- Upstreampaddle

Barrow Island, W.A.
Barrow Island is a nature reserve 50 kilometres offshore from the mainland in WA. Of an area
of 202 square kilometres, one square kilometre is occupied or earmarked for a LNG facility.
People looking for work on a fly in fly out basis are sometimes curious to see what the island
looks like. Due to the restrictions of operating in a high protection level nature reserve, there is
no fishing; and no swimming in the ocean, due to the presence of marine stingers, strong tidal
currents, and marine predators.
So, on an island where lizards, (perentie) have right of way over vehicles, and you have to
check your room for bandicoots every night, here are a couple of photos of the sea side. No
kayaking here either.
The World Meteorological Organization established Barrow Island as the location of the highest
non-tornado related wind gust at 408 km/h (253 mph). The record occurred on 10 April 1996,
during Tropical Cyclone Olivia.
In December 2009, a development consortium between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron,
ExxonMobil, and Shell received environmental approvals from the Government of Western
Australia to develop natural gas reserves 60 km north of the island. Known as the Gorgon gas
project it is currently under construction (Jan 2012) and will become Australia’s largest resource project, producing 40 trillion cubic feet (1,100 km3) of gas from about mid-2014.
This magazine’s cover shows a sailing boat and
sea kayaks in Tracy Arm, a fjord in Alaska, near
Juneau. It is located about 72 km south of Juneau
and 110 km north of Petersburg, Alaska, off of
Holkham Bay and adjacent to Stephens Passage
within the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is
the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the United States Congress in
1980.
The fjord is 48 km long and one-fifth of its area is
covered in ice. During the summer, the fjord has considerable floating ice ranging from handsized to pieces as large as a three-story building. During the most recent glaciated period, both
fjords were filled with active glaciers.
Large tour vessels and smaller commercial cruise boats frequently use Tracy Arm as a tour
destination or as a stop along their normal tour routes. The twin Sawyer Glaciers, North Sawyer
and South Sawyer, are located at the end of Tracy Arm.
One of our readers was on a privately owned sailing boat in these waters, for the northern
hemisphere’s summer, in June, and found a sea kayak an excellent way to explore the shoreline.
Commercial companies offer expeditions in these waters, and motherboating is available. The
benefits of having a parent ship are many, including respite from rain, safety from bears, hot
showers at the end of the day, being able to stand offshore away from the biting no-see-um
midges, and food that does not come out of a foil packet.
The next two images (next page) are of Baranof Island. Baranof Island has the highest
concentration of bears in the world. This is primarily due to the abundance of salmon streams.
Baranof Warm Springs is a small, primarily seasonally-occupied community, located on the
eastern side of Baranof Island.
Baranof Warm Springs is located on Warm Springs Bay which is just off of Chatham Strait. Just
about a half mile up from the settlement is Baranof Lake, a large glacially-fed freshwater lake.
Baranof Lake is fed from small unnamed glacial run-off streams as well as the relatively large
Baranof River. Between the half mile outlet between Baranof Lake and Warm Springs Bay there
are a series of rapids and waterfalls.
above: the bathhouse at Warm Springs Bay, Baranof Island
The primary attraction is the warm springs. There are a total of nine separate hot springs with
temperatures from luke warm to 120 degrees F. Only one is developed in a natural state and
is located right up against the white water of the Baranof River. The community built a public
bathhouse at the waterfront to provide an option for visitors not wanting to bath communally
and/or make the 250 metre walk up the trail to the natural springs.
below: Gulf of Alaska
Baranof Island and Tracy Arm
Warm Springs boardwalk, hot tub, and yacht moorings, Baranof Island..
North Sawyer Glacier, Tracy Arm. Note the cruise vessel in the centre, lower photograph.
Baranof Island
Alaska
nymboida
and
mann rivers
buccarumbi bridge to jackadgery
During the recent time of the long lasting drought in Australia, white water was hard to find, particularly if
that involved a long car trip, with no real promise of water deep enough to paddle on at the end of the drive.
When that situation goes on for enough years, the short creek kayak sits at the back of the garage, unused.
Roll on 2012, and we have plenty of water again. Here on the next few pages we show off the images sent in
by a kayaker, of the river section from Buccarumbi Bridge down to Jackadgery.
In this section, the white water kayaker will be putting in at the low level bridge at Buccarumbi, which is
just downstream of the Boyd River confluence, (itself a great one day trip down from Dalmorton). The river
here is the Nymboida. The river height gauge used (Bureau of Meterology, Rainfall and River Data) is the
Mann River at Jackadgery, which should be at least 0.75m.
Rapid approximately 12.5 km downstream of Buccarumbi Bridge
From the put in at the Old Glen Innes Road bridge at Buccarumbi, it is 27 kilometres downstream to
Cundlebung Creek confluence, then 6 kilometres more to the Mann River confluence. In all 44km to
Jackadgery, a long two days paddle.
There is one one road access point between start and finish, and that is through the Ramornie State Forest
to the Nymboida River campground, a 4wd dry weather only access road. To get to the Nymboida River
campground from Grafton, you can travel west along the Gwydir Highway (towards Jackadgery) through
Ramornie village to the Ramornie Forest Road, a distance of 26km. Turn south onto the Ramornie Forest
Road. Follow this road through Ramornie National Park then onto Nymboida National Park and the
Nymboida River campground, a further 26km. 4WD vehicle required.
The first day of paddling from Buccarumbi to Ramornie consists of mostly flat water, linked by grade 1 and
2 rapids. If you are overnighting at Ramornie, it is 22.5 km. Four and a half kilometres downstream from
Ramornie, is Cundlebung Falls, opposite where Cundlebung Creek joins. This is a grade 4 rapid with a
narrow 2m drop, a left hand bend and a second 2m drop. It can be portaged on the left bank..
The section between Cundlebung Creek and the Junction (6km) contains three easy grade 2 -3 rapids. The
first is Exhibition falls, with a clean line on the right followed by a large wave train. The rocky rapid further
downstream can be portaged on the left bank..
Cunglebung Falls - 1st Stage of Cundlebung Rapid
above: Cundlebung Creek lower right - a Google earth viewpoint
below: Demolition Derby, also called the Lioness rapid
Immediately below the large junction pool is a boulder garden known as Bridal Veil Falls. It it can be
portaged on the left hand side - a little dragging /a little paddling.
The last major rapid is New Zealand falls, a grade 3 - 4 rapid consisting of a single 2m drop between two
large boulders. The falls can be portaged via the right bank. The image below is Bridal Vail falls and Mann
River junction, seen with Google Earth.
below: Mann River - upstream of Bridal Vail falls
Nymboida River - Buccarumbi Bridge to the Mann River junction
Mann River - Nymboida River junction to Jackadgery
Iconic images of Western Australia would have to include the beach at Broome, with tourists on camels, and
outback explorers in 4wd’s crossing red desert sands.
There are many rivers in the north west of the state, but during the wet season in summer they are off the
chart with monsoon river heights, and in the dry season are usually limited to strings of waterholes. As there
is a paucity of road networks in this region, a river trip can take you too far into inaccessible country. Best to
leave the canoeing to short trips on waterholes.
One of our readers, Gerry, has been kind enough to email some photos from her trip to WA. Here in the
next few pages we take a look at the country around Marble Bar. Marble Bar, about 200km west of coastal
Port Hedland, holds the record for the most consecutive hot days (the town set a world record of most
consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or more,
during a period of 160 such days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.
Not Australia’s hottest temperature, mind. That honour belongs to Cloncurry, Queensland, with 53.1 °C,
recorded in 1889.
Warm Springs boardwalk, hot tub, and yacht moorings, Baranof Island..
The Nullagine River rises south of Bonney Downs and then flows in a northerly direction. The river crosses
the Marble Bar road at Nullagine and continues to flow in a north-easterly direction until it merges with the
Oakover River to form the De Grey River. The river is bounded by the Chichester Range in the South.
The river flows through several permanent pools on its journey including; Garden Pool, Rock Pool, Tumbinna
Pool and Cordooin Pool.
above: rock pool near Nullagine
Nullagine is an old goldrush town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. It is located on the Nullagine River
296 km south-east of Port Hedland and 1,364 km north-north-east of Perth on the old Great Northern Highway.
Nullagine comes from the Aboriginal name of a nearby river, the Ngullagine. The town is the place of the
Yirrangadji Aboriginal Community river; the meaning of the word is unknown.
Besides gold other minerals were mined in the area including diamonds and other gemstones The town still
attracts fossickers and prospectors who visit the surrounding area, which is particularly rich in minerals such as
agate, beryl, chalcedony, jade, jasper, and tiger eye.
In a gorge near Nullagine, Gerry took time to explore a series of petroglyphs, to quote from her email
“ What a great find and so different from all the other places we’re been to. This is not on the common
‘tourist trek’ so we are really fortunate to have had a chance to see them. (Quoting from a text on the subject).
Aboriginal petroglyphs are rock carvings, not paintings. The carvings were made by tapping a stone against the
dark desert-varnish surface and exposing the fresh rock beneath. Attempts have been made to date these rock
carvings but it is a difficult and imprecise science with some estimates suggesting they are as much as 17,000
years old.
Unfortunately it seemed to us that they will probably perish in the not too distant future as the whole rock face
is fracturing and disintegrating. It was quite a difficult task rock-hopping about the rock face, trying to get a safe
footing to balance to take a photo. It’s fascinating to try to interpret some of them and to imagine the critters
they are drawing. Unfortunately some of the parts of the etchings are already missing.”
Carawine Gorge
Running Water, Skull Springs Road
Running Water, Skull Springs Road
Although these photographs were taken in July, the water was a comfortable 27 degrees, as the pools are fed
from thermal springs. If you want to know more about these West Australian locations, your search engine can
take you on a journey of discovery. Wo knows, you may get to see them in person some day.
Barrow Island, W.A.
Barrow Island is a nature reserve 50 kilometres offshore from the mainland in WA. Of an area
of 202 square kilometres, one square kilometre is occupied or earmarked for a LNG facility.
People looking for work on a fly in fly out basis are sometimes curious to see what the island
looks like. Due to the restrictions of operating in a high protection level nature reserve, there is
no fishing; and no swimming in the ocean, due to the presence of marine stingers, strong tidal
currents, and marine predators.
So, on an island where lizards, (perentie) have right of way over vehicles, and you have to
check your room for bandicoots every night, here are a couple of photos of the sea side. No
kayaking here either.
The World Meteorological Organization established Barrow Island as the location of the highest
non-tornado related wind gust at 408 km/h (253 mph). The record occurred on 10 April 1996,
during Tropical Cyclone Olivia.
In December 2009, a development consortium between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron,
ExxonMobil, and Shell received environmental approvals from the Government of Western
Australia to develop natural gas reserves 60 km north of the island. Known as the Gorgon gas
project it is currently under construction (Jan 2012) and will become Australia’s largest resource project, producing 40 trillion cubic feet (1,100 km3) of gas from about mid-2014.
above: the Hennessy Expedition Hammock
next to a two litre milk bottle
above: Arrowhead Equipment underquilt
TESTING THE BACKPACKERS HAMMOCK
The backpackers hammock offers a new solution to the problem of a comfortable
nights sleep. Many people’s experience with hammocks leads them to resist the
idea of sleeping in a hammock, believing that they will be bent like a banana for the
night.
below: the Hennessy Expedition Hammock setup, without the rainfly.
I was in that category of mistrusting hammocks, until I tried one. By lying slightly diagonal
across the hammock, the body is horizontal and flat, not bent, and is well supported. I bought a
Hennessy Expedition hammock, and have found it to be comfortable.
Of course, it is like a very, very, small tent; there is little room to move about. But it does have
a mosquito net, and a rain cover fly. The hammock should be set up with the ridge line at about
1.8 metres above the ground. That makes the hammock easiest to get into, and allows the
hammock to be used as a seat.
The photograph below shows the hammock set up, with an underquilt attached underneath. A
sleeping bag will keep you warm down to about 20 ° C, without any sleeping pad, but below
that temperature, you will feel the effects of cold air, as the sleeping bag is compressed beneath
you.
Rather than try to keep a closed cell foam pad underneath me, I opted for an underquilt which
hugs the outside of the hammock. This particular underquilt is only a ¾ length, to save weight.
The UQ is the Arrowhead Equipment Jarbridge River model, and if my feet are cold, where the
quilt ends, I can use a small piece of closed cell foam (a seat) to put inside the hammock, under
my feet.
below: the Hennessy Expedition Hammock setup, without the rainfly, with the underquilt.
Hennessy Hammock website link
Arrowhead Equipment website link
I was in that category of mistrusting hammocks, until I tried one. By lying slightly diagonal
across the hammock, the body is horizontal and flat, not bent, and is well supported. I bought a
Hennessy Expedition hammock, and have found it to be comfortable.
Of course, it is like a very, very, small tent; there is little room to move about. But it does have
a mosquito net, and a rain cover fly. The hammock should be set up with the ridge line at about
1.8 metres above the ground. That makes the hammock easiest to get into, and allows the
hammock to be used as a seat.
below: the Hennessy Expedition Hammock setup, with the rainfly, without the underquilt.
gear tip
If you are out on the water you should be wearing sunglasses. You need them to see against the glare of
reflections off the water, and if you don’t wear them, there is a good chance you will finish the day with a
headache. A good hat and sunnies are a must for sea kayakers.
Unfortunately, the sea and sunnies are natural enemies. The water will suck down your best sunglasses
any time you get careless or clumsy. Other mishaps such as sand scratches and sitting on them will mean
your sea kayaking sunglasses have a high attrition rate.
Apart from such precautions such as neck cords, there is little you can do about your loss or destruction of
this necessary piece of gear. However I do have suggestion for buying sunglasses. On Ebay, from sources
such as the UK, Bolle sunglasses are no less expensive than the same items in Australia. However, Bolle
make a range of SAFETY glasses, which are tinted, that sell for under ten dollars each. Have a look.
gear tip
One of most useful pieces of camping gear to have is the compression sack. Sleeping bags
often have their own compression sytem built into the stuff sack, but it is worth while have
other compression bags for soft articles such as towels and clothing. The photograph above
is the same sack full of clothing, before and after compression. It won’t make the items
lighter, but it will save space.
To use, fill the sack with softer clothing articles, then, having lengthened the compression
straps, put the “lid” or end cap over the end. Use one hand to squash the bag, while evenly
tightening the straps. Make several smaller tightenings of each strap, to keep the sack even.
It is best to have a compression sack the correct size for a large item such as a sleeping bag.
Take your sleeping bag with you to the store to get the right fit.
While there are compression sacks which are also waterproof, a plastic bin liner should
suffice for stowage in a sea kayak, unless you anticipate some adverse weather conditions.
There is no reason you cannot put your compressed bag into a dry bag for those must keep
dry items.
Anaconda sell a range of different sized compression sacks under the DENALI brand name
that are suitable for canoeing and bushwalking.