We started at Walwa where we finished last night and head off to Burrowye Reserve(36km). Today the rapids became bigger with serious rocks ready to damage our boats. A portage or two was the order of the day. After another storm and heavy rain we finally saw some sunshine. We get past the worst part of the river by the time we paddle around Mount Alfred and once again we enjoy the great mountain scenery and fast flowing water.
We arrived at Burrowye Reserve for lunch and our last visit with our wives until we hit Albury. It was great to have somebody bring lunch each day. We loaded the boats with the remaining camping gear which made them quite a bit heavier. This was the first time I paddled the sea kayak with a load in it and it certainly made a difference.
A nice afternoon paddling as we negotiate the last of the Upper Murray and enter into where the Hume weir should be when it is full. It feels funny paddling through the high banks with no trees. The sky is getting darker and we decide to find a camping spot somewhere near Talmalmo. We stop at about 5pm. Before we finish setting up our tents the rain starts and before long all hell breaks loose. Sitting in my tent holding the poles to stop the whole tent from folding over on me. The wind and lighting last for a couple of hours and I thought I would let it past before going back to the boat to get my dinner. We all stayed in our tents until the morning so it was not very social. It was entertaining watching Tinky running around in the storm trying to peg his tent down again.
A few lessons learnt. New pegs and cockpit covers will be needed for the next trip.
It looks like you camped at about the same spot as I did in Dec 2004. I also had a big thunderstorm with low cloud in the morning. See https://picasaweb.google.com/117585606049545921471/BringenbrongHumeWeir?authuser=0&feat=directlink
ReplyDeleteCheers
Mike
Hi Mike, I enjoyed the photos. It does look like the same hill in the photo. Must be a great spot for storms. This one nearly blew us away. I am glad I was in the tent hanging on to it as I did loose the tent to wind on two other occasions during the trip down the Murray.
DeleteDid you go further than the Hume? How did you find the river level in December? We had the second lowest water level for the year during our November descent. This made it hard to navigate without damage. Great paddle and a beautiful part of the river.
Regards Mike. freybie@gmail.com