it wrong, with Mark discovering the bottom was black silty muck. Once back at Peach Tree jetty lunch became the order of the day. Due to changed circumstances Noel Roz and Pat did a quick pack up and headed home.
Many thanks to Avenel for organizing this trip, and thanks to all participants for great company.
Participants: Roz Spratt, Pat Williams, Noel Haines, Mark, Avenel, Jackie Adamson, Shane Bright, Michelle Timmins, Peter McKenzie