tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68771523927722875132012-02-17T06:05:34.438+11:00Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-80491482394554861652008-08-04T13:14:00.006+10:002008-08-04T14:25:59.915+10:00

Well I've been a bit slack over the last few weeks. Instead of regularly updating my blog to let people know where I am and what has been happening I have instead been lying low. A lot however, has passed under the bridge since last I wrote.I'm in Hobart now and not on the river for a start.Yes thats right, I am literally thousands of kilometres away from my beloved rivers. Have I completed my

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-90121512020077982992008-06-11T00:21:00.002+10:002008-06-13T01:01:16.496+10:00

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

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-78286652172936603572008-06-10T22:41:00.002+10:002008-06-13T00:19:59.231+10:00

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

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-54169512283816634582008-06-01T21:38:00.003+10:002008-06-02T22:57:59.469+10:00

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

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-40330748705564043452008-05-15T21:46:00.003+10:002008-05-15T22:02:55.691+10:00

Well, I've managed to reach Pooncarie, which is around 1,350 odd kilometres from where I started. A decent old paddle really.What does this all mean? Well, it means I only have about 240 kilometres to go before I reach the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers. It also means reaching Wentworth, which is a decent sized town and a place where I will actually be able to buy a reasonable

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-73530225754419425562008-05-15T16:16:00.004+10:002008-05-15T16:51:09.647+10:00

One thing that I have noticed is that as I wonder down the Darling River, the towns through which I go vary enormously. Pooncarie, which is where I am at the moment is a ripper.First of all, it is immaculate. Nice and clean and quite welcoming. Clearly the people who live here believe that it is important to ensure that the place looks and feels good. The camping area nearby is well kept,

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-90983150610270548852008-05-11T22:59:00.000+10:002008-05-15T01:23:59.026+10:00

Breakfast this morning, was superb. Huge as well, which was good. And all because of the great people you meet on a journey like this. Wonderfully tender steak, onion, exquisite tomatoes and a couple of eggs is a great way to start the morning. A few days out of Menindee and after some pretty tough days paddling - or to be accurate - dragging - meant that I was pretty keen for at least one

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-77747548769805116062008-04-30T09:09:00.000+10:002008-05-02T09:51:56.267+10:00

I have great difficulty in getting over just how different the river is here compared to Wilcannia and further upstream. Upstream of here, the river trickles down, rapids must be contested and running aground a constant threat. The banks are high as well, with the gum trees lining the river towering hoigh above. Your entire aspect is confined to the river which holds you closely to its bosom.

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-28706778707214984012008-04-28T15:22:00.005+10:002008-04-28T15:52:58.154+10:00

A cold morning this morning. Its around 6 degrees C at the moment, though with the light winds and due point it feels considerably lower than that. As a result of the chill in the air I remained cocooned within my sleeping back until almost seven. .I emerged from the tent to the cries of Red Tailed Black Cockatoos and mists rolling off the surface of the Darling which was is notmore than five

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-47822283683544178402008-04-20T20:05:00.002+10:002008-04-20T20:22:08.166+10:00

I almost came a cropper today. I guess I've become blase about these rapids on the Darling. they can't add up to much can they? In fact it comes as a bit of a surprise finding any rapids on the river at all. I certainly wasn't expecting any when I was planning this journey.Rapids on the Darlign?Bah.I went through several areas with rapids today however. Some required a deft dipping of the

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-85736798014895841292008-04-17T21:56:00.002+10:002008-04-17T22:07:53.212+10:00

I thought that some people might be interested in the type of wildlife I have been seeing. Here is a quick summary of what I saw today. Birds Choughs x 15Masked Wood Swallows x 12White Necked Heron x 15White Faced Heron x 11Wood Ducks x 45Whistling Kites x 4Pied Commorants x 2Wily Wagtail x 20Dotrell x 1White Plummed Honeyeater x 40Budgies x 200Red Tailed Blck Cockatoos x 30Ravens x 25Black Kite

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-30320729899841936032008-04-17T21:32:00.002+10:002008-04-17T21:55:55.376+10:00

well, I am around 77 kilometres out of Tilpa, with around 190 - 200k to go before reaching Wilcannia. Today was a good day. I managed to paddle just on 40 kilometres, despite stopping quite a bit and hitting a number of shallow areas. Actually it was quite exciting in parts. AI ran a couple of rapids today. Nothing huge I'll grant you, but white water nonetheless. I would definately rate

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-12738431652682022312008-04-16T07:46:00.003+10:002008-04-16T08:06:07.442+10:00

So last night I stayed at the Tilpa pub. Over a century old in one flavour or another, its a beautiful place to look at. Well, maybe beautiful is the wrong word for it. It is full of charecter anyway. When I paddled into town yesterday afternoon (the town has a population of six I might add) there was a few cars around and the playground was full of children who had been recently released from

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-51339118801541956782008-04-15T18:31:00.003+10:002008-04-15T22:07:26.528+10:00

Hi all, Well right now I am in Tilpa, some 480 kilometres away from the confluence of the Bogan, Barwon and Culgoa rivers, from whence I started. This is really just a quick update to let you all know that I am ok and am now looking forward to what looks to be one of the most challenging parts of this expedition: Tilpa to Wilcannia. . Zannia and I set off on the 30th of last month where

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-55473964166125790272008-03-31T15:32:00.005+11:002008-04-02T23:21:07.923+11:00

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, Zanni and I were given a lift to the start of our journey by a bloke I met in Bourke. A really interesting guy, a kayaker of amazing proportions. Of biblical proportions. Of brobdingnagian proportions.I wonder if that's a word by the way. Brobdingnagian. Sounds like it should be. It Sounds HUGE! And that is what this man has accomplished. Huge things.

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-20808182435805751122008-03-29T14:06:00.006+11:002008-03-29T18:26:00.329+11:00

And the Journey begins. Well, almost anyway. Tomorrow I shall finally putting paddle to water in anger. The first stroke in the journey down the Darling River. And not before time I might add. The last few weeks has been astoundingly busy, buying equipment here, talking to people there; researching what's needed here, modifying equipment there.Now though, I am truly kitted out and ready to

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-38574720248966532642008-03-27T11:04:00.001+11:002008-03-09T11:35:45.626+11:00

Henry Lawson wrote "If you know Bourke you know Australia". Well, Bourke is my first town on the Darling River and a place which already has a place in my heart. When I was a seven year old stripling my father (when he had black hair instead of white) took me (and others of course, but lets just focus on me for a second) out of my safe environs and into the bush. I remember the first night

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-19324987666085920712008-03-09T10:50:00.006+11:002008-03-09T11:03:46.016+11:00

The Darling River is one of the great rivers of the world. Beginning near Bourke in northern NSW, it wends its way 1,475 kilometres through some of the most remote country in the world before the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers at Wentworth, on the border of NSW and Victoria. From Wentworth, it is some 1,000 kilometres to Lake Alexandrina and the mouth of the river, which is on the

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-7113798383968978822008-02-27T07:39:00.000+11:002008-02-27T07:40:46.990+11:00

View Larger Map  Well, its getting closer.  In just over a months time I will put paddle to water as I launch my kayak into the Darling River.  The water is good, the depth very good and I expect that there may even be a bit of flowing water when I start the trip.  In fact, I understand that the Darling River is flowing appreciably better than the Murray River at the moment, which is one

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-77999529430381673052008-02-12T13:48:00.000+11:002008-02-13T10:40:16.950+11:00

The Darling River is a big river. Hundreds of kilometres longer than the Colorado in the United States and longer than the Zambezi (by a whole 3 kilometres) it is in anybodies language a big river.It traipses through some of the most remote country in the world, where populations are measured in the tens of people, not thousands of people.This is a river which has captured the imagination of

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-10657109484623452922008-02-09T09:48:00.000+11:002008-02-08T15:51:48.475+11:00

Did you know that the Darling River from one end to the other is around 2,800km’s? Getting my head around this Darling Journey, I have decided, is no easy thing. I thought that one way to do so would be to fill you all in on just where I’m at for the moment. Launch Date: 25/03/2008 Length: 2,800km At the moment I am planning to launch the kayak from Bourke, though

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-61317816664640725722008-01-28T09:30:00.000+11:002008-01-28T09:45:07.161+11:00

In the footsteps of great men, we travel. They have travelled upon this road before us and made this nation of ours great. These men however, explored a world which today no longer exists.Fertile soils, on which they once stood lie untilled: salt and erosion have had their way. So to has the climate. Today we see temperature records broken and rain a thing of the past - or it seems

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877152392772287513.post-27607084685165906002008-01-27T11:57:00.001+11:002008-01-27T12:00:14.482+11:00

This is a new blog spot set up for A Darling Journey, a trip down the mighty Darling River.

Christo Normanhttps://profiles.google.com/105056684770343144331noreply@blogger.com