We have been canoeing various sections of the Macalister River for over 25 years. Our favourite section has been: Basin Flat to Cheynes Bridge. This is one of the few rivers you can canoe with one vehicle by hitch hiking as the road parallels and comes back to the river .
I guess you could do the same on sections of the Wonnangatta, Mitta etc. We normally drop the boats off on the river bank at Basin Flat and drive the car back to Cheynes Bridge, park conspicuously on the road, then put the thumb out. The first car usually figures you have broken down, so you are back at Basin Flat within about 40 minutes of dropping the boats off.
We did this trip again yesterday ( 31 Oct 2014 – 30C). This is getting to be a trip which we would (probably) enjoy more as a two dayer (we are getting older) but also the wider river (following fires, floods, willow removal, etc) has slowed the trip down somewhat, so that what used to take 4 hours has crept up to nearer 5-6. The dogs and portages slowed us down a lot. If I did a bit of work on some of the timber down, and cleared some of the trickier rapids a bit, it would speed it up. I did this years ago when we used to run it regularly in four hours. This MAY happen, but there are so many other things to do…
There are some nice places to camp, so it should best be considered as a weekend trip. There are lots of fish to catch, and numerous deer, so the extra day can be well-spent! The river height on the Licola gauge yesterday was 1.68, quite adequate water. 1.7 is really nice. I feel you could still have an enjoyable trip with some more portages 50mm lower than this, say a minimum of 1.63. I would say it would be a bit too dangerous over 1.8 metres – ignore that See Carpe Diem.
See Also:
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/canoeing-the-macalister/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/canoeing-the-macalister-2/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/canoeing/
Hello mate!
First thank you very much for the lovely articles and your wonderful writing sharing your experience and knowledge with us!! I am a medium-well experienced canoer and thanks to you I wish to have a canoe trip down the Mcalistaire but I know very little about it. If you could help me with this I’ll be tremendously grateful!
1. I wish to go on a 2 night/3 day trip from around Licola (ready set camps maybe?) down to glenmaggie. Does it make sense? Is it the right starting point?
2. I plan to go this month – either next week (10.6.24) or in early July. I know – it’s dead winter and it might be cold. Any other things to worry about in this time?
3. Thanks to you I thought maybe I can leave my car somewhere in Glenmaggie and hitch hike up to Licola (I will happily pay someone to bring my car back if needed). does it make sense? do you think it’s possible?
4. I’m a totally unexperienced fisherman. Any special tips I need to tell the guy in the fishing shop? particular baits or lures?
Thank you so much dear friend and good health!
Alon
Hi Alon, If there was enough water you could certainly hitch from the Glenmaggie bridge to Licola then canoe back but I don’t think the 1.36 metres there at the moment would be enough. I have said (again and again) that the authorities have destroyed this wonderful river and that it is now only canoeable on rare days – at least in the warmer weather. There is enough water at the moment for a trip on the Thomson or the Wonnagatta/Mitchell though, but you would have to organise a lift back. A pushbike would be good enough on the Wonnangatta, say for a three day trip down from the Kingwell Bridge to Meyer’s Flat. If you are inexperienced you should not try the Thomson. Cheers, Steve.
Dear Steve!
Thank you so much! You are a source of knowledge and very kind!
I will postpone my plans for next week as rain is expected and this is one thing I do not like while canoeing/camping.
Could I please ask: is there a time of year when the water level is high enough for the whole trip down from Licola? When is this time?
I am quite experienced canoeing (less than you I’m sure). Last year I canoed Bathurst harbour in Tassie for a week all by myself. Never saw a soul. The Wonnangatta sounds like a great idea which I was never aware about. Just the issue of the car to solve…
Thanks again!! Truly appreciate your help!
Alon
I am particularly interested in hearing more about your Barthurst Harbour (canoe) trip.The Macalister has been quite ruined by the conservationists and government mismanagement I’m afraid. You just have to watch the rainfall and the levels and go when there is water. The Wonnangatta is (so far) much more stable but they have been doing their willow removals and fire regime ruinations so that it is slowly( quickly) sedimenting up. There are a lot more bars than there were only three ears ago. A section we did (from Eaglevale to Kingwell Bridge three years ago without having to get out of our boats had us portaging nearly a dozen times this year with actually more water on the Waterford gauge. It is truly a wonderful river though. If you have a week to spend the section/s from Eaglevale to Waterford are just wonderful. On weekends there is quite a lot of traffic on the Wonnagatta Road. Just after the road begins (after about a kilometre) it briefly joins the river. You could get out here. You will need to clear a little path (<20 yards) with a machete &/or hand saw. I have trampled down some of it. You could leave your vehicle on the side of the road near there and maybe hitch to Eaglevale/Kingwell. Another possibility is the Latrobe which is just flat water but beautifully serene – but I can’t think of a one person car shuttle. However, the countryside from Sale to Rosedale is very flat, so it could be cycled. I do have posts about both these rivers (eg https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2020/01/21/fourteen-days-of-white-water/ & https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/04/26/long-and-lazy-river/) You can email me (stevendella@finnsheep.com) to catch up on all this a bit more easily. Cheers, Steve.
Hi mate I’ve come across your site several times over the years when researching areas for adventures.
Just wondering if you know weather you can hunt deer in the area
Thanks Mart, Much of the area can be hunted. You will have to consult the game management maps: http://services.land.vic.gov.au/DELWPmaps/hunting-areas/?type=sambar-deer There is a new App: https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/visiting-state-forests/more-to-explore-apps-and-maps Good luck. Cheers, Steve.
Hi mate, I’m stoked I found some info on canoeing this river. I couldn’t find Basin Flats or Cheynes Bridge on Google maps though. Could you please help?
Thanks,
Joe
Cheyne’s Bridge is the bridge across the Macalister you cross on the way to Licola. This map may help: https://www.whereis.com/vic/glenmaggie-3858/cheynes-bridge-tr After you leave there and head for Licola a twenty minute drive takes you over a mountain until the road returns to the river. You will see where people pull over on the left hand side of the road to drag their canoes through a fence to the river. This is Basin Flat. Used to have a sign there. This section of the river takes over four hours. It starts off easy and becomes more difficult after about an hour. There are three Grade 3 rapids which may need to be walked around, the first just below Burgoyne’s Track. Pay careful attention to the recommended Licola Gauge heights. Cheers, Steve.
Hello Steve, first of all I have learnt so much from your experiences.
I am just wondering about the basin flat starting point as mentioned above. I am pretty sure I know the spot you mean. I could see the river and the two fences.
Does the property owner mind people going through his property? Or should I drop a bottle of wine off to him.
I will be using a 3m raft with 2 people in it.
Much appreciated
Stephen
Hi Stephen, Thanks for the praise. People have been doing this for at least fifty years. I think he is pretty used to it. Indeed I believe the public has a right of access to a river across private land provided it is the shortest route. However I’m sure they won’t mind a bottle of wine. I haven’t spoken to them or seen them for many years myself. It must only take a minute to get across to the river causing no harm to their property on the way. Have a good trip. Cheers, Steve.