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Drysdale River
Expedition 1985
In 1985 John Mustard and Tarquin Bowers, who were studying
recreation at University had to organise an outdoor expedition
as part of their university studies. Many other students planned
their expeditions closer to home and some overseas but John
and Tarquin decided to do the first descent of the Drysdale
River which was situated in the Kimberley wilderness area.
Having already completed two, 3 month expeditions to the Kimberley
they asked me to go along. Their friends Andrew Kikeros and
Vic Challis became our support team.
The Team: John, Vic, Andrew & Tarquin
The Drysdale is a remote river that
flows through the Drysdale River National Park and has a variety
of conditions, from a sandy river, deep pools, big and small
rapids, narrow channels and high waterfalls. To get to the
heart of the rugged Kimberley we took my four wheel drive.
We had to travel on 2500kms of bitumen road with the final
stage of our journey being on 500kms of rough gravel track
which was very wet because it was the end of the wet season.
While John and Tarquin chose plastic river kayaks, some of
the first ever made, I chose to make a very strong kevlar
river kayak with hatches and bulkheads.
The river was a lot lower than we had
hoped. I took a 16mm camera but I have never seen any of the
footage.
This short story
starts after already spending several frustrating days on
a very low river.
Pandanas palms and paperbark
trees lined the banks, islands of foliage that dotted throughout
the wide river created a maze and many dead end channels.
We moved through, looking for openings to glide our boats
between the islands. Many channels were shallow necessitating
our exit from our kayaks. It was tedious work and only short
distances were covered before we had to drag our kayaks over
greenery or rocks. Our very slow pace was only helped when
the river narrowed and shallow races developed. We continued
to weave through mazes of small islands trying to keep to
the narrow, shallow moving current. Small crocs mingled among
the weed, some less than a metre away.
It was hard to paddle
down even the smallest of rapids due to the low water
The river and river banks
were dotted with dingoes, goannas, crocodiles, snakes, fruit
bats and a mass of birdlife. We had seen several Johnson crocodiles
every day but an increase in rocky islands attracted more
of them to sun bake. The sun seemed to make them docile which
allowed us to creep by them very close and surprise them.
We even watched as a crocodile stalked a cormorant and within
a few seconds the croc snapped and took the bird in its mouth
and then laid in the shallows with it firmly grasped between
in jaws.
There were goannas and wildlife all
around us
As I dragged my kayak
down some small rapids, a five foot croc surprised me as it
was under my feet in a rock cavity. With it seemingly frozen
next to me I took the opportunity to shoot some movie film,
before it shot off in a desperate bid to find deeper water.
John and I at one of the very narrow
channels
As we picked our way through
the vegetation of yet another portage we were halted by the
sight of a green tree snake slithering along the branches.
Supported by its powerful tail it moved from bush to bush,
weaving its way higher into the leaves.
As John and I took interest in the snake, Tarquin was also
fraternising with nature a little futher! A croc had just
attacked the bow of his kayak as he sat waiting for us under
a tree. At first we didn't believe him as we didn't think
a fresh water croc would attack, but after Tarquin showed
us its teeth marks, that had penetrated the plastic, it was
a reminder to us that large fresh water crocs do become aggressive.
Tarquin was still shaken when we joined forces.
Within minutes we came up against a long set of dry rapids
choked with big boulders that made us have to portage, paddle
and then portage again. There was little water in the Drysdale
River and what water there was it just fed between and underneath
the boulders. On short portages we just dragged the kayaks,
but when they were long we had no choice but to carry them
on our shoulders over the uneven piles of boulders. Good team
work was essential as a fall could mean dire consequences.
Because we carried them fully laden our shoulders were soon
sore from the continual weight.
We expected a lot of white water rapids
but we had to portage instead
Our problems soon started
to escalate. John's quality, plastic kayak developed a small
hole under the seat, after hours of continual dragging over
the boulders so at our evening camp site we tried our hand
at plastic welding which didn't really work!
The morning brought more
portages over dry waterfalls and many dry rapids, some up
to 600 metres long. Crocodiles and birds vacated small islands
as we passed. Paperbark trees and palms leaned precariously
towards the north and lilies grew in clusters among the shallow
water. When the river narrowed to nothing we had to paddle
through narrow pandanas palm alleys avoiding their spikes
and continual barriers of spider webs. It was unsettling later
to feel the spiders and insects crawling down our legs.
John paddling through one of the pandanas
palm alleys
We weaved in and around
islands taking in the majestic views until finally the wide
shallow river came to an end. Boulders over a metre high stood
across our path. A scouting trip downstream brought disastrous
news, the river ahead became one long section of boulders
with intermittent small pools of water.
The river seem to get worse. You can
see the yellow kayak being carried through the trees to the
left
Our situation was grim.
How do you paddle a river without water! We couldn't strap
our kayaks on our backs like rucksacks and walk out or could
we?
With only five days and 100 kilometres before our rendezvous
with our support team at Midnight Yard near Carson Station,
we had an impossible task before us. We had only averaged
12 kilometres a day and now our maps indicated worse terrain
ahead. With time against us and not wanting to concern our
support team with being days late, we decided to walk out
to Carson River Station which would roughly take us four days.
We camped beside the Drysdale River for our last time. I fished
to have something tasty for dinner. I soon hooked something
really big and as I pulled in the line I was surprised with
my catch. A three foot crocodile had tangled itself in my
line. John grabbed it at the back of the neck and tail, while
I untangled the mess of line. It started to whine and bark
like a dog so John started tickling it on its soft leathery
body and it seemed to settle down. That evening we counted
13 pairs of red eyes surrounding our campsite.
As we wouldn't have time
to continue with our paddle and make our rendezvous we decided
to drag our kayaks 12 kilometres overland to the edge of the
Carson Escarpment. Here we would leave our kayaks and then
walk along a track that would lead us to the Carson River
homestead and once we met up with our support team we would
drive back for the kayaks. It sounded easy.
By 10.30am we were packed and ready for the long haul of carrying
and dragging our kayaks through the scrub. The heat was intense
as we carried our kayaks over the broken rocky country, but
after a few kilometres it flattened and we were able to drag
them, which was much easier.
John and Tarquin resting after lifting
and dragging the kayaks for several kilometres
Within minutes we had
stretched arms and aching muscles and were forced to rest
every few minutes. As the terrain changed in character and
the temperature increased, severe agony seemed to be the only
words to describe our walk.
By late afternoon we arrived at the Carson Escarpment and
what a view we had. We could see the Carson River below and
views of the cliffs for kilometres. The cliffs were too rugged
and steep to carry our kayaks to the valley below so we had
no choice but to leave them on top of the escarpment and come
back for them later.
We clambered down a steep gully carrying essentials for 5
days. Our progress was slow and painful, as we scrambled over
slippery boulders and brushed against colonies of green ants
that attacked us in their thousands. The gulley was soon dark
as a thick canopy of luxuriant trees blocked out the light
so we made camp next to a waterhole.
Morning brought a new day and it wasn't long before we left
the gully behind and were pacing at times through shoulder
high grass next to the Carson River. The track that was marked
on our map and that we were hoping to walk along wasn't there.
It had probably been there many years ago but it wasn't there
now so the walking was a lot harder than we had expected.
It was a tough days walk but at the end of the day the setting
sun created magnificent reflections on the steep cliffs that
ran for kilometres in a straight line. As we made camp near
the river on our second night off the Drysdale River, sweat
had soaked our clothes and mosquitoes swarms viciously attacked
us as we dried our garments around the fire.
A goanna crossing my path on our walk
out
As we moved on towards
the Carson River Station, following the river, pushing through
tall grasses and straddling washed out gullies, beside the
beauty of the Carson Escarpment, wild horses galloped ahead.
The heat and extreme physical exertion caused John to develop
severe cramps right through his entire body. I had never seen
anything like it. His whole body was cramping and it looked
so painful. Getting cramps wasn't new to John, he used to
get them when he played state football for South Fremantle
and Swan Districts.
Wild horses gallop off as we walk along the Carson Escarpment
With 80 kilometres to
reach Carson Station we decided to detour to the nearer Theda
Station because of John's condition. It was only 30 kilometres
away. By the time we approached the station John had lost
all his energy, but our problems didn't stop there, the station,
although marked on our maps, was abandoned and apparently
it had been abandoned for 12 years and although we had updated
maps it was still listed as being there.
At least we knew that
Carson River Station was still in operation so the next day
I prepared for a 50 kilometre walk leaving John and Tarquin
to rest near the river until I returned with our support team.
After walking 14 kilometres I saw an Aborigine next to a tree
carving his name in it. I couldn't believe my eyes, here I
was in the middle of nowhere and out of the blue I see an
Aborigine. At first I thought I was seeing things. It seemed
like something out of a movie and when I got closer I recognised
the young guy from seeing him at Kalumburu Mission when I
visited it on another expedition in 1983.
My luck was in, once a year there was a mustering camp at
an old stockyard nearby and it just happened that they had
started today. Her I met Gilbert, the manager of Carson Station
and he told me that Andrew was waiting for us at Moonlight
Yard on the Drysdale River and Vic was at the homestead doing
some welding for him.
Later that day Gilbert drove me to the station and saved me
having to walk the 35 kilometres. Vic greeted me with some
surprise as he was expecting to see us arrive by kayak at
Moonlight yard where Andrew was patiently waiting for us to
rendezvous.
As luck should have it, mustering staff from Theda Station
had found John and Tarquin at the old Theda Station so later
we all met up at Boomerang Yards, but before leaving to head
home we had to retrieve our kayaks. It was impossible to drive
to them as we knew there wasn't a track, so we hired a helicopter
and within 70 minutes Tarquin and the pilot returned with
our kayaks tied to the sleds. We headed home and two days
later the helicopter had mechanical problems and crashed,
tragically killing the pilot, who two days earlier we had
met and who had done us a favour.
Using a chopper to retrieve our kayaks
We didn't achieve what we set out to do, but nevertheless
it was an interesting expedition and another great experienced.
John finished his studies and eventually became a partner
and manager at the Mainpeak Outdoor Store.
Tarquin got a good job over east and then worked in the US,
but I have lost contact with him so I don't know what he is
doing now.
I went on to do many more great things!!
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