Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 36: Moorna Station - Lock 8

Lock 8 Campsite 20th Nov 2016

Moorna Station - Ecology - Dead Cod - Heat - Lock 8 and 9 - Thunderstorms Building

Over toast and a hot cuppa, Annabelle, the manager of Moorna Station, shared her views on why blackwater in the river was such an issue. She takes a holistic view. Seeing the interruption of water cycles on a range of scales, from the seasonal floods which no longer happen most years, to those driven by trees and plants by drawing water from deep down on the soil, or by being a driving force behind the building of beaches and floodplains, as red gums do on the inside of river bends. Annabel argues that salinity is the greatest threat to our environment, but one that can be overcome, if we use native plants carefully. If there had been native grasses she argues, there would not be so much black water. They would have helped decompose the leaf litter that the floods have taken into the river, reducing the sad toll the event is having on the murray cod population.

Throughout the day, we saw many dead cod, usually quite large ones. Shrimp gathered on the side of the river for oxygen, but downstream of lock 9, many had also died. There was a thick layer of dead shrimp along the water’s edge. In this section of the Murray, the river runs from one weir pool to the next, it’s artificially high water level flooding billabongs. Though these areas are usually covered with water and so should not be a source of black water themselves, the lack of current exacerbates the condition when water which has been flowing through the firsts enters them. The situation may be quite different to the middle Murray, where I come from, because there are few flowing rivers that enter the Murray. Although on this paddle I have noticed that blackwater is patchy, that it tends to come from distinct areas and is soon diluted by the river channel, we may be seeing a cumulative effect. Every now and then the river flows through a snags which aerates it, or takes a cutting where two bends of the river near each other. These spots are lifelines for the big fish. People have told us stories of cod following the wake of their fishing boats, because the waves increase the oxygen content of the water, helping them to breathe, or hanging around snags in plain sight, when they are normally quite a shy animal. Much is assumed when it comes to working out how cod survive blackwater. The 2011 event is said to have been much worse than this one and yet the death of large cod shows that many survived. One can only hope that many find ways to survive this event also.

The river landscape continues to be a delight to paddle through. It looks wild, has thick understory shrubs in some places and grassy meadows in others. The old trees are generally recovering very well from the millennium drought - which cannot be said for many other parts of the river - and although there has been some tree fall, most of the older trees are still standing. It seems like we are coming to the front of the main rise. We are starting to see the kind of debris that floods pick up as they rise, sticks, duck weed and leaf litter. In places the river has not yet broken through its natural levees, leaving the areas behind them dry. In others the water can be seen rushing into the forests. There is another benefit to this... less mosses. At the beginning of this trip, I was paddling on a falling river. You know that your campsite is safe on a falling river, because levels are dropping, not rising, however on falling rivers, stagnant pools have had time to form and the mosquitoes are much worse.

Mosquitoes don’t like moving water, so now, being ahead of the main flow there are way less mosquitoes. Now that is a welcome change.

We continued to see plenty of whistling kites. There are more than when I was a kid and I wonder if there is a cooperative deal with fishermen. Their nests are large collections of sticks, high in the tallest trees. Occasionally you can see a young head looking out. No place for fear of heights - or strong winds. We saw a nankeen kestrel and a group of white breasted woodswallows huddled together on a branch of a dead tree. Ibis and spoonbills frequented the river shore. Galahs and little corollas screeched their presence to all who wanted to know and families of kookaburras used family chorus to do the same. In the heat of the day, when all else is silent, we often heard the beautiful whistling of butcher birds. Mudlarks defended their territories against all comers, whether they be marauding crows, or whistling kites who glide on the breeze. Willy wagtails flitted through the undergrowth and occasionally out over the water. Wattlebirds and honey-eaters quarrelled amongst the branches, and where the banks had broken away, we could often find rainbow bee-eaters with their soaring flight. Near older trees, swallows and fairy martins would fly out onto the water and circle us. Perhaps we stirred ups insects sitting on the water’s surface. It also seems like a greeting.

Today was our first real hot day. It was so hot that when Anna and I took a lunch break in the shade of an old box, our paddles were too hot to hold and the deck had softened. We cooled both down with water and hope that the food did not get too warm. Next time we will find a spot for the boats in the shade. A hot day meant impromptu water fights, including sneak attacks. It meant breaking out the serious marathon hats with the side and back flaps and using a sponge to wet ourselves down all over. We invented the armpit challenge. To do this you first soaked your paddling gloves and sleeves in the water and then put them straight up in the air above your head. The water runs ‘refreshingly’ down your sleeves and top. It usually involves some deal of shrieking - but then so too did the sneak attacks. :)

We travelled over two weirs today, lock 9 and lock 8. Lock 8 is one of the more isolated weirs on the Murray. Annabelle noted that we left a surprisingly sane impression on her, noting that this was often the case this far into this kind of journey. Paddlers are often scared of the lack of facilities in this area. There is little mobile contact possible (hence a text only entry tonight... I found a spot near an old tree where I have one bar of reception) and no chance to supply for three or four days. This is not an issue for us, we are able to filter our own water and have weeks worth of food. Tonight we have found a comfortable camp just downstream from lock 8 on a parking spot on the river road. It has shady black box and even a bench. Now that the day has cooled a little I am about to cook our evening meal on that. i have instructions from my wife Ruth to see how classy I can make this, so I am going to try... salmon on a bed of rice, with sautéed zucchini, onion, garlic and a slice of ginger, seasoned with freshly cracked pepper and murray salt (well I’m calling it that). I think we’ll let it cool before we eat it though :).

Around our campsite whistlers a red-lored whistler is proclaiming its territory. It may be hot out in the bush today, but it is still beautiful. Time to grab another wet towel and get dinner going.