I have to agree with Ratty, “There’s nothing––absolutely nothing––half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.” (‘Wind in the Willows,’ Kenneth Graham) And it was a glorious long weekend after 34 mm of rain to be doing it. We had intended to head up to Eaglevale for a splendid voyage on our favourite […]
The Wonnangatta-Mitchell is Victoria greatest river. It rises deep in a wonderful remote wilderness that is the heart of Gippsland and finally finishes (weeks later) at the amazing ‘Silt Jetties’ where it enters Lake King. It can be canoed (when there is sufficient water, ie approx 1.8 metres on the Waterford Gauge) from the Humffray
This video had somehow disappeared from my page so I have resurrected it. Somehow I managed to video most of the trip with my late friend Steve Cleaver with a non-waterproof very old video camera. There is no editing. It is all just as I filmed and narrated it. Nonetheless I think you will enjoy
What a wonderful ruin – like something from Ozymandias. Construction of this weir at the junction of the Mitchell and Stoney creek commenced in 1881 but the weir was destroyed by floods in 1893 soon after completion and has never been repaired. Two other attempts to dam the river at Billy Goat Bend and Tabberabbera
I spent a wonderfully restful night under the huge walnut tree lulled to sleep by the noise of the river rolling past – and surrounded by deer! The walnuts are a great magnet to them. They clearly check them daily to see whether a leaf or a nut has been discarded for their delectation. I
So long as you have a smart phone (with GPS and Compass – be sure it does before you buy it!) you don’t need a Garmin or any other GPS device, and you don’t need to pay for any maps or Apps. You can organise your phone so that you need never get lost. However
This section and the next (to Hut Creek) are the best family canoeing opportunities on the river. When our kids were little (just a quarter century ago) we must have canoed them a hundred times. In the morning you can drop in at the Kingwell Bridge, spend two delightful hours on the river (much more
Wonnangatta: Kingwell Bridge to Black Snake Creek Read More »
Yesterday was the first decent day of Spring: 28C and with enough water (1.73 at Licola – ideal) for a decent trip down from Basin Flat to Cheyne’s Bridge. This is one of the few sections of river that you can canoe alone (as you can readily hitch a lift back to your canoe after
It has been quite a while (over two years) since I first posted this. Time for an update. There are now over 179 ‘ideas’ to try out. Most will save you money or at least improve your outdoors experience; nearly all of them are my own ‘inventions’. Hope you find something useful to you. 181:
Cheap, light, quick, simple and tough – and almost self-inflating. What’s not to like? Here are the two most outstanding features. Wonderful. 15″ x 5″ when deflated. 33″ x 72″ inflated. 3 lbs. Tubes 200 denier. Floor 400 denier. The nearest competition I guess is the Ultralight version of this one: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2017/01/02/new-diy-pack-raft/or Klymit’s Pack Raft: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2016/04/23/klymit-packraft/
