Kayak Eco-Adventure on the Hacking

[khiemtran]

This week, my sailing buddy Tania and I have signed up for a kayak "eco-adventure" from Bundeena near the mouth of the Hacking, all the way up to Audley.



It's a gorgeous morning as we set off from the Bonnie Vale campsite in the Royal National Park. To our right lies the open sea. If we had headed that way and turned left, we would have gone past the cliffs I run along at Cronulla. But instead we're heading up-river, as far as we can go.



Our first break is after barely a kilometre, where we stop to rest on a sandbar and get some pointers from our guide, Andy, about the local geography. All this will be useful one day for later expeditions.



Whiskered terns (and some silver gulls) in front of Burraneer Bay.



Setting off again. As we leave the sandbar, both the wind and the tide are behind us and the water is smooth and clear.



This chimney is all that remains of a once impressive house. The owner had a business mining shell grit to help build Sydney, but the market eventually collapsed, and in time, so did his house. The land is now part of the Royal National Park, and you can still see introduced flowers by the water that once would have been part of his garden.



A giant sea eagle's nest. Mr and Mrs C. Eagle weren't at home, unfortunately...



Heading in to a sheltered cove for morning tea. This was actually a great little picnic site and it should be accessible by road too.



A water dragon by the edge of the water.



"Idle Vice" - a name so good, they used it twice...



Having paddled past Yowie Bay and Gymea Bay, I'm suddenly back in familiar territory. This is as far as we managed to reach from Swallow Rock, heading in the other direction.



A tour boat from Cronulla, plying its way up the river.



Mangroves as we near Swallow Rock.



Here's the pontoon that Liem and I normally fish from, this time seen from the water. There were lots of kids out fishing, swimming and playing amongst the trees.



After another break, it's on to Audley and the scenery changes again. Gone are the mangroves and now we're paddling through eucalyptus forest.



After a good four hours, we make it to Audley, in time for a well-earned bbq.



Watched by a family of kookaburras (apparently, they'd been stealing the sausages off the bbq before we got there - this one managed to get a piece of steak from one of us too...)



A fun day, and a productive one too. I've learned a lot about the lower reaches of the Hacking and I've got a list now of places to explore more.

Comments

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I love the chimney poking up, half-hidden, from among the trees. It looks mysterious.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm sure there are lots of stories there. It must have been a very fine mansion once, with a great view across the river.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Glorious - both the sunshine and the river... And I love the idea of the kookaburra barbecue thieves!

Thanks! I needed these pictures - we've had about two or three inches of rain here today.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

We were swapping kookaburra stories with the other paddlers over lunch. One man said he was eating a hamburger and the kookaburra swooped in and picked off the meat patty. Tania had a story about having a bbq with some overseas visitors in their garden and watching a kookaburra fly in with a mouse in its beak - which it then proceeded to beat to death against a fence.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Idle Vice is indeed a good name. :P

When I see motorized tour boats and I'm doing something like kayaking, I always think uncharitable thoughts. Kind of like when we hiked up the mountainside to access the Machu Picchu site and then a bus arrived and disgorged 50 people. :P

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

We might end up taking that tour ourselves one day. The commentary is supposed to be interesting and it might be a fun way to show visitors our area.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

*nods* They aren't always bad, and each experience has its advantages. I just tend to remember (and, I guess, appreciate) more the ones that require me to do some of the work, too. But I don't say this to judge organized "motor" tours or those who take them; and you sure do plenty of work to get around, so you deserve some laid-back touring adventures from time to time. :P

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Mangroves ♥

I'd like to do a bunch of traveling all centered on visiting mangroves.

And water dragons! You sure do have some great fauna in Australia.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

We heard that a seal and a turtle had been spotted in the area recently, but we didn't see them. The seal has apparently been hanging around South West Arm for the last month. There are no breeding colonies here yet, but there do seem to be more and more sightings, so maybe the colonisation is underway...

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Excellent photos and a fascinating trip. :)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It might be a while before I get out again, but I'm looking forward to more expeditions around that end of the river.