Liberator General San Martin

  

Many people driving through Ku-ring-gai Chase to Cottage Point, or weaving their way down to Coal & Candle Creek, must be baffled by the name of the road along which they are travelling – Liberator General San Martin Drive. The question of how the name arose was recently put to the Editor who knew only a little of its origin and was therefore prompted to look further into the matter. Some of what he learned appears below. Liberator General San Martin Drive by Tony Dawson Who was General San Martin? José Francisco de San Martín Matorras (1778-1850), also known as José de San Martín, was an Argentine general and leader of the military campaign to free the southern parts of South America from Spanish rule. Born in Yapeyú, a small town in Corrientes province, José was seven years old when his family moved to Spain. After four years of study at the Real Seminario de Nobles in Madrid he joined the Regiment of Murcia and was engaged in military action in North Africa, the Pyrenees, Cadiz and Gibraltar. During the Peninsular War against France he took part in the Battle of Baylen against Napoleon´s army and, later, the Battle of Albuera where he met Lord MacDuff who arranged for his passport to England. In London, San Martin was introduced to members of the Logia de los Caballeros Racionales (Lodge of the Rational Knights) who were plotting the South American independence efforts.  

In 1812 San Martin sailed to Buenos Aires where he offered his services to the United Provinces of South America in their fight against the Spanish. After the Battle of San Lorenzo in 1813 he took command of the Army of the North and began to devise an attack on Lima, the centre of the Spanish empire.  

San Martin crossed the Andes to Chile in 1817 and prevailed over the Spanish forces to liberate Chile. He went on to seize partial control of Lima on July 12, 1821, and was appointed Protector of Perú. However, after secret discussions with Simón Bolívar in 1822, the content of which remains a matter of speculation, it was Bolívar who proceeded with the task of fully liberating Peru while San Martín left Peru and resigned the command of his army. In 1824 San Martin moved to Europe, initially to England, then Belgium and, finally, France where he died on 17 August 1850. In 1880 his remains were returned to Buenos Aires and reinterred in the Buenos Aires Cathedral.  

José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar are regarded as the two great liberators of Spanish South America. The Orden del Libertador San Martín is the highest decoration in Argentina and San Martin is the country’s national hero.   

But why name a road in New South Wales after him?   

In August 1950 the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust was advised that the NSW Minister for Transport, William Sheahan, and the Commissioners for Transport and Main Roads proposed to name the new road through the Chase, then unoffi-cially known as Coal and Candle Creek Road, after General San Martin as a gesture of friendship with the Argentine Government which had named a thoroughfare in Buenos Aires ‘Australia’. Although the Trust was unhappy with the idea it did not openly express its opposition since the road was outside its jurisdiction and the Department of Main Roads had recently spent £3,000 on its improvement. The official naming ceremony, performed by the Attorney-General, Clarrie Martin, took place on Saturday 19 August 1950, almost exactly a hundred years after the death of San Martin. However, the change was far from popular in the community. There were storms of protest and signposts were torn down, on one occasion by a well-known columnist and another journalist who were prosecuted over the incident. In Parliament, Sheahan was attacked by the Chief Secretary, Clive Evatt, himself a member of the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust and a persistent advocate for the preservation of the name Coal and Candle Creek Road. Sheahan responded that the new name had been given solely to promote good mutual relations between Australia and another nation but said that he didn’t resent Evatt’s intrusion as he [Evatt] seemed to be ‘constitutionally incapable of harmoniously viewing another colleague’s actions if he thinks he can obtain some advantage on the bandwagon.’ Sheahan also alluded to protests made by Percy Gledhill, president of the Manly Warringah & Pittwater Historical Society who, he observed, ‘has his name perpetuated in Gledhill Falls’, adding, somewhat acerbically, that perhaps the only mistake he [Sheahan] had made ‘was in not directing that the name be the Gledhill-Clive Evatt Road.’ The question of reverting to the original name has arisen from time to time, but in March 2002 Warringah Council’s Cultural & Heritage Committee, after consultation with embassies of various Latin American countries in Australia, agreed that the road should remain as Liberator General San Martin Drive due to the potential loss of historical signifi-cance. Perhaps someone should tell Google Maps that – they still call the road Coal and Candle Drive! Sources: Wikipedia and other online sources; Howard Stanley – History of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park; The Canberra Times – 22 August 1950; Minutes of Warringah Cultural and Heritage Committee Meeting held 18 March 2002  

Information from: Peninsula Historian Vol 2 #7  Pittwater Historical Society Inc.

 

   

  

Dreamtime on Christmas Tree Hill

Dreamtime on Christmas Tree Hill  

21^st July 2010  

By Geoff Russell  

I had a phone call  from Keith about 10am on a pretty wet and cool Wednesday, he said he wasn’t fishing because of the weather and wondered whether I’d like to see some recently discovered Aboriginal carvings on Christmas Tree Hill and as there was not a lot happening at the kiosk we made arrangments to meet up there about 2pm, weather permitting.          

Keith is a local fisherman with a keen interest in local Aboriginal history and Aboriginal rock carvings which proliferate in the area.  I’ve been out with him on his “Tinnie” more than once, observing the rock art from the water.  

Christmas Tree Hill is about 2km from Cottage Point, a steep but short drive; from the summit you’re able to walk south along a short track which overlooks Smith’s Creek, or you can, as we did,  follow a track in a north easterlydirection along a ridge which leads to a “Trig Station,” the track then continues another few hundred metres ending at an escarpment overlooking “Coal and Candle Creek” with views west towards Berowra, east towards the Bahi Temple,  and south towards Terrey Hills.  

Escarpment View

  

The weather had cleared by the time we met, still a little unsettled but mostly fine; the bush was moist, the leaf litter spongy, the smells fresh and earthy; a perfect afternoon for scrambling about in the bush. We soon came across “The Trig Station” which appeared to have been struck by lightening; the composite pole, from which the mapping disk is suspended, was severely bent and charred.  

Charred Trig Station

  

          From the escarpment, Keith launched himself (bum first) down a fairly steep rock face and almost disappeared into the bush, there was still a little water around with moist channels and pools so one had to be a little careful. There was no track so it was quite possible to loose sight of each other and be only metres apart. We soon came to a rock clearing where we were able to skirt around the edges until we came to a much larger rock ledge, with beautiful colours of red and browns, with water channels and tiny rock pools, there were small pockets of vegetation where sand had collected in a rock pool, this in turn would retain the water enabling moss and tiny shrubs to survive.   

   

The flow of water over the rock ledge had created natural sculptures of exquisite beauty.  

We also noticed a number of small rock “cairns,” which Keith explained were symbolic; some of which were in a stable condition while others had collapsed. Although the rock ledge on which we were standing is relatively remote and secluded, to have small rock cairns still intact after 200 years seems to me a little unlikely.  

There was a certain peacefulness surrounding the whole area all the same. 

Dragon Man

  

Keith was able to find a carving which he called ‘Dragon Man” a tall carving with 4 shields in close proximity; he claimed as the shields displayed crosses they were symbolizing that this area is “men’s business” and women should stay away.  

Dragon Man's Shield

  

 Keith had previously been informed that there is a 24ft carving of a whale in this area and was keen to find it; he chose to dream on his own for a while to try and sus out where  the whale carving might be.  

He did discover another rather large carving, very faint and weathered, almost invisible in parts, but unquestionalbly a carving. Keith was hopefully excited should it be the whale, although it turned out to be another tall figure, of similar proportions to “Dragon Man,” quite obviously a male so I named him “Whale Man.”  

Whaleman

  

   

I was also shown “Warrior Man” a somewhat smaller figure than the others but depicted in the same stance. We were unable to find any shields that may have accompanied a warrior, but these could have subsequently been covered with vegetation.  

Warrior Man

  

          We explored the rock shelf for sometime, dreaming Aboriginal history, using the binoculars to scan the valleys and escarpments for possible cave sights.  

Keith suggested the ravine in the foreground stretching from the road down to water at “Coal and Candle Creek” could be traversed by leaving a boat at the water level end and beginning the walk from the road. He felt reasonably sure there would be many examples of rock carvings and “ochre blown” hand prints along the water course.  

Although I knew in which direction we needed to follow to return to the car, there was absolutely no evidence of where we had entered the rock ledge; I did have the GPS with me, so it wasn’t a worry about getting lost, but it all looked pretty steep all the same. Keith suggested we skirt around the cliff edge heading south, but after a few metres it became so precarious I suggested we try another route, straight up.  

          We scrambled through bushes and up rock faces, working up a little sweat as a result, finally joining the track leading back to the “trig station.”  

          We arrived back at the road before twilight, feeling pleasantly fatigued and awe inspired that there are so many remains of  early Australian history within only a few kilometres from home.  

A Paddle down the Hawkesbury

By Geoff Russell

April 2010

Introduction: The Hawkesbury River or “Deerubbin” as it was known by the aboriginals is one of the major coastal rivers of NSW Australia.

The Hawkesbury River originates at the confluence of the Grose and Nepean rivers, to the West of Sydney and to the North of Penrith. It is then joined by a number of tributaries before reaching the ocean at Broken Bay, just North of Sydney, some 120km.

The Hawkesbury River was one of the major transportation routes for transporting food from the surrounding area to Sydney during the 1800s until the opening of the railway in 1864 when produce could be transported by train.

The Hawkesbury River is navigable from Windsor to the sea and is tidal as far as Windsor.

The inspiration for paddling down the Hawkesbury came from “The Hawkesbury Classic” kayak race which is held annually; the race begins at Windsor and finishes at the Hawkesbury River road bridge in Brooklyn. Commencing in the afternoon, competitors are required to paddle throughout the night usually taking 12hours or so to complete the distance; estimated at being 111km.

The concept of paddling the Hawkesbury seemed attractive, but not so travelling overnight or the effort required in completing the distance as a race.

After many discussions and having recently acquired a “Double 730 Mirage” kayak, my wife Angela and I decided on the dates to complete the distance over 6 days. The paddle would begin in Windsor and finish in Cottage Point, approximately 120km.

We chose dates which were to begin on a Sunday and finish the following Friday. We chose autumn because of cool temperatures and stable weather; we chose not to do it during school holidays and chose week days preferably because of the prevalence of water ski boats during the weekends.

We also invited paddling companions John and Pat Colquhoun who had completed the Hawkesbury Classic on numerous occasions. This proved extremely beneficial, not only because of their moral support, prior knowledge and their companionship, but because of their help in manoeuvring fully laden kayaks, and their combined effort with supplies and equipment.

Another friend Dave Pratt, who has also paddled the Hawkesbury Classic on numerous occasions, was keen to give his new Power Cat a run so we suggested he be our support boat for a few days.

We mapped out the course with the help of Google Earth and a hand held GPS; we researched historic points of interest, (Cruising the Hawkesbury by Jocelyn Powell) as well as camping and accommodation facilities along the way. We envisaged we would paddle about 20km per day and needed to coincide our accommodation to suit. We also had to consider tides, as the Hawkesbury is tidal as far as Windsor and about 6hrs later in Windsor than at Broken Bay at the Mouth. A website www.willyweather.com.au proved very helpful is this regard.

We had decided the paddle had to be fun and we were all old enough so as not to do it too rough, so to speak. We had numerous meetings, often at the pub, to discuss logistics as well as supplies and equipment, but as the dates drew nearer, it was obvious we would have too much food and equipment. We had to remove packaging from most items and repack them in zip-lock bags. We figured that what wouldn’t fit in the kayaks, we would simply have to leave in the car.

Where to safely leave a car for a week and to be close to the river for launching was instrumental in where we finally decided to commence our paddle. This turned out to be at the Hawkesbury Riverside Tourist Park 505 Pitt Town Bottoms Rd, Pitt Town Bottoms. NSW 2756 Phone: 02 4572-3733, few kilometers downstream from the Windsor bridge.

Day 1 Saturday 17^th April 2010-Cottage Point to Windsor: We loaded the kayaks on the car, all the food and equipment just fitting in the car; we left Cottage Point Kiosk at Midday and headed west. Just outside Windsor we made our first stop for lunch at the Jolly Frog pub. We had a very tasty “$7.00 Rissoles and Mash” lunch, served by friendly staff. We also noticed on the sign out the front that there was “Jelly Wrestling” on Thursday nights. (Mmmmmm.)

We then searched for the “Wilberforce Australian Historic Village” only to find it isn’t open anymore.

Wilberforce Pioneer Village

John Tebbutt Observatory

We skirted around the fence observing what historic dwellings we could see from there. We then wandered around Windsor observing some classic early Australian architecture and the John Tebbutt observatory built around 1870. Windsor is one of the so called Macquarie Towns along with Richmond, Wilberforce, Pitt Town and Castlereagh. Unfortunately the Windsor museum was also closed when we were there.

We then went onto our accommodation at the Hawkesbury Riverside Park, arriving about 4pm. We did have a little trouble with “Tom Tom” finding the place; he seemed to be saying no preferred route. This could have been operator trouble though.

We registered with Dorothy, who after issuing us with keys to our River House, gave us directions to the pub known as “The Bird in Hand” and the golf club not too far away.

We also arranged with Dorothy on where to leave the car for a week and although it was to be in a flood zone, a flood was unlikely during the forthcoming week.

We found our “River House and proceeded to unpack our gear. As Pat was fiddling with the door keys, John offered us a Gin & Tonic. I thought how good is this? We are not even in the door yet and we get a G&T, sounds like my kind of adventure.

Our River House was right above the water, with sloping grass down to the river and boat ramp. It looked fairly easy for loading the kayaks. There were a couple of water ski boats using the boat ramp, but we’d deal with that in the morning. We had dinner at the “Bird in Hand”. We ate delicious homemade Pitt Town pies, which were recommended by the very pleasant owner, who came from Taree and said she had not lived in Pitt Town for long. The pies were her biggest seller, selling more than 150 per week.

The Bird in Hand

As we were leaving the pub, Angela and Pat saw some coins on the floor and were contemplating picking them up, when one of the local lads piped up and asked them if they would like to play. There was a hole in the floor and the object of the game was to toss a coin and have it fall down the hole. He even picked up some 5cent pieces and let us all have a go. Angela was the closest to the hole, but none of us got them in. We’re not sure whether one would collect the money on the floor should they sink one in, or what happened to coin that fell through for that matter.

The pub had a really nice feel about it and we could have continued on, but we had a big day coming up tomorrow, so we returned to our River House for a glass of red and some chocolate. A pretty nice first day really.

Day 2 Sunday 18^th April 2010-Windsor to Port Erringhi: Woke to a foggy morning. Pat cooked scrambled eggs with smoked salmon; she figured it might be our last gourmet meal for sometime.

Packing the Gear

Foggy Morning

We transported our empty kayaks to the launching area and laid out all our gear. We had to leave a little bit of gear behind, but still, amazing how much gear we were able to squeeze in.

Finally Underway

We launched at exactly 10.10am, with the fog just lifting, very mild and the promise of spectacular day weather wise.

There were a few wake board and ski boats about, but not too much of a problem. We stuck to the right of the river as it appeared the ski boats were following the correct rules. We were a little conscious of weight at first, but after a number of ski-boat wakes we soon gained some confidence.

It was a beautiful sunny morning, water like glass and some beautiful scenery. We paddled past Cattai National Park on our starboard side. There were also a number of very large houses along the way, built on prime real estate with sensational views down the river.

Our first tourist destination was the historic Ebanezer Church. With calculated guess work, I had previously made a marking on the GPS on where to land so as to have access to the church. After about 10km from Pitt Town Bottoms we paddled past a very pleasant beach on our port side with three red floating markers up ahead, then a row of modern houses. (My marking was where the houses were)

We saw a fellow on one of the house pontoons so we asked directions to the church. He informed us that the beach, a few hundred meters back was where we should have landed. The thought of paddling back didn’t seem all that attractive. This fellow, David and his wife Marlene offered us either his pontoon or his neighbour’s pontoon. We were right in a section where ski-boats came in close without slowing down, so there was a good amount of wake affecting the pontoons. The neighbour’s pontoon was adjacent to a small beach, (the tide was running out in the morning) so we were able to lift the fully laden kayaks up onto the pontoon as opposed to tying them alongside. David and Marlene very generously offered us access to the church through their property.

Ebenezer Church

Ebenezer is a very well kept village, with mostly modern houses, although there were signs of old timber barns and post and rail fences. The church grounds were a few hundred meters to our left, we gained access through and old but relatively well kept graveyard with many headstones commemorating pioneer families.

Ebenezer Church

The church and nearby schoolhouse were in excellent repair. The church is supposably the oldest Presbyterian Church in the country, with the first communion service being held in 1824 by the Rev John Dunmore Lang. The schoolhouse now houses a museum which has many references to pioneer families and their achievements.

Tea & Scones under the Trees

A local volunteer group serves tea and scones everyday except Good Friday and the week leading up to Christmas. The volunteers seemed to be somewhat elderly, very pleasant and happy to serve us. Although it was a Sunday we were too late for the Church Service. A very pleasant morning was had, with the sun shining though the trees.

We returned to our kayaks which were still on the pontoon, although John and Pat’s had moved somewhat due to the wakes caused by passing ski boats. David and Marlene were having lunch by the water as we bade farewell. Before we left them they informed us that Port Erringhi (our planned camping site) was not too much further on, only a few kilometers in fact.

Just before we arrived at Port Erringhi we observed a convict symbol on the sandstone cliff on our starboard side.

Port Erringhi

Port Erringhi is situated on the Western shore of the river and gains its name from a well known steamer which traded on the river from 1912 until 1930. We arrived at 2.30pm having paddled 13.6km for the day. We found a boat ramp giving us access to the camping ground with only a very short distance up a hill to carry our gear after unloading the kayaks. Soon after arriving we had the camping ground to ourselves. The camping ground did look a little rundown, but after finding the owners Bruce (Lee) (Pat named him Bruce Lee, and his comment was, “at least you wont forget my name”) and his wife Elada, (both Korean) we were given the choice of where we wished to camp. We spread ourselves over about 4 sites with tables and shelters. We had great weather, a nice view of the river, we had firewood and we were also able to buy a six pack of Grolsch beer from Bruce Lee. We had tuna on sourdough for lunch and then scones with jam for afternoon tea, which we had brought with us from Cottage Point Kiosk.

Port Erringhi Camping Ground

For dinner John cooked steaks on a hot plate over a fire, we had salad with avocado and boiled chat potatoes cooked in a “Trangia” a very clever compact cooking device. We were able finish our Gotham Shiraz sitting around the campfire. This didn’t feel like camping really.

Day 3 Monday 19^th April 2010-Port Erringhi to South Sydney Juniors: We woke to another foggy morning, birds singing, breakfast with toast cooked over the fire.

After packing up and loading the kayaks we launched about 9.50am. A bit slippery getting into the water, but there were no other boats about, a very pretty paddle throughout the morning. The tide did turn against us eventually but did not give us too much grief. We had lunch just beyond the Sackville punt at a beautiful little beach attached to a camping ground.

On the Water

On the Water

We continued on throughout a very warm afternoon, we passed by Pacific Park and Dargle ski

gardens, which were

Lunch at Sackville

possible alternative camping spots should we have needed to stop. There were quite a number of large houses, situated on high prominent positions which would have had very commanding views. We met up with Dave Pratt in his Power Cat just before the Colo River.

Dave's Becks beer

We had been paddling for some time against the tide and it was quite hot, Dave handed over a cold can of “Becks” beer as we pulled alongside. I didn’t know beer could taste so good. We then continued on to South Sydney Juniors Guest House Retreat, where we had accommodation booked. I didn’t have the exact location of the club marked on the GPS map, so it became a little frustrating not knowing whether we had come too far and the thought of going back didn’t seem like an option. As it turned out it was a few kilometers further on than we thought, and we finally arrived about 4pm having paddled 27.7km.

South Sydney Juniors

Disembarking was via a very steep slippery ramp amongst the bulrushes. We had to unload the kayaks in the water before we were able to carry them up the muddy boat ramp. We skirted around a 9 hole chip and putt golf course on our way to reception, Patrick and Carol being very helpful. We needed to become members of the club at $16.50 a couple which then enabled us to get a members deal for our stay here. We were issued with rooms 15 and 16. Dinner, bed & breakfast for $145.00 per couple, which consisted of a 3 course dinner, including a complimentary glass of wine, very adequate bedroom with ensuite and an all you can eat cooked breakfast.

We met many of the other guests who all seemed quite older than us. (Strange that) We met a lady named Victorina who came to the club on a regular basis from Rose Bay. There seemed to be a bus trip for the guests, leaving Sydney on a Monday and returning Friday. Victorina was very chatty and told us of her sons being Doctors.

John roped us in to game of Table Tennis after dinner which proved to be a lot of fun.

Day 4 Tuesday 20^th April 2010- South Sydney Juniors to Del Rio (Wisemans Ferry): We woke to another foggy morning, John and I did a few laps of the 20mt pool before breakfast.

We had some problems loading our kayaks this morning as the tide was fairly low and the boat ramp was too slippery with mud and too steep to walk on.

A Muddy Start from South's

We had to carry all our gear through wet and muddy bulrushes to a muddy beach some 10 meters away. We laid out a tarpaulin on the mud to store the gear while we loaded. We had to launch the empty kayaks over the clubs’ somewhat run down, bird poo covered pontoon and paddle over to the muddy beach. A bit of a shame as we had enjoyed our stay here. A pressure hose on the ramp and the pontoon would have made it a lot more kayak friendly.

We somehow got loaded with only mud caked on our shoes. We climbed in with our feet over the side, scraping them with a broken tile to remove the mud before taking of at 10.10am.

We only had a short paddle today to Del Rio resort just short of Wisemans Ferry. A very pleasant paddle though, with lots of birds, Black Cockatoos, Galahs, and Black Swans on the wing with their white under wings being quite visible.

We navigated around the so called “Half Moon Bends” with a sign saying Dad’s Corner in the middle. This was a very winding section of the river.

There were plenty of very impressive properties with spectacular scenery and high sandstone cliffs.

We arrived at Del Rio about 12.30pm having paddled for 12.1km.

Arriving at Del Rio

The boat ramp at Del Rio was also muddy but the under surface was less slippery than South Sydney Juniors, so no major problems getting out. We checked in at our pre-booked cabins, 15 & 16 again. A little co-incidental we thought. Although there were not many people around, we could see our kayaks from our rooms which made us feel quite secure.

Del Rio

We had previously been informed that the bistro would be open whilst we were here, but sadly the management had decided to close during the week. The manager of Del Rio, Graham Roberts very generously offered us the use of his car to go to the Wiseman’s Ferry Inn for dinner.

In the meantime we had lunch on Dave’s boat before doing a tour of the MacDonald River, which is a major tributary of the

Lunch on Dave's Boat

MacDonald River

Hawkesbury entering just opposite Wisemans Ferry. It was originally named “The Branch” by Governor Phillip when exploring the river in 1789. The current name was not adopted until about 1830 and is said to be associated with a John MacDonald who travelled through the valley en route to his property at Wollombi. We spent a very pleasant afternoon cruising the MacDonald with many riverfront settlements and birdlife. One particular bird of prey was observed, which could have been an adult Brown Goshawk.

Brown Goshawk

We picked up Graham’s car at 6.00pm (a fairly new Fairmont Ghia) and headed off to the Wisemans Ferry Inn for dinner. As we crossing the ferry, John came up with a story as to why there were rolls of excess cable on one side of the river. He explained quite convincingly, how this was a “spread the wear procedure” for ferry cable maintenance. On our return journey we asked the ferry operator for confirmation of this. Smilingly, (thinking we might have had a few) he said it was simply excess cable. So much for John’s theory. We all had a bit of laugh though.

At The Wisemans Ferry Inn we discovered that the owner is an ex-farmer from Canowindra, (Angela’s birthplace) selling produce such as Angus Beef from that area.

We had a very pleasant dinner, Angus Beef accompanied by a nice bottle of red.

When we were about to leave the Inn in Grahams car we noticed some gooey soapy stuff leaking over the door sill of the drivers door. A sachet of fluffy fabric softener stored in the door well, had for some reason decided to leak. Here we were, in a borrowed car, being extra careful and something untoward had to happen.

Back at Del Rio we put Dave into his rubber duckie with the next day’s supply of beer and wine and waited until we were sure he was safe. A fog was starting to come down already. We heard him call out that the grog was on board but he was having trouble getting on board because of the profile of the boat. We started to get a little anxious when his head lamp went overboard and he wasn’t answering us. He then changed tactic and was able to get on board via the two engines in the rear. He informed us the headlamp was still shining on the riverbed.

Day 5 Wednesday 21^st April 2010-Del Rio to Spencer: Yet another foggy morning, breakfast on the verandah and as we had a long paddle today we got an early start and were away by 8.20am.

This morning was most spectacular, fog on the hills and water like glass. We could just make out the two ferry punts as we proceeded downriver.

A Foggy Paddle

Foggy start from Wiseman's

We still had two hours of outgoing tide left, so we didn’t take a break until then. We had by then paddled 16km in two hours. As there were no visible places to stop we had snacks and fruit on board. A prawn trawler passed us at a section of the river known as “The Poplars” causing a very attractive surfable wake, unfortunately we were unable pick it up. This was probably a good thing considering our load.

Trawler at the Poplars

As we still had a long way to go before Spencer and we had the tide against us, we decided we would continue on without stopping. We passed by Wombat Park (an alternative camping spot with a boat ramp) on our port side with a couple fishing off the wharf.

Rivkin's Barge

The last two sections before Spencer were the hardest, paddling hard but not going very far.

Spencer is tucked in around the corner, at the entrance to Mangrove Creek; it’s a little hard to see until you are almost upon it, a little bit frustrating when you are anxious to arrive. We finally arrived at 12.30pm, 30.5km, taking 4hrs and 9min travelling time. This was to be our longest paddle. We had pre-arranged with Greg and Donna to stay at the “Melaluca Camping Ground” which possessed a boat ramp, a sandy beach and an adequate tent site, within meters of the river.

There were table and chairs, a half a 44gallon drum modified as a barbecue. We met Mark, who we were advised was the local Fire Captain, sitting by watching the river go by, while we had lunch.

Dave was not scheduled to arrive until later on in the afternoon, so Angela and I wandered over to the Spencer general store to purchase a couple of beers to have whilst we set up camp. We introduced ourselves to Dwayne the manager who has been there for about 11 years. A cute little sign on their wharf states “Spencer, The Hub of the Universe.”

Spencer was earlier known as Fernleigh and was officially named Spencer on 16^th March 1914. The name Spencer probably derived from that of the parish name, given in honour of George John Spencer, (second Earl Spencer) a first Lord of the admiralty in 1794.

As twilight fell we sat around the communal table with a fire in the cut off 44gallon drum. We met Mick and Tania who live in the caravan park. Tania is the cook at the general store and Mick, a real knockabout sort of bloke is a builder currently driving each day to Gladesville. We first met Mick when he launched his tinnie at the boat ramp to check his crab pot over near Gentleman’s Halt. He was an interesting fellow; he has a sister working with the Aborigines in Yulara, he also informed us that Kayakers do not have a very good reputation in Spencer. They tend to expect a lot, and take people and facilities for granted. We were at our most charming from then on, so as to belie his opinion.

We also met Nassa, an Aussie of Iranian birth, travelling on a push bike from Cheerybrook doing a round trip via Mt White; he was doing this whilst his wife was overseas visiting relatives. We thought we were tight on space; he had everything we had, packed into panniers. He camped in a tent not far from our own. He was a very interesting fellow, a gentle and well informed man. He was able to explain to Pat the differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. He owns a “King of Knives” business in Castle Hill, and has a Niece, Bunny Serov who has written a book called “Under a Starless Sky.”

Evening in Spencer

We also met “Lithgow Man” who was staying in a caravan for a week. He had his own tinnie and was just out for a bit of fishing. He very kindly let me charge a camera battery from his 240v power.

Day 6 Thursday 22^nd April 2010-Spencer to Patonga: We woke early to yet another foggy morning, we heard Mick leaving in his truck about 5.00am. Nassa, who had informed us the night before that he would be leaving early, was still there because of the fog.

Leaving Spencer

Milson's Passage

We didn’t muck about too much after breakfast as we wanted to catch as much of the outgoing tide as we could. The tides were getting earlier the more we moved east and the forthcoming narrow channel of Milson’s Passage can cause the water to literally race.

We were able to make it to the café at Dangar

Dangar Island

Island in two hours before the tide changed. We had decent coffee and friands in very pleasant surroundings.

After leaving Dangar we paddled on the Eastern side of the island in the direction of Wobby’s Beach, a water access settlement just across the water. We met up with David Miles, (a Cottage Point customer) who had in fact, just returned from a paddle to Cottage Point.

Soon after leaving Wobby’s we observed a “Whistling Kite” swooping for fish. We tried to photograph him, but were unable to catch him in the act.

We then reached Juno Point and faced east towards Lion Island and although we weren’t home it felt like we had reached our target.

East towards Lion Island

The water colour was different, a real ocean blue. We experienced wind chop which we hadn’t had for the entire journey, a real feeling of satisfaction. We arrived at Patonga at 2.30pm having paddled 24km from Spencer. We arranged a camping site, number 56. (There was that 5, 6 sequence again) The shower and toilet facilities at Patonga were considerably more hygienic than either Port Erringhi or Spencer.

Arriving at Patonga

Lunch at Patonga

We had lunch on a table near our tents, met a few fellow campers including a newly engaged couple who were stranded in Sydney because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

We phoned the pub to reserve 4 dozen Patonga oysters before cleaning up. After showering and getting out of paddling gear we wandered off in the direction of the Patonga Pub. Patonga village seems to be well maintained, a feel good atmosphere and a number of house upgrades in progress and yet another glorious afternoon.

On approaching the pub we noticed a semi-trailer being loaded with massive white fish boxes. On closer inspection and with

Mullet Catch

information gained from “Yellow Shirt” a glazy eyed, shiny faced fellow on the pub rail, (he’d had a few) that they were loading Mullet. 17 boxes had already been taken away and trawlers were still waiting to unload more. Supposedly the best mullet run for some years. We were told that the mullet was all due for processing, the roe mostly going to Taiwan.

We had a very pleasant dinner at the pub after having our most delicious Patonga oysters.

Day 7 Friday 23^rd April 2010-Patonga to Cottage Point: Our first morning without a fog. It was considerably cooler as well, with a North Westerly blowing. After breakfast we packed and were underway by 9.00am. We had to beat low tide which was at 9.55am to be able to get over the bar at Patonga Creek which gets very shallow and can have breaking waves. We had a very pleasant, relatively easy paddle back to Cottage Point, 10km being our shortest paddle for the whole trip. The water was so beautiful, so clear and cool, a beautiful blue green colour.

Arriving Home

We had Graham on the pontoon at the Kiosk giving us a welcome home with the camera. We unpacked the kayaks before lifting

Arriving Home

them on to the pontoons and didn’t waist anytime ordering coffee and muffins. We felt a great sense of satisfaction in having completed the 118km paddle, everything having gone pretty much according to plan and we could not have wished for better weather for the whole trip. We had a great adventure on a grand river and all being on our backdoor was an added bonus.

Awaiting Coffee & Muffins

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