Shoalhaven R packraft trip
Posted: Sun 03 Apr, 2016 11:23 amA few weeks back is finally got around to this wonderful little trip. We began by leaving a car at Long Point near Tallong- it was freezing cold up there I was wondering if we'd be warm enough overnight. Next we drove off toward Bungonia and after a bit of misdirection we headed out toward Matadoro Ridge. We stashed a mountain bike about 8 km from the end where I thought we might have some problems with the 2wd and then continued on.
The track down to Greater Horseshoe Bend was pretty steep down, down down & took about 1.5 hours.
Had some lunch at the river, inflated the rafts and off we went. The river is just lovely- nice little rapids with beautiful pools in between. The river level was about 0.73m which is about the minimum I would do it at. We paddled everything but it took some carefull handling to avoid getting hung up in lots of areas.
We stopped off for a look at The Chimneys and enjoyed the float through the Block-Up Gorge. I got cleaned up in the Washing Machine rapid which has a strong suck back- fortunately I got out easily but it kept my raft and pack for a while. Be wary of this raid especially at higher levels.
We had an idyllic grassy and spacious campsite for the night. Wasn't as cold as I feared. Hubby had a bit of early morning fishing and caught and released a couple of small bass.
Next day we paddle on past Bungonia gorge and finished up at Barbers Creek at the Bottom of Long Point. Pack up and then the long flog up, up, up. Took us about 2 hours. At the top it was back to the car and time to collect the other car- quite an effort. Poor hubby had the bike shuffle to do- nearly ran over a snake at the top of a rise.
Overall an excellent trip! Highly recommend
Little video at;
https://vimeo.com/159748367
Cheers
Lizzy
Sent from my iPhone
