Kayak 4 Earth

.Day 51 - 16/7/07 - From the Barwon to the Darling

Steve's Report: The camp by the river at Beemery last night is supposed to be about half way to Bourke but I'm not so sure. It was a great spot and it was nice to leave the kayak down the bottom of the bank and not have to drag it all the way up. I had a beer, watched the sunset and took in the serenity. The morning today was uneventful. I had arranged to meet Dave at the junction of the Culgoa. That was when things went wrong.

Dave wasn't there and I didn't check the GPS so I went straight past. I took a photo but at the time didn't realise what it was. At the 1.00pm radio sched I could only just hear Dave so powered on thinking that by 2.00pm it would be loud and clear. At 2.00pm there was no contact so I checked the GPS and was way past where I wanted to be. Luckily we are supported by Farnie at Global Satellite Phones so out came the sat phone and I called Dave. We figured out where I was in relation to each other by using our GPS units. Dave drove through the bush and got me. We left the kayak where it was, ready for the next day.

We stayed the night at the Bourke mayor's hut near the Culgoa junction. Dave slept inside and stoked the fire but I have been sleeping under a tarp and decided to do that again. I took a photo plus a photo of what I woke up to with the river bank, tree roots and river way below. The mayor was great. His name is Wayne O'Malley and we had a couple of beers around the fire and a good yarn. Apparently all the clearer water I am seeing is salty water that flows from underground into the bed of the Darling.

Speaking of water I will fess up to why I was wet yesterday. Did you see the photo of the entry down the bank the day before? Well I attempted something bigger and bolder and ran smack into a tree root that snagged the front down and filled the cockpit. We have it on video to view later. My entries can only get better.

Dave's Report: Steve and I missed seeing each other at the RV point today, junction of the Culgoa and the Barwon Rivers. I met the Mayor's wife, Patty, daughter, Natalie and grandson Charlie. They opened up the fishing hut on their property where we were to stay the night.

It was when the hut was being opened that I receive a 'distress' call for me to come and pick him up. The GPS co-ords given indicated a position 3.7km away. Dropping the trailer I soon sped off to pick him up. A well used track turned into a light one and then no track at all as I neared the destination. It was the first real bit of 4 wheel driving I have done so far on the trip, al good fun. After spotting Steve and then a massive Echidna we concealed the kayak by the river and headed back to the hut where we were soon joined by the Mayor of Bourke Wayne O'Malley. Wayne had spent his while life along the Darling River and provided some unique insights to the changes that had occured within his lifetime.

The area had suffered a very significant drought in 1902 that had devastated the countryside. In the 1960 and 70s years of good rainfall saw the germination of much of the mature gum and coolibah trees we see today. Low weirs have seen much of the breeding stock of fish survive the existing drought in relatively good condition. Whilst it could be argued that the weirs intrinsically change the ecology of the river and that fish have surived drought conditions before (often in waterholes, which are currently silting up). Weirs have been essentially in maintaining the on going health of the river system and has secured water supplies for communities along the banks of the different rivers.

Through town today I saw obscenly large motorhome that dwarfed the two elderly occupants. It was towing a small 4WD, used for exploring.


Three families camped by the river. They were excited to see someone paddling along	This is looking up into the Culgoa. The Barwon changes to the Darling here. The water goes up about 100m and then stops completely