Riding an Anabranch

Rather than simply following the course of the Murray River, I decided that it would be far more exciting for Tim, David and Marcel to enjoy a bit of variety by cutting of some kilometres and shooting down Anabranches...

And what is an anabranch? Well, I'm glad you asked. An anabranch is when a stream or creek branches off from the original river and rejoins it later downstream. The anabranch I had selected was Mullaroo Creek. This had been recomended to me by some people I had met on the Darling and I would have to say that they were right. It was a great route to take. Of course it did provide us with a few challenges....

as you can see from the picture above, there were many snags which we had to negotiate and the river - unlike the Darling which was also snag ridden, this water was flowing! Tim and I were in tghe double kayak and as I was in the front it was up to me to call out which direction we should go and for Tim to guide us in that direction.

"Left", I'd call out with some degree of authority. "Left", I'd say again as we began to get closer to a branch sticking out prominently directly in front of us.

"Left left left", I'd call in some distress as the kayak kept in a straight line.

"OK then", I'd say as the kayak began to veer to the right. "Right". Then of course the kayak would begin to move to the left. "No no. Left. Go left. No. Go right. Riiighhttttt. Argh!". Bang! The kayak must have hit snags every five minutes or so. It was great. I'd recommend it to anybody.


There was one snag which spanned the river. There was a low section on it and I directed Tim to charge at it - full tilt. The nose of the kayak slid up the snag and the kayak came to rest half way across and Tim had to hop out of his seat, lean against me and put his feet onto the snag and push with all his might before we came adrift. Great fun. We also had a bit of trouble negotiating a very low lying bridge. We had to get down to the same levels as the deck of the kayaks almost and drift slowly under.

There was also quite a few birds and we even came across some fishermen that took pity on us (well, mainly me really) and handed us a six pack of beer, which was very nice of them.

Of course the creek didn't run swiftly for long. Mullaroo actually bypasses a lock and drops around three metres over ten or fifteen kilometres or so and is geat fun whilst it lasts. Once the creek reaches the same height as the water pooled up in the lock below however, it becomes as placid as the Murray River and we camped that night on the banks of a placid Mullaroo creek. You would never know what fun could be had on the upper reaches of this wonderful little creek.
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Friends Reaching the Murray

Last Saturday I was joined by David, Marcel and Tim for a few days who have all managed to run away from their normal lives to join me for a few days paddling on the Murray River. Just getting from the daily grind to the Murray was an epic unto itself - let alone the paddle down.

After much umming and ahhing both David and Tim teamed up to come on up to the Murray and took the ferry (after a frenetic drive hoping that they would make it) to Melbourne where they picked up Marcel and drove to join me. I wasn't meeting then at a town or any other such simple place. Instead after much to'ing and froing we decided upon Neds Corner, a property once owned by Sydney Kidman. Unbeknownst to me at the time, there was more than one Neds Corner. The first - Neds Corner Island was a days paddle distant from Neds Corner homestead. in fact the original homestead had indeed been closer to Neds Corner Island but the homestead was moved when the original burnt down in 1959. This of course resulted in much confusion, with me trying to figure out just where the heck I had suggested we meet. In the end we met at the new homestead of the property. I arrived a good hour or so before they did and talked to the caretakers who let me know that the roads were a "bit dicey" and that most cars getting through to this area were all 4WD. Oh oh.

No problems for Tim, who just aimed at the mud, stuck his little Subaru into low wheel drive and floored it. It sounded a bit dicey getting through though... With rain forecast however, we knew there would be no chance of the car getting out. To make sure they lads could actually get back to Tas, Tim and I drove down to Renmark once things had been unloaded then came back as far as we could go in a taxi. Not unreasonably the cab driver went only so far before Tim and I had to hop out and walk. Tim, being the genius he is, managed to forget his shoes and had to walk for kilometres in bare feet on muddy ground.

so as you can see it can be a bit of a challenge just getting to the point of starting an expedition like this. Fortunately Tim, David and Marcel made it, and the expedition I'm sure was worth it. Or perhaps you should ask them that...
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Wentworth at Last

Well who would have believed it. 1,500 hundred odd kilometres of discovery has so far brought forth myriad adventures and challenges and I have finally reached Wentworth - the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers. I am writing this scarcely believing that I have indeed travelled from where the Barwon River turns into the Darling. The last leg - from Pooncarie to Wentworth was a kicker.


I guess I could have really guessed. The second last leg - from Menindee to Pooncarie was far more challenging than any other section. I guess I was just hopeful that I would find that the final leg would be a beautiful, easy finale to my journey down the Darling River. No luck there damn it.


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Within 5 minutes of heading out of Pooncarie I was forced to put my paddle down and hop out of the kayak to drag it over sand bars. The sand bars were quickly joined by some challenging trees which spanned the river. My first hour was slow but then the river opened up and let me pick my way carefully downstream.

"Ripper", I thought. "Hopefully it won't get any worse".

Hah!

A week or so into the leg from Menindee I made a comment in my journal about new weeds which were beginning to encroach upon the river. I thought that they looked like bad news and hoped that they wouldn't span the river, for if they did I could see it might be a nightmare to continue. Well guess what.

After a couple of days paddling a came across a virtual sea of the dreaded reed. A good couple of hundred metres of the stuff. It took me a good couple of hours to get through it all. Well - close to an hour of very hard work anyway. And that was a taste of things to come.

I couldn't tell you the number of times I had to hop out of the kayak to beat down the reeds and drag my kayak through them. I felt like Humphrey Bogart on the African Queen. At times I was waist deep in water - which was pretty darn cold I must say and beating my way threw. Still, in the end I managed to get through and once I was within a hundred kilometres or so of the Murray River the condition changed totally. The water became deep, houses became more common (sometimes I'd see two or three an hour!) and the obstacles became non existent. This was because the Murray river backs up the Darling for miles. I ws pretty relieved I must say. Of course it did feel like suburbia after the remote rigours with which I had been faced.


Dad and Anna joined me at a station called Sturts Billabong for a night or two, and Anna joined me for the final two days paddle into Wentworth, which gave her a real taste for the river and meant that I had somebody helping paddle (which meant I didn't have to paddle so hard).

Tomorrow I head off from Wentworth. Down a new river. A river where the waters of the Darling mix with those of the Murray. A river where house boats are common, the waters are broad and fast boats make their way from one town to another. A far cry from the river of little water, no people (let alone boats on the water) for days or weeks and remoteness unparalleled with towns a novelty rather than a regular occurrence. as such I am treating this river somewhat differently. No need to stock up on supplies for weeks on end. No need to ensure that I am self sufficient for weeks on end either.

The first leg from here - Wentworth to Renmark, is the longest leg on the Murray for me (about 250k's or so) and I am joined by a few people as I do it. Darryl Brander, a property owner whom I met on the Darling River will be joining me for the next couple of days and when he goes Dad will be staying the night before David Wanless, Marcel and Tim Larby will join me at a place called Neds Corner and paddle with me down an Anabranch and into - or close to - Renmark...


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