A journal of canoe expeditions along the rivers of Australia's Murray Darling Basin using photographs, stories and information to highlight the beauty, challenges and history of these rivers and the communities they flow through.
Just downstream of Nyah. The camping area is mostly hidden behind the town levees, however these campers are enjoying the proximity of the waterfront with the raised river.
Days that begin with an invitation to a cuppa are good days. Helen and Doug from Harcourt offered a coffee and a hand with the boat afterwards. Helen had competed in the Murray Marathon in 1990 with a team from the girl guides. She was in a leaders boat. It had a crocodile on the front as a mascot. Once you’ve done the marathon its hard to get out of your blood. They are such powerful experiences and anyone who has completed one becomes an ally.
Sunlight through the river redgums in the morning light.
I decided to only paddle to Tooleybuc today because with the Wakool high, I wanted all my wits about me when approaching that river which is apparently peaking now. It seems that I have caught up with flood waters. I hope only that with the wider river channel downstream of that junction, that the floodwaters would not be as dramatic. Gauges said that the river was at 11m, which is 9m higher than usual. That’s pretty high and well over any low banks. I am using a 1956 flood map to determine safe areas to camp. Mostly they are where the stations are. Those early settlers knew how to read the landscape.
Old river red gum with branches trailing in the water. They provide both shade and nutrients for life along the river.
The water that is coming down through the Wakool is the water that moved North through the Barmah-Millewa Forest. It comes from the big rain event that began all the flooding 5 weeks ago. The one I delayed my paddle for. Now I have caught up with it because it slowed down in the forest. There is said to be be black water amongst it, because this high river got to sections of the forest that have not been inundated for a long time. The water absorbs the tannin from leaves and bark, giving it the dark colour, and organic matter, which feeds the river food chain, but in excess leads to microbial population explosions which take oxygen from the water. It is this lack of oxygen which kills the biggest fish. We have been lucky that the temperature has not been too high. This will have slowed the growth of the microorganisms. The windy weather also helps, because it aerates the water. I’ll be able to report on it tomorrow.
Old and new, showing the increase in scale and investment that has happened all along the Murray continuing to this day.
Pump to vineyards and orchards at Koraleigh, just downstream of Wood Wood.
Large pumps running to the vineyards of Piangil
Today’s stretch took me into sheep grazing country. I enjoy the sight of them relaxing on the banks. Saltbush became more common, as did some typical weeds of the dry country like box thorn and asparagus fern. Small pumps are being replaced by much larger professional looking ones, which extend right into the river on floating pontoons. The operations they support are large scale, but may actually use less water per tonne of produce than the traditional family farm.
Elaborate fishing shack built in traditional style.
River red gum branch trailing in water showing buds shortly before flowering.
Sheep resting beneath an old gum.
On the banks I saw examples of bush furniture and all manner of weekend accommodation, from corrugated iron huts to building that could pas as real homes. The Barbie boats are art works. Each an expression of the personality of the owner. Often put together with little money using scrap and old furniture, a bought one would just not be the same. The same could be said for a skate half pipe I saw, built from 44 gallon drums and bits of old pallets covered in a layer of cement. What at first looked like rubbish to me was actually a bastion of creativity and perseverance.
Reed bed inundated on meander point.
For the most part, the trees on today’s stretch were very healthy and there was little bank collapse. Perhaps this has to do with the lack of wake boats in the area, or perhaps the soil has a higher clay content. I noted when the river was low that the banks were often bare, however had a steady angle from bottom to top. They weren’t stepped like they have become at Echuca. In some places most of the trees had died. Often these were near to intensive farming operations and I wondered if this could have been caused by localised salinity, or whether fungicides had killed off the tree’s mycorrhiza (cooperative fungi which help plants extract water and nutrient from the soil) - like the alga which give corals their colours, but also feed them. I saw many trees that had much wider trunks than the branches that extended from them. Given their habit of dropping limbs when stressed, the trunks are a better gauge of the age of a tree than the limbs and overall size. Some of the quite small trees had trunks over a metre and a half in diameter and flood marks at the height of a 1870 scale flood, several metres above the current level.
Timber offcuts, left behind by sleeper cutters.
This coppiced tree looked a bit like a hand reaching up from below the ground.
I stopped for lunch at a place which had been previously logged and cleared. There were large piles of offcuts lying around, including the kind of slabs that were used further up the river by people to build walls on their bush shacks. The stumps had been dug out of the ground and pushed into piles - presumably with the idea of burning them sometime. There was a rudimentary irrigation channel. A clue to the owner’s intentions. For some reason it had been allowed to regenerate and now amongst all the piles of fallen branches and off cuts, forest was regenerating. Land being allowed to regenerate by farmers along river banks is more common than you might think and represents hope for the future. Just as i was returning to my boat a mob of around 100 kangaroos of all ages passed through, clearing the timber with ease, the line stretched out over 300 metres. The last and youngest keen not to be left behind, particularly with a stranger around.
Lush vegetation on the meander around Murphy's island, which is gradually being abandoned by the Murray.
I love it when swallows fly around my boat, but they are so fast its hard to capture them on film. To get this shot I used a still from a video.
Paddling around Murphy’s island the bush was particularly pretty. The current all but stopped, because most of the water was rushing through a short cut the river was building to the West of the main channel. Like Beveridge Island, the passage was lush and full of wildlife - well worth the four extra kilometres and less dangerous than the snaggy cutting.
With names like ‘Gallows Bend’ and ‘Devils Elbow” and annotations like ‘wreck of the Allewein’ and ‘Pevensy burnt here’ I was expecting some pretty hairy currents, but for the most part the river moved at a steady 4 to 5km/hr - a good speed when you are travelling downstream. Perhaps the most surprising thing was being able to look over the banks. It was like paddling down the narrows. Being at eye level with the cows, sheep and kangaroos, and being able to look into the towns, not just hear them was a real change. I saw why people were so often on the banks in these areas, they lived just beyond them. In Tooleybuc I was able to run the boat up onto the bank in the park across the road from the caravan park and carry my gear without any issues into the grounds, where, able to begin my evening post early, I am about to have a refreshing shower and head into town for a counter meal at the pub (thanks Mike Bremers :).
Coming into Tooleybuc I met a man touring on his motor bike. Living the dream, he yelled out. He had always wanted to paddle the length of the river. I advised him to go in summer when the water level was lower, because it is easier to find camping spots, but then I said, all you need to do is find a boat, pick your pace and do it your way.
Tooleybuc Bridge
Tooleybuc Bridge-keepers Cottage. The windows in the chimney were so that he could keep an eye on the river, even when he was keeping warm by the fire. The building is keep as a legacy of their service to the town.
In Nyah this morning a local told of some young lads, who thinking there must be an easier way purchased a piece of plywood. Fixed it between their canoes and attached an electric motor. They decided to change their system when they reached Nyah, because the battery ran out too quickly and went back to Swan Hill and got a bike, hooked this up to the electric motor and continued on. I wonder if I will hear what happened next as I travel down the river, following the Murray on its never-ending journey to the sea. Tomorrow I make for high ground near one of the stations about half way to Boundary Bend. I have to be on my guard with all that high water. Right now though, its time for that counter meal.
The pub closes early and “there are no meals on a Sunday”… I second the words from the last loyal customer out the door “our hearts are broken”… however he pointed me to the Sporting club where I had a tasty roast of the day. Not quite the same though. Overland Corner can’t come soon enough… but perhaps, if I try very hard, I might find another good counter meal before that…
Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 21 Swan Hill to Nyah Nov 5
Swan Hill to Nyah 54km
At high river this was a pretty section to paddle. The current ran fast over the many clay reefs. The swirls and strong back eddies they created on the corners kept me on my toes, lest they spin me around, or drive me into dead water. And the views over the bank were a treat that river users don't normally have from smaller boats.
Swan Hill - life jacket showing position of cameras. Nikon AW1 tucked in behind jacket, Nikon Coolpix 130 and iPhone 6s in pocket. EPIRB and pocket knife in second outside pocket. An iPhone 5s with a floating grip was kept on the deck for panorama shots.
A rare action shot. Thanks to Ruth who saw me off. The next time we would meet again was 1,400 km later at the Murray Mouth. Plenty of flood country to go between now and then.
Leaving Swan Hill
Woodcutters camp near Swan Hill.
It was windy all day, however the skies were clear and the sun strong, so it was not so cold. I kept paddling for 4 hours, taking my first break on top of a levee after the Speewa Ferry. Surprisingly there were very few mossies there, which I put down to fast flowing water and dry land, with not too much grass.
I took the less used northern route around Beveridge Island because I had not been that way before and as this was the original course of the river, I would be able to compare what i found with photographs from earlier days. Sections like this provide an insight into how billabongs silt up. As the current slows, it begins to drop the silt it is carrying, making the river shallower and shallower. Plant growth on the edges thrives in such nutrient rich environments and further slow down the current, speeding up the process. Eventually the river totally abandons its old course and it becomes a billabong. This is happening at a number of locations along the river. Paddling around this one was a chance to see it first hand.
The pump in this flooded pump house was still running, which surprised me.
Old car bodies used to decorate a levee bank on a farm around Beveridge Island.
Flood waters have isolated a fisherman's cabin on the New South Wales side of the river channel... Capture of floating algae can be seen amongst flooded grasses in shallows where levee banks parallel to the river are close to re-emerging as the flood peak recedes... and water drains from the flood plain back into the river.
I did not expect to it to be so lush and the abundance of wildlife I found there. Where the river had spilled over the levees, scores of pelicans had landed. They were accompanied by groups of spoonbills, herons, egrets and ibis. In the forested sections kangaroos foraged. on seeing me they hoped away to hiding spots. It is most amusing when you drift silently around to the other side of the log, or tree they are hiding behind and they realise they have been found. There is a moment of loss of face, before they swallow their pride and bound away.
On the lower part of the Beveridge Island Anabranch (old river channel) flood waters began to return to the channel, carrying with them organic matter from the floodplain. In small amounts, this feeds and promotes the health of aquatic ecosystems. In large amounts it contributes to the development of blackwater. This image shows the trace of service organic matter be slowly thinning into a more narrow snaking path along the river channel ... It is possible that there have been additional inputs from Beveridge Island however I cannot be certain from this image alone... , definite downstream transport 2-2-2 ... Banks on the Victorian side are completely submerged including Channel Levy banks, however on the New South Wales side they are up to 1 m above river level... There is very little current... This is recorded in my observations from the day and can also be seen in the way that the organic matter moves about on the water surface, as well as the lack of ripples when the current in the river channel is disturbed.
Water ribbon growing on the Beverage Island floodplain amongst a young river red gum woodland. The plants show the direction the flood waters are flowing.
With the strong winds it was as though the clouds were being torn apart and spread across the sky in huge streaks. The water glistened, shuddered and changed height with approaching gusts. You can see them coming quite a while before they hit, which gives you time to hold onto your paddle tighter and make sure there is nothing loose on the deck. Mostly the gusts were harmless. Nothing at all compared to the continual rolling waves caused by winds in the long straights of South Australia. That was all still to come.
Speewa Ferry is a government service. Like the locks, people have the right to cross. They are free of charge and increasingly common as you near South Australia. The only one I know on the Murray in Victoria is on the Hume Dam. There used to be one in Barmah before the bridge was built. I remember being taken across in the car when I was a kid. It now stands high and dry, a memorial to the past, not far from the pub.
This story from the Riverine Herald from Jan 1906 tells of the tragic loss of two horses and a big bag of gold on a punt crossing. In the past, river crossings were rarely as safe as they are today.
Floodplain near Speewa being recolonised by river red gums. Note that the only old tree is on the river's edge, indicating clearing has taken place. Also that the highest ground is near the river: natural levee formation.
Flood channel regulator just after 1368 km with dropboards raised. This channel connects Lake Wollare, Lake Goonimur, Lake Poomar, Lake Poon Boon and Lake Genoe with the Murray River system. It also connects with the Koraleigh Irrigation district and provides a pathway for floodwaters to flow between the Wakool and Murray Rivers in flood times like these.
Modern day dreaming. Weekend getaway near Nyah.
Nyah Bridge
Both Swan Hill and Nyah are built on large sand hills. No danger of flooding in those towns. Nyah appeared through the forest like a medieval fortress, high above the plains. The sand hills and the changing understory in the red gum forest signal the passage of the river into the arid zone. Now, I have paddled off the edge of the ancient delta, where the Goulburn entered Australia's inland sea. The sand hills are wind blown remnants of the retreating sea. The red soil, long rolling dunes and saline subsoils of the mallee region have the same origin.
In Nyah itself, there is no sign of this prehistory. The historical park has a memorial to early settlers. there is a proud footpath on the main street which takes you to the post office, general store and pizza shop (which doubles as a place to get a cold beverage). However, there are three things that really surprised me about Nyah: it has crazy ornate gardens (really worth a walk around town to seek out these), it has a brilliant oval and finally, the place is full of young foreign backpackers, here to pick fruit. I came across a young german couple hoping to buy some food in the pizza joint and a group a japanese lads, with one very shiny fishing rod between them. I could hear them discussing what would be the polite thing to say to be in English. They agreed, and speaking for all of the others, the most confident one said "good evening". When asked whether they had had any luck the answer was easier, they all responded "na".
Nyah may be as aussie as they come and a quiet little place, but it is an international destination.
Tomorrow I make for Tooleybuc and am looking forward to a counter meal at its hotel: they have a reputation for being the best in the state.
Campsite in the Nyah Recreation Reserve. Free for travellers and nice to see some other people.
Plaque commemorating Major Thomas Mitchell, the Overlanders and the first settlers in the Nyah region, the Beveridge brothers.
Nyah residents seem to take great pride in their garden decoration. There are many individual and quirky properties.
Nyah may be a small town, but it has a great oval.
Campsite on a levee: one of the few river side spots above the flood waters.
Today the weather was perfect for paddling. I awoke early to get a good start and to be up before the mossies. It had been a cold night, too cold for them to be able to fly. I had had a broken nights sleep, dreams of being surrounded by flood waters, mixtures of fact and imagination. Amongst this miasma of semi-consciousness I heard the most unusual sound. Something was approaching the tent. Although things sound bigger at night this did not sound threatening. I couldn’t make it out; heavy breathing and shuffling. It brushed against the tent several times. I thought it might be a possum after my food and tapped against the tent wall to discourage its presence, but to no avail. It wasn’t until I saw a set of spines between the inner and outer tent that I realised what it was, an echidna. It was treating my tent like a log and pushing under it with its long nose, scooping up insect that had sheltered there. It did the same to my boat, knocking my paddle noisy about in the process. On the river a mist was rising, giving it a tropical look. The birds had begun their chorus, some way before dawn, but although I was in an agricultural area, there were still no sounds of man. Breaky was going to be on the water today. If I could get on the water soon I could capture some of that light. By the time I launched they were stirring.
Snake swimming across the river
Benjeroop: morning light. The town's newsletter calls the area 'A little patch of paradise where the waters meet' , however in the summer of 2011 things were not so rosey. Benjeroop was inundated for over a month when floodwaters from the combined high flows of the Loddon and Murray Rivers breached the towns levees in 13 places. The sixty families living there have worked hard to support each other and for the community to recover. In the wake of the floods Prince William visited the community recognising their efforts and bringing attention to their plight.
Benjaroop
Morning light in Cobramunga.
The mist had lifted, but the trees and rural landscape in the morning light was stunning. They appear so crisp and clear, and in the golden light of early morning it is as if everything is born anew. I drifted a lot, taking it in. Slowly the sounds of work life on the farms began. Early morning jobs. Irrigation has begun, but it was still too early for the pumps. I heard the sounds of machinery being prepared, chicken being fed. The cars starting that would be used to drive kids to school buses. Country kids and their parents have to get up early. On the farms canola is beginning to be harvested, the first hay cut and firebreaks maintained. From the water I get a different perspective. I see the danger and the opportunities the river provides its communities, how they protect themselves from flood, how water is used for the crops and for leisure, I see the first attempts at settlement and the latest and the machinery from everything in between. It is an open book, full of people’s life stories.
Overhanging branches
Old pump house, slowly collapsing into the river. — in Mellool.
One of the more remarkable pump boilers along the river. Why was it encased in brickwork and an iron frame?
Fairly early in the day, I came across an old steam pump. One of the most interesting on the river. Now with the high water, i was able to get close. It was encased in a framework of brick and had heavy iron bracing. Was this meant to stop it exploding if pushed beyond its limits? Now it sits, overtaken by bush as a symbol of the ingenuity and creativity of those times. Times before weirs, when boilers came by ship from England and farmers became experts through trial and error. When the bush was to be tamed, trees were to cut down and outposts of western civilisation created. The canary island palms and pepper trees scattered through the bush are also a testament to this thinking. Long after all traces of buildings are gone, their presence can be a hint to where farms used to be.
Suggestion not to use sailing boats on the Murray River.
Kayaking amongst water ribbon on low lying land near Fish Point Rd. Mellool, NSW. Water ribbon breaks its dormancy when the soil is saturated, its long ribbon like leaves grow up towards the water's surface and then float on top of it, providing protection for young fish and other small water life. These kind of wetlands are also found in billabongs which regularly dry out and the flood runners that link them. They play an important role in maintaining the diversity and health of river ecosystems, but seeing them grow like this has become a rare thing since river regulation. 1452 km mark.
The river is narrow here. It forms what paddle steamer captains used to call ‘the cutting’. Stretching from Barmah to Swan Hill, it circumnavigates the uplifted block of land know as the Cadell Tilt. In a series of earthquakes that lasted over 50,000 years the path of the Murray was blocked, causing it to first flow northward and later south. Both paths exist today, this one and the Edwards-Wakool system in the North. They rejoin at the Wakool junction near Boundary Bend. This southern course of our mighty river is the youngest in the whole system, it may have happened as recently as 800 years ago, or perhaps 10,000. It is still the subject of research. From Echuca onward, the Murray flows through the ancestral Goulburn. In parts of this section, it looks as if that original channel have not changed. Its twisting narrow course is bounded by ancient trees on both sides. They lean into the river, covering up to half of its width, extraordinarily resilient and a wealth of habitat for all that lives here. A cockatoo lets me know that I am trespassing by screaming into its nest. This may have increased the loudness of his call, but what would it be like for its partner sitting on the eggs in there I wonder?
Fallen timber and cut logs from forestry and wood cutting stuck amongst the regrowth along the river's edge. This happens when over bank flows pick up old dry timber lying in the forest and redistribute it, or when water from the river channel flows straight through the forest, rather than along the river channel. in both cases logs get caught on trees.
Murray Downs Homestead
Murray Downs Homestead
As I neared Swan Hill the rich riparian forests began to become thinner and more degraded. Some farmers only have a single layer of trees along the water’s edge. when these fall in there will be nothing to replace them. Others have removed them altogether. In some places where cattle have been allowed down to the water’s edge the ground is often bare and weeds form the only understory. Whereas in the resilient part of the river with the old trees and multi-age forest there had been no erosion, here the rich red of mallee soil was visibly crumbling. Not as bad as in other sections, but the contrast was interesting.
One row of trees: not enough.
In the distance I could hear the sound of traffic. In Swan Hill I would catch up with my wife Ruth and do some organising for the rest of the trip. I am looking forward to that.
:).
