Kayaking the wonderful Woronora River

By Michele

Kayaking and Trekking go hand in hand at Diamonds in the Rough Adventures - enjoying nature up close, spending quality time with like-minded people, physical exercise and challenges, and a healthy mental time-out

The bookings came in quickly for this one- but as the day drew closer a few were a bit nervous side with some seeing weather predictions of gale-force winds, temperatures of just above zero, overcast- maybe rain!!! But in true Diamonds fashion- we turned on a cracker!

Ok, yes, a little on the chilly side, but blue skies and hey, a headwind just makes the paddling more -mmm, interesting!

7 am, Sunday, Sept 13, Prince Edward Park Woronora, saw 12 Diamonds and 3 coaches meet up at Bindaree Water Activities Centre, ready for adventure. We got fitted for PFDs, donned on our water shoes, chose which colour kayak we wanted, were given expert paddling instruction from Jo and set off! Being high tide let us go down Loftus Creek (aka Forbes Creek), so peaceful meandering down this small tributary, with bush on each side…no wind down here, so time to get the muscles awakened and used to how the kayak felt and how to get it moving the direction we wanted- mostly!

After a quick up and back on the creek we headed south along the Woronora River, this was much wider and paddling was made a tad more challenging with a headwind- but we weren’t in any hurry and so took our time heading up The Needles….where back in the early 1800s, had a working mill nearby. Passing existing houses only accessible by boat, the remnants of stonewalls from former 1920s weekender residences and jetties, giant gum trees, fascinating rock formations, watching jumping fish, sea eagles, kookaburras, basking water-dragons and cockatoos flanked by Dharawal State Conservation Area and Heathcote National Park….sometimes in quiet reflection on your own- sometimes having a chat to a nearby paddler.

At last, it was time for a break when we reached the place we could go no further- The Needles. Time for a stretch of the legs, give the arms a well-earned rest, a bit of time to chat and learn some more about each other, and indulge in a warm drink and yummy morning tea- dips, cheese, crackers, slice, cake, frittata, strawberries… than enough to have us fuelled for the return journey.

Back in the kayaks (thanks who spotted the curious string ray checking us out) and we headed back, finally we were assisted by nature with the tide now going with us. We stopped at the small Shackles Beach and took a short side hike with a rock scramble to the top of some rock climbing walls to get a bird’s eye view up and down the river. Then whoops!  a slip and fall saw some quick first aid administered for a twisted ankle, back in the craft (with the patient* being towed in style) and back to where it all started nearly 6 hours earlier.

Thanks to everyone for coming along and making the day a memorable one!

*P.S. The patient is recovering well and should back on her feet soon