On Friday night, we tied many boats to the roof of our cars, loaded up the boots with skirts, lifejackets, paddles, drybags, camping gear, a million safety things, and beers.
And then we set off for the North.
A car trip full of foreboding as the rain pelted down and we watched the thermometer drop. I won't name names but certain co-pilots made certain interesting navigational decisions (despite having google maps on hand) which resulted in a later-than-expected arrival at the Bulahdelah Rest and Recreation Area. What greeted us was a sloppy, muddy, 2˚C wasteland with rain bucketing down. Except for Aidan, who got to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in his car, we had to make some quick tactical decisions. Steffi and Lucy had claimed the undercover area next to a picnic bench, Fraser and Alex decided to test the water resistance of Fraser's tent, and Miriam and I opted for the classic under-the-overpass experience.
I'd like to say the rest of the weekend was more enjoyable, but what followed were many gruelling trials and tribulations. We did a quick car shuttle, got the gear ready, but before we set off it become quite evident that some of the trip members had never paddled before (see Alex, below).
We managed to get all the paddlers seated in the upright position, but immediately after setting off towards Myall Lake we encoutered the first of many terrifying beasts (thanks to Lucy for bravely capturing the moment).
Next, Aidan almost got stranded on an abandoned houseboat. Luckily his many years of whitewater experience and wide expanse of safety gear bungeed to the deck of his boat allowed him to shimmy his way back to safety.
After this (emotionally) turbulent rip down the river, we attempted to stop for lunch. However, this fiend stood in our way.
As we got closer, he was evidently intimated by our the size of our biceps as he hopped into the water and cleared off. After a quick lunch stop, we continued down the river. Dense reeds stood in our way but we did some aqua-bashing and made it through, eventually arriving at our camp site (Rivermouth Camping Ground) at approximately 3:30 pm.
We set up camp, then returned to our kayaks to enjoy sunset beers on the river. It was tough, but somebody had to do it. Those beers were not going to drink themselves and we were unsure if our exhausted arms would be able to haul them up the lake tomorrow.
Day 1 was coming to a close but Night 2 was only beginning. Let's just say it involved a roaring fire, coconut chocolate, and a particularly challenging game of glow-in-the-dark Pictionary. Have you ever tried to illustrate Chlamydia using nothing but a laser and glow-in-the-dark board? Truly challenging stuff.
The next day involved more of the same, this time on the open waters of freshwater Lake Myall. The tail wind was only about 10 km/h but the crew managed to pull together an outstanding performance and made it to the take out, the ferry crossing at Bombah Ferry Point, in record time. A quick lunch was had - but at this point it was obvious that everyone was a bit sea-mad as it decided to head back onto the water and do some more exploring. At this stage Steffi and Lucy were standing up in the kayaks, jumping out, with Steffi was yelling something about the burn of the winter-cold water being "so good". Fraser was recklessly displaying shakas. Miriam and Alex were attempting to turn their one person kayaks into a two person kayak. Amid this chaos and mental breakdown, and Aidan and I looked on in satisfaction of the character-building weekend we had planned and executed.
Thanks Aidan for route planning, driving up from Jervis Bay, and having more safety equipment than I knew existed - and thanks Miriam, Fraser, Alex, Steffi and Lucy for coming along and keeping cheery outlooks despite the many challenges we faced!