The new toy

Yesterday we finally had the chance to put our new toys to the test on the Barwon in perfect summer conditions - the kayaks we bought Sarah and me for Christmas. We'd had a couple of trial runs on Swan Bay while we were away but this was our first chance to get out on the river.

Sarah on the Barwon

My intention was not only to get a different perspective on the river, but to see those stretches which I can't access from the bank. I'm dying to know what I've been missing!
So, with Peter on hand to lug kayaks and do pick ups, we hit the river at Breakwater and headed downstream, behind the businesses along Tucker Street and out through the farms in Marshall.

Farm machinery on the riverbank at Marshall

We headed past a few of the remnant willows and 19th century chimneys of the tanneries which featured in some of my earliest posts.
In the reeds on the Marshall bank I spotted a fox which had emerged via track it had clearly used before to drink at the river. Predictably, it froze and watched us closely as I extracted the camera and then with perfect timing disappeared back amongst the reeds the second I attempted to take a shot.

The aqueduct and Goat Island

Next we had the opportunity to see the aqueduct and Goat Island from midstream before heading around the bend towards Wilsons Road. As we paddled this stretch of the river, I was very mindful that in the days of James Lister Cuthbertson and the boys from Grammar and College this was known as the "Long Reach", a broad, straight stretch used for informal races and training which I discussed in my post The Willows.

Looking down the Long Reach

I suspect that were the boys of the 19th century to visit the Long Reach today, they would find it somewhat changed. Many of the exotic plantings which lined the banks at this time have been removed and the Australian Tannery which Cuthbertson mentions is no more than a low bluestone wall as viewed from the river. Since 1961, the reach itself has been home to the Geelong Water Ski Club who have clubrooms at the end of Wilsons Road and the weather being what it was, there were two boat-owners who had taken the opportunity to get out on the water.
Sticking close to the bank and riding out the backwash, we paddled on into quieter waters, headed for Reedy Lake. I would love to say that as we rounded the bend, all was revealed and the location of The Willows camp which I spent so much time trying to locate became immediately obvious, however this was not the case. The river narrows at this point and in places there were some stands of non-indigenous trees such as cypress overhanging the river, but no willows and no obvious point at which to camp. Nor was it easy from this point to get my bearings with respect to the outside world (so-to-speak) in order to take a guess at the likely location.

Passing through Reedy Lake surrounded by a sea of Fairy Martins flitting around overhead

The river channel is quite defined and so tall are the reeds that it was difficult to tell where the boundaries of Reedy Lake were (they don't call it that for nothing!), however when we arrived at the lower breakwater some 3km further downstream, there was no doubting our location. What was not so clear was how we were to navigate the obstacle in question. The lower break is quite different to that at Breakwater and the water level seemed significantly deeper. Fortunately, Sarah soon spotted a break in the reeds on the south bank where other paddlers had addressed the problem and we were able (albeit up to our knees in mud) to drag the kayaks out and round and then drop them back in the river on the other side.
I took the opportunity whilst on land to arrange our pick up from Tait's Point and to grab a few shots of the lower break before we hit the water for our final leg.

The lower breakwater in Reedy Lake

Whilst the weather was perfect and "Cuthy" spins a charming picture of crews rowing under the twinkling stars, I wasn't keen to navigate my way across Lake Connewarre in darkness, so, with the sun threatening to disappear and an uncertain distance remaining we kept moving.

Gates used to control the flow of water through the break

The first thing we noticed about the river below this second break were the large numbers of dead carp lining both sides of the waterway. A quick Google search turned up a detailed discussion on the management of the complex of lakes and swamps which rely on inflow from the Barwon and recognised  the need to control carp but did not explain what we were seeing, so I am still unsure whether such numbers of dead carp are normal or the result of some "event".

Sunset below the break

Like most of the rest of the channel through Reedy Lake we were hemmed in on both sides by reeds which limited our view of the surrounding land/water until, about half an hour later, we emerged into the tip of Lake Connewarre in time to see the sun setting over Geelong and our ride home pulling up at the boat ramp.

The tip of Lake Connewarre with the outskirts of Geelong on the skyline

Within a few minutes we had made the short trip across to the opposite side of the lake, had a brief chat to a pair of fishermen making the most of the weather, loaded up and made the somewhat longer journey home. All up, we covered about 11km in the boats during a comfortable 3 1/2 hour paddle, a distance by my calculations, a little over 3km shorter than the trip home by road.
The only question now, is which bit to explore next?