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Hi Terry from
sunny Kolkata, India.
Sandy Robson
Stage 4 is about to begin for me, one
year paddling through West Bengal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. I am looking for more sponsors
to help fund the trip by clicking donate on my website donate
button and I will give some talks along the way to raise funds.
I flew back to India this week and am
in Kolkata dealing with the paperwork hurdles to reach Bangladesh
by kayak. Crossing international borders seems to be the biggest
hurdle that I face on this expedition and is more of an issue
than tigers and crocodiles!
I will go paddle a bit more of the West Bengal coast soon,
to paddle from where I finished at Mandarmoni at the end of
August to reach Bakkhali which is a tourist area and where
the wild Sunderbans forest begins.
After reaching Bakkhali I will likely have to return to Kolkata
to finalise papers and to see if they will allow me to enter
Bangladesh by the rivers route through the Sunderbans.
The Sunderbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world
and is famous for its population of Bengal Tigers. About one
third of the Sunderbans is in India and the remainder in Bangladesh.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Oskar Speck paddled around
in the tidal Sunderbans rivers in his kayak for about 5-days
before hooking up onto the back of a barge and getting towed
to Khulna in Bangladesh. His writing indicates that he was
disappointed at not seeing any tigers, but he was carrying
a gun to use if he needed it and he did have some pretty scary
dreams whilst sleeping out in the mangroves. I am not carrying
a gun, so I am trying to actually get on one of the barges
steaming through the Sunderbans to by-pass the no go zone
of the Sunderbans forest where Forest Department do not allow
people to enter. This seems to me to be the most dangerous
area. Then from Hiron Point, I propose, if permissions are
granted, to paddle through the Sunderbans coast in Bangladesh,
camping in Forest Dept areas, tourist zones and small fishing
villages. I expect the biggest challenges to be head winds,
tides, shallow delta areas, mangroves/mud, and possible crocodile
sightings.
My plans have last week gone off to
the Myanmar government for security consideration and I hope
that in a few weeks time I will get some feedback regarding
permissions to paddle the Myanmar coast.
Keep in touch and thanks for all your
help along the way,
Sandy Robson
www.sandy-robson.com
Quote: The best thing about this expedition
is the friends made along the way and meeting people who love
the ocean as much as I do.
I imagine parts of stage 4 are going
to be very testing for Sandy
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Memories
The one thing I love is
meeting friends who I haven't seen for many years and chatting
just as we would have done if it was last week. Ron Lockley
came into the shop this week and dropped off some beautiful
honey. We had done a few kayaking expeditions together in
the past so it was good to talk about the old times.
By trade Ron was a mechanical engineer
and worked for SEC for several years but when he left there
he became Jack of all trades, one day was installing air conditioners,
the next he was building fences. He also worked part time
in the Snowgun Outdoor Store, he was a Scout Leader for many
years, but his main outdoor passion was rogaining, 12 and
24 hour events. Ron is now semi retired and harvests honey
from his bee hives down in Katanning.
Whats really remarkable about Ron; he
has no fingers on his left hand, only a thumb, they were lost
in a machine accident many years ago. Yet he can still hold
a paddle and move at a fast speed.
Also on this trip was Pam Riordon. Pam
leads a fairly active life. She is a qualified white water
kayak instructor, an abseil instructor, an excellent swimmer,
likes skiing, walking, and a variety of other activities.
Once a lab pathologist at a hospital, Pam changed careers
many years ago after doing a course in recreational studies.
She worked for the city of Gosnells as the Recreational Officer
for several years (and won national awards for some of her
recreational programmes that she has developed) and then she
set up her own business and that was running for many years
before she recently retired.
Pam is now semi retired and travels
the world whenever she and husband Steve gets the opportunity.
At the moment they are in the south of France house sitting
and having a fantastic relaxing time.
This is two days of a trip we the 3
of us did together...
Dirk Hartog
Island
MONDAY 22nd MAY 1995
By 7.00am Ron was yelling for us to
rise. It was quite incredible, it was calm again. Just like
a mill pond, I didn't think it was usually so calm for this
part of the world. By 9.10am we were crossing the shallows
and spotting everything that moved. I kayaked over a 5 foot
shark and it didn't seem to bother. Forty minutes later a
turtle swam under me for several seconds. I later skidded
over a large manta ray, which with a flap of its huge wings
shot off into the deep blue. It was like an Aquarian.
Clouds were hanging around and on occasions
blocking out the sun. A slight NE wind was blowing which assisted
us down the passage towards the southern point of Dirk Hartog
Island.
At 10.35am we arrived at a sandy cove
surrounded on both sides by 6 metre cliffs. The sign of goat
and sheep tracks were visible in the sand ridges. The vegetation
was scrappy and animal skulls appeared at different spots
around the cove. Nevertheless it was a beaut cove. I walked
along the cliffs to see a number of 4-5 foot sharks in the
crystal clear water below. Stacks of oysters clung to the
cliff, a school of small fish and several bigger varieties
mingled around a large part of the cliff that had separated
from the rest of the cliff line. On top of the cliff a large
intricately woven eagle's nest was safe from land predators.
Back at the beach Pam and Ron had lunch
waiting. For the first few days our nut and dried fruit ration
would be accompanied by pitta bread, capsicum, cheese, and
relish.
Having lunch
As we were clearing up, Pam went out
for a snorkel. Excited she called across to us, "the
marine life beneath me is great", she said. A few minutes
later a 6 foot long, wide bellied shark cruised along our
beach and along the cliffs where Pam had been snorkelling.
"Hell", she said, "I'm not going in there again".
As we leisurely cruised next to the
cliffs we could see the fish mingling below and the millions
of oysters clinging to the rocks. Three small blue, white
spotted rays with long slender tails slid underneath us. The
6 metre cliff was overhanging, like a huge wave, which was
ideal for swallows to nest. The odd cluster of oysters clung
onto the overhanging roof two metres above the high water
tide mark. It was strange to see them so high and so far out
of the water. I could only think the ocean had receded over
time?
Cormorants, cranes and gulls bounded
from the rocks and cliffs as we passed. Eventually we left
the cliffs to cross a small bay. A fishing boat lay at anchor
in the bay entrance quiet and seemingly deserted. We passed
it by. Pam kept saying she was waiting for a rich, good looking
sailor to whisk her away, but unfortunately it wasn't her
day.
Having crossed the bay we could see a strange object ahead.
At first I thought it was a person or two, then a beacon of
some sort, but it turned out to be a huge 3 metre high eagle's
nest. We landed to have a closer look, as it was hard to believe
an eagle could have built it so tall. Twigs, branches, bits
of plastic, even goat bones were intricately woven to build
this very high, but shallow nest. Apparently eagles build
up their nest every year so they get bigger.
Cruising the calm waters
Taking off into a light south west wind
we skirted between the rocky Dirk Hartog Island and the small,
cliffy Sunday Island which was covered with cormorants. We
made our way across another bay towards the southern tip of
the island, Cape Ransonnet. Just before the tip, Ron landed
on a tiny beach surrounded by rock to check out for a suitable
campsite. I paddled further, passed an old goat loading ramp,
which was still hanging from a cliff and around the point.
As I rounded it the sea instantly became rougher. I paddled
about 300 metres before seeing a flat beach overlooking the
mainland about 4.5 kilometres from Steep Point, the most westerly
point of mainland Australia. I returned to inform the others
of my find. Reaching this camping site, a small dumping surf
was pounding the steep beach making landing slightly more
difficult than usual.
Soon after landing we prepared for snorkelling
in the bay on the eastern side, 500 metres away. Pam was first
into the water telling us tales of the big fish beneath the
water. We soon followed. The cliffs were overhanging with
recessed cave areas so after diving down we had to make sure
we didn't hit the sloping oyster laden walls on our way back
to the surface. On the ocean floor lay some of the biggest
sea slugs that I have ever seen. Some were 2.5 feet long and
very fat. Clams were abundant, as were spiky sea urchins and
trochus shells.
I spotted a 2 foot cuttlefish under
a ledge, it was a strange looking thing. I surfaced to tell
Ron about it but he had already seen it. We swam to the other
side of the cove and ventured out near Cape Ransonnet. The
fish were increasing in size and number. I spotted a scorpion
fish in a hole, I checked it closer as it took refuge. Pam
who was nearby acknowledged the find. What a beauty we both
thought.
When we met on the beach Ron had speared
3 fish with his hand gidgee for tea so it was time to leave.
By this time my teeth were chattering, my body covered with
goose pimples, but the dive was well worth getting cold for.
It was an amazing world down there.
Doing a bit of snorkel diving and gidgee
fishing
Back at camp I washed quickly and changed
into dry clothes. It was my turn to cook but before starting
I erected my tent in the lee of a sand dune and waited for
the sun to set over Steep Point. Huge black clouds built up
on the horizon leaving glimpses of the bright red sun filtering
through the clouds.
It was the meal that Pam had been waiting
for, - rice, peas, lentils, herbs and spices. Ron was busily
filleting the fish and slicing the tentacles of the cuttlefish
for entre. Ron carried a wok just for this purpose. Soaked
in garlic and vinegar, it tasted great. By now we were full
to the brim, but we couldn't go without our coffee and chocolate
and finally our ration of port.
It's alway great to get
away and sit around a camp fire
TUESDAY 23rd MAY
At 4.10am I was woken from my deep sleep
and dreams by the flapping tent. The wind had shifted more
to the south. It was blowing a gale, raining hard intermittently
and my tent now exposed to the wind, found it hard to stay
upright. I laid there hoping to go back to sleep but I had
no hope. The wind became stronger and the alloy hooped poles
were straining as the tent tried to buckle horizontally. The
flapping increased and the wind grew stronger and eventually
I had to venture outside to investigate the peg situation.
I had used my two spare paddles as well as my sand pegs to
hold up the tent, but they were out of the ground. It was
just too rough so I had to take my tent down or watch it fly
across the sand dune.
The ocean was chock-a-block with white
caps which were extremely close together. To the west, around
Steep Point and Surf Point at the south westerly part of the
island, huge breaking waves were extended far out from its
shores. It didn't look good out there, nor was it good where
we were. Just to get off our beach was going to be a challenge.
Our plans were to paddle to Steep Point but they were soon
changed.
With rain threatening we busily packed all, but our breakfast
gear into our boats. It took quite an effort just to stand
up straight against the wind, so breakfast had to be eaten
in the lee of a sand dune.
With all boats packed we had our hardest
challenge ahead, entering the surf, and trying to keep upright
until we paddled around to the sheltered side of the island.
Even by my standards the conditions were atrocious. I couldn't
help but notice Pam yawning. She said her heart was beating
quickly, being the result of her apprehension and nervousness.
She said she had the same feeling when we were about to paddle
the mighty Murchinson River in flood, two months earlier.
Pam who was positioned for us to push
her off was paddling a Nordkapp kayak, which was one of the
most unstable sea kayaks you can buy. The waves were crashing
onto the beach constantly so it really didn't matter when
she left as there was no good time. Even with Ron and I trying
to keep Pam's boat straight for a good entry, the waves hitting
the boat proved extremely strong and made it difficult for
us to hold on to it. At the count of three we pushed her out
to sea. The push propelled her out like a rocket but the boat
soon slowed as it hit the oncoming waves. The bow crashed
constantly through the waves and the boat bobbed up and down
like a yo-yo and wallowed in the wishy-washy swell. The strong
wind and continual white caps made it very hard for her to
control her kayak and make headway.
Ron was next to go. He took off through
the same slop but he was advantaged by his much more stable
boat and precise rudder control, which assisted him with turning.
With both boats now fighting the horrible conditions, it was
my turn. Being the most experienced I was left to fend for
myself and it didn't look like an easy task. The beach was
steep with a two foot high sand build up made by the high
tide and dumping waves. This meant I couldn't get my boat
to sit flat on the sand and the waves were pounding in on
an angle and very frequent. There was too much bouncy slop
to drag the heavy boat into the water, get in, put the spray
cover on and paddle off. (With the Nordkapp having such a
small cockpit it was impossible to get into it in deep water
without using the paddle as an outrigger.)
Like I expected the wave angles made
launching difficult. I struggled as I attempted to make a
run for it and the waves pushed me back towards the beach
sideways. The heavy kayak didn't help but somehow, with the
help of my paddle I avoided being beached broadside and used
it to push and paddle from the beach to join the others.
It was rough, and the channel was really
stirred up. As the breaking waves smashed onto our decks and
our bows plunged through them, the fierce wind tried desperately
to yank our paddles from our grasp. When we managed to turn
to head north the big waves chased us, causing us to be even
more unstable. The waves now crashed and smothered the whole
stern of the kayak. For moments our kayaks from the cockpit
to the stern were under water, wallowing. The chance of capsizing
was pretty real.
The further we got away from the
point the calmer it became but we were still surfing some
big waves. Ron loved the excitement of it all, I think Pam
was relieved to be reaching calmer waters but felt good that
she had conquered it. Then as we moved through a gap between
the island and Sunday Island, the sea became more confused
and the waves started to smother our rear decks again before
calming again and letting us had north along the island in
much better conditions.
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If you feel
the urge to get out there, don't just think about it, plan
it, do it.
Here is a few
rivers to start with: http://www.totaltrails.com.au/
I'm always
here if you want some advice
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