Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 23 Tooleybuc to Narrung Station Nov 7

Tooleybuc to Narrung

Tooleybuc in the morning was busy with backpackers getting ready for work. I thought I was up early at six, but it turns out that 6 am is the standard time for the start of work in Tooleybuc. Country time doesn't run slow when it comes to getting a start to the day. When the sun rises, work starts and it doesn't stop till it sets.

As I packed up my tent, young Malaysian fellas donned their very Aussie looking fluro work shirt's and waited for a lift to their farm and as I carried my gear down to the river, minibus after minibus and old car after old car full of backpackers passed by.

From Tooleybuc to the Wakool Junction, the river runs almost due North and without the characteristic meanders of most of its journey to the sea. There must be some sort of geological reason for this: a clue might be found in the large parallel sand dunes which run along to the river towards Goodnight. The sandunes are around 15m high and according to Justin, a Narrung local, you have it made if you have them on your land. It's where the orange, almond, olives and grapes are planted. Justin informed me that most of Cobram Oil produce comes from here. The factory is in Cobram, but the trees are grown on red mallee soil.

The first black box have begun to appear on the edge of the river red gum is since generally appear to be in good health. During the day, their number increased until they occupied stands in both sides of the river.

From Tooleybuc onwards the Murray seems to be increasingly influenced by the high level of the Edward Wakool system. There is no noticeable current 10 km out of Tooleybuc and water has reached the top of the bank and is overflowing into the surrounding countryside.

About 12 km from the junction with the Wakool river, the first dead fish began to appear: first the smaller ones, I didn't expect this, then the larger ones. Given the lack of current I thought the northerly winds had pushed them up here, but perhaps they swam here but died of exhaustion.

I was prepared for swirling currents when I finally reached the Wakool Junction, but the river was calm. There were even signs of bank on the NSW side. What had I been worried about? I photographed the channel I had just left and compared it to the one I was about to enter. The curent picked up after the Wakool junctions. It was good to have that helping hand once more.

Fast flow through redgums aerating the oxygen starved river water.

At Narrung I found a quiet little spot under some black box and had just set about making dinner when farm ute pulled up and Justin (adjacent whose property I had camped( pulled up with an esky full of beer - to share! I did not return to my meal until much later - 3 cans, 4 fresh eggs, a farm tour, family introductions and an invitation to use their spare room should I ever come by again another time. Talk about country hospitality!

The sun set as I ate my dinner, warmed by the experience and sleepy after the beers, I crawled into my tent and allowed evening to fall.

Albury - Howlong. Tree branch camp.

We took off in the morning cool. Early morning is peaceful, the water is smooth and the sun, still low in the sky, casts a warm light which causes the yellows of the cliffs to shine golden and gives a freshness to the gum leaves that you would not imagine if you were only to observe them in the middle of the day.

Detail of a corner where benched had been hewn from old red gums for campers to use just before the 2170 marker. I have never seen such massive forest furniture.  The morning light was also quite inviting, providing near perfect reflections.

Today we paddled just over 50km, finding a beautiful grassy spot a few kilometres downstream from Howlong. There were less cattle than yesterday, but we did first hear and then see a herd of cows moving through the forest. They were obviously using sound as a way to keep together. Lead cattle bellowed to the slower ones, encouraging these to catch up and the later letting the first ones know that they were coming. Occasionally it is hard to hear things on the water, there were times when each of us thought the other had said something, only to be told in a most unimpressed way that that was a cow bellowing!

The bush was beautiful today, it reminded me of paddling through the Narrows (upstream of the Barmah Lakes), with its low banks. Now that this section of river is high, it is as though you can see right through the bush. The trees look lush and healthy, they light up as the sun shines through their leaves. It is quiet, there are very few people on the river, only the occasional fisherman. As we neared Howlong there were a few speed boats, but not the highly styled Malibu's of Echuca and downriver. These are old fashioned, with V8 engines, or smoky outboards, and, because there are so few, they are super cool. The river banks are healthy, there is little sign of erosion, other than that caused by the high river. Everywhere reeds grow, the banks are secured by goynes and stones. Willows still grow, but do not dominate. One feels they have a purpose.  Ruth remarked that it was so nice to see the animals owning the shore.

The river banks, whilst usually low for the first 100km downstream from the Hume Dam are beginning to show a bit of height. These clay banks although, at times similar in colour to those at the lower end of the Murray River, are much softer and do not seem to stop the river from meandering its way through the landscape. Occasionally, lines of pebbles can be seen crisis crossing through the strata, evidence that the river had been there before. The town of Howlong was on top of one of these cliffs.

Howlong

We pulled in at the public boat ramp at Howlong. It was surrounded by at reserve which people treated as impromptu swimming areas. People just rocked up with deck chairs and eskies, and stayed the afternoon. There are big shady trees. A couple with their two big Great Dane like dogs, sat in the cool shade of these, every now and then entering the water with their dogs to cool off. The place to be in town for young people was the Howlong Central Cafe, where we ordered a refreshing smoothie and milkshake. After that, they too moved to the park by the river; some swam, others sat on picnic tables in the shade of trees with their eskies and played music. The town was similarly laid back. Homes were neat and tidy, rather than audacious.

Howlong Hair.

Howlong has a population of around 2,500, and according to its community website, 'The Grape Vine', the population is growing -due to the affordability of housing compared to the surrounding towns of Rutherglen, Corowa and Albury, its proximity to wineries and the "niceties of country living." Some of those niceties are of the wriggly kind; the biggest advertisement in the Grape Vine in April 2014 was for the services of the local snake catcher; another was for tennis. I wonder if the two are connected? Howlong's name derives from 'oolong', meaning 'a haunt of brolgas'... although other references say that it derives from a word indicating 'the beginning of the plains'. Since Brolgas are plains birds, this is not as contradictory as it might first appear. Howlong is located at the junction of the Murray River and Black Swan Anabrach. It is high above the river, the low ground between the two river sections is regularly flooded. Major Thomas Mitchell in his exploration of the area, camped at the site of the future township on the 17th October 1836 and then crossed the river slightly downstream on the following day. Several years later, in 1838, John Conway Bourke delivering the first overland mail from Sydney to Melbourne chose this place to cross the Murray also. The town was established in 1854.  1861 Post Office (now a B&B): ref: By Mattinbgn - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6414671 One of the surprising finds in Howlong are the 'Black Dragon Gardens'. Based on the scholar gardens of Suzhou and inspired by artists, writers and poets from that time and place, the owners seek to enjoy a symbolic natural world in their own private space. The gardens are open to the public on weekends. More info at http://www.suembroidery.com.au/  http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/the-murray/howlong/attractions/black-dragon-gardens-wulong-yuan Howlong features in Australian band Spiderbait's album, Grand Slam.

Yesterday we met a man who used to train in K1's between Albury and Howlong. They used to use the backwaters to create a loop. It is no wonder that the Mitta Mitta canoe club had such strong paddlers (they regularly had members of their club who represented Australia). He told me of a short cut which they sometimes took on the way to Howlong, that would cut about an hour off the journey. Later, I believe we found it. There is an anabranch which runs parallel to the river for 30 or 40 km. little inlets and creeks poured off the main river all along today's journey, eagerly seeking the quicker way to the sea. Paddling down the river, you had to be careful not to be sucked into one. As the paddler told us that they were full of snags and that they were sometimes so narrow that once you were in you could not turn around. It wasn't worth the risk.

The river continues to meander through the landscape, changing its bed, it seems, on a whim. Because of this, and the hills limiting its movement on either side, the landscape is full of billabongs. This is the favorite environment for the river red gums. They love the river, moist soil and can handle being underwater longer than most native trees. In these photos I admired, and tried to guess the age of the old gum with the wide base. How old do you think it might be?

Cicada shells, depending on the species in Australia, they can spend up to 5 years underground, before they emerge from the ground and take on their adult winged form. Adults live between two weeks and 3 months, seeking out mates. The males are the loud ones: females click in response.

The riverine landscape is constantly changing, leaving billabongs, marshes and undulating landscape as the river moves across its floodplain and back over long periods of time.

Stopping for a break by one of the many inlet 'creeks' which serve as shortcuts for the river when water levels are high.

A few kilometres after Howlong we found our camp site, a beautifully green, shady and cared for area. Perhaps we had lucked on a private piece of land where campers were welcome, or perhaps this is one of the new Murray River National Parks. Either way we were grateful. We arrived with enough time to have two swims to cool off, which we hope will make all the difference with sleeping tonight.

Beautiful grassy camp, just downstream from Howlong. Tied the pool noodles to an overhanging tree branch and cooled down after our paddle in the afternoon.

Plenty of fresh veges.

Looking forward to dinner. Carbonara pasta base, garlic, onions, capsicum, tomatoes, squeeze of lime and tuna.