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Anyone outside last week couldn't have missed the full moon. It's not easy capturing a bird with the moon in the background on a windy night but it was well worth the try.
- The Avon Descent
- Who's Out There
- Where to
Paddle
- Wild Water Race
- On a Shark Bay Trip
- Under 23 World Sprint Championships
- Paddling the Athabasca River Rapids
- Birds Along the Way
- Avon Descent Safety and Competency Assessments
Northam to Toodyay Race - Coming Events
The Avon Descent Saturday 12th - Sunday 13th August
Wayne Martin paddle practising at the Extracts Weir last year before the race.
Jeannette Busch & Kate Crossing on a flat water training run. Jeannette & Kate are getting ready for the Avon Descent. They are two of the nicest ladies you will ever come across.
Have you ever wondered where to paddle in WA. Well just go to Paddle WA website and you will find dozens of Paddle Trails. Go here and scroll down to the end to find 5 different web sites:-
New to Paddling | Paddle WA
Camp touring in the Francois Peron National Park on the Peron Peninsula and located within the boundary of the Shark Bay World Heritage area.
Bruce McWhirter and wife Julie enjoying a social paddle.
Paddling around Shoalwater Bay and Penguin Island for sighting sea lions, dolphins, penguins, pelicans, ospreys, terns, gulls, cormorants and many other birds.
2023 Wild Water Race #4 Walyunga this Sunday 9th
July
The 4th of 6 races for the 2023 Wild Water Season Consisting of both individual and team sprint events. Location: Walyunga National Park, Top Carpark Registration: 08:30am-09:00am Briefing:
09:15am First Race start: 09:30am Course: Starting from the pool above the slalom course in Walyunga National Park, and racing downstream 500m to the bottom of the Walyunga Chute Rapid. (Individual - Best of 2, Team - 1 run) Transport: A car shuffle is not required. Due to current construction works within Walyunga National Park, it is recommended that all vehicles remain in the top carpark throughout the day. Safety: Due to the course being held in wild water conditions, it is compulsory for all paddlers to wear helmets and PFD’s. Each competitor should also have a whistle attached to their PFD for emergency situations.
Maya Elston. Oh no (or should I say oh shit) will
I make it!
Thank god I got through it.
I'm much happier now. Photo Lawrence Greed.
Wild Water Racing at Walyunga. This Sunday. Photo John O"Sullivan.
Australian paddlers at the Junior & U23 Wildwater
Canoeing World Championships in the Czech Republic. James Humphey U23.
Robert Janiszewski (U23 C1)
Taken 25km south of Denham at Eagle Bluff. Photos Robert
Barham.
Elusive shovelnose sharks, photographed between Denham and Big Lagoon. They are elusive because during the daytime, they bury themselves in the sand. And, they are rays, not sharks.
Shovelnose rays (family Rhinobatidae) Rays with shark-like bodies and triangular heads. Shovelnose rays can be distinguished from the similar looking white spotted guitarfish by their 1st dorsal fin being well
behind the pelvic fins and their triangular tail. 4 species in W.A. Found on the bottom in continental shelf waters. Usually yellow to grey-brown in colour. Some species with dark blotches or light bands. To 270cm.
U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships.
The most exciting young canoe and kayak paddlers on the planet will gather in Auronzo in Italy this week for the 2023 International Canoe Federation Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships.
The championships will showcase athletes over distances from 200 metres to 5000 metres, in both canoe and kayaks. The five-day championships has attracted athletes from all over the world, many who will be competing at their first major international event.
Other athletes will be using the event as a valuable warm-up ahead of next month’s ICF World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, which will also serve
as a qualifying event for next year’s Paris Olympics.
Paddling The Athabasca River Rapids I suddenly noticed a flat line of water that spanned the whole width of the river and beyond it the river dropped and disappeared over a wide ledge. It was a scary moment.
The calm before the storm
Day 14 – Thursday 19th June Though it was a sunny morning, the
sun hadn’t yet reached our campsite, so when we moved around camp we were still in the shade. I went for a number two and millions of mosquitoes followed me. When I took my pants down they went berserk. I couldn’t pull my pants back up as I had already begun the morning task so I tried to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. I flapped and slapped at my backside but the mozzies were unrelenting. I ended up with four bites on my penis and way too many for me to count on my bum. It was
hard but I tried not to scratch them! We left around 9.00am and paddled a few kilometres to ‘Crooked Rapid’ where the river did a big ‘U’ turn to the right. My Google Earth pictures of the rapid were very poor so it was impossible to have any idea where to go. We kept to the left side and the outside of the bend where the rapid
appeared to be calmer. Over to the centre and far right the rapid raged as water cascaded over high long ledges. With the water being fairly high we were able to skirt most of the white water. Ahead, we could see two bears on shore, which was pretty exciting, but as we got closer they appeared bigger than bears and in fact, they turned out to be two young hefty moose! We looked at them and they looked straight back at us. I felt like drifting and really watching them for a while,
but as we were floating between the white water sections, and we were bound on the right by big rapids with another rapid coming up, we couldn’t be too complacent. As we left the moose to continue to graze, our focus turned to the rapid ahead, which was rough on the right, rough on the left, but looked slightly calmer down the centre.
I steered towards the centre of the river where the canoe started to accelerate and slice through some big waves. Water broke over the bow giving Tony a drenching, but we soon skirted over to the right and into calmer waters. It was
quite pleasing to have negotiated another big rapid. We knew that Rock Rapid was 500 or so metres away, and although we didn’t have any idea how to negotiate it, our confidence was still high. All the big waves were on the left hand side of the river, so we kept to the right side which was still the safer. As we approached
‘Rock Rapid’ it didn’t look so bad downstream, but as we got closer I could see a bundle of big waves peaking and exploding like an erupting volcano a few hundred metres ahead. Knowing that we were heading for trouble we had no option to divert and as it now looked completely calm on the left hand side we headed over, foregoing the chance of getting out and checking our route. It seemed safe enough to take the rapid on the left so as we moved across the river on a particularly swift current, our heavy canoe was being whisked away as if it was a cork. By the time we reached the centre, I suddenly noticed a flat line of water that spanned the whole width of the river and beyond it the river dropped and disappeared over the wide ledge. At the bottom of the fall there was a huge high wave waiting. We
couldn’t escape to the safety of the left side as it was now too far, the water too fast and the bank was actually lined by a vertical cliff and worst of all, we had come too far to go back to the right shore! The only way forward was straight towards the ledge. I looked beyond the ledge and thought shit – bloody hell…..this is a big one, we could be in trouble here. Over the roar of the rapid I shouted to Tony to straighten up and just go for it. There was nothing else we could do. Our chances of getting through it seemed slim as it was one hell of a drop with a massive wave that followed. Although we could have been looking at death in the eye or at least be subject to a horrific capsize, I didn’t feel any panic or any real fear. Tony put in two good strong bow draws strokes which brought the bow around, so within seconds we managed to get the canoe straight. We were soon at the top of the ledge with the massive wave dancing wildly before our eyes and I could only think of paddling strongly. We slid at great speed, down what seemed to be a giant water slide. The wave at the bottom was colossal. I shouted
to Tony to paddle hard as we had to hit it with speed – oh shit…… As we headed down the ramp and towards the monster wave I expected to be sucked in and spat out. At the bottom of the slide we looked up to see the wall of water towering above us and it really didn’t seem possible to get through it without capsizing. The size of
the wave was bigger than anything that I had ever been through before. What goes down must come up and by hell we did come up. The heavy canoe charged through the wave and Tony got a walloping. For a fraction of a second he was gone, then the wall of water crashed on me holding me captive for a few seconds under the bubbling
aerated mass of water. It took us a while to adjust our vision and see what was ahead as a waterfall of water was cascading down our faces. I was expecting another big wave but the next one was much smaller and we speared through it without problem. It was an amazing experience! We thought we were going to be gobbled up by the huge roller coaster and somehow we came out of it intact and still upright.
A Scow boat going down one of the rapids.
With a ton of water now held on the top of our canoe causing a little instability and Tony praying to any gods that would listen, the waves started to ease. It was hard to believe that we had gone through such a massive wave! But the
rejoicing had to wait as the canoe was filling with water as it puddled on the full-length of the spray deck, drained into our laps and seeped through our leaky skirts. Although at the time of breaking through the waves the canoe didn’t feel remotely unstable as it started to fill with water it soon became much heavier, tippier and a lot harder to control. As the river started to turn to the left we could see water falling off a small cliff. We desperately needed to bail out so landing on a rocky shore next to the waterfall and low cliffs was a bonus. As we pulled into the eddy we were pumped with excitement but most of all, we were relieved to have passed through the last rapid without swimming. Capsizing could have been a disaster. The weight of the canoe upside down would have been one hell of a hard job to drag to
shore and with the water being so cold we might have frozen to death before we got there. We took photos of the waterfall, emptied heaps of water out of the canoe and talked little about our experience, although there was no dancing a jig in celebration. Once back in the canoe, we continued on to tackle several other
demanding rapids.
Lunch time at Cascade Rapid.
Birds Along The Way It was all about the moon last week.
A Nankeen Night Heron hiding in the foliage.
Avon Descent Safety & Competency Assessments Sessions available: Saturday 15th July 9.00am - 12.00 noon Saturday 22nd July 9.00am - 12.00 noon Sunday 23rd July 9.00am - 12 noon Saturday 5th August 9.00am - 12.00 noon Sunday 6th August 9.00am - 12 noon Cost: $60.00 AKC club members / $120.00 non club members Location: Walyunga National
Park (subject to water levels)
What to Bring: Your own kayak and gear
Please note the sessions are subject to water levels. If there are any changes we will advise 24 hours prior. Walyunga Park Fees
apply https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/walyunga-national-park Any queries email akcadministration@gmail.com Book here: https://www.ascotkayakclub.asn.au/for-sale |
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