Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 15 Echuca to Torrumbarry Headworks Rd.

Echuca to Murray Marathon Day 4 Finish Torrumbarry 63km.

Time to get going again, but what a windy day it turned out to be. Winds were light in the morning, but as the northerlies changed to westerlies, they increased in strength until I was doing saved and holding tightly onto my paddle, lest it take off on its own.

This is home territory for me. Paddling this stretch brought back many memories, particularly from the Murray Marathon, which I have competed in as an individual, school’s team coach and with inland outriggers. I know I share these memories with many others. The great event takes place in three weeks. Not long now.

Sandhills took a knocking today, as did banks which had lost their ground cover of grasses, or protective trees. It seems that once the surface is broken, erosion happens quickly. Large sections of steep and sandy banks have collapsed, particularly when on the outside of bends, or near to infrastructure like boat ramps and jetties.

I was surprised at the number of new developments which offer these facilities between Will's Bend (30km downstream of Echuca) and Headworks Road. Two story villas, luxury houses and holiday developments have sprouted since I last did this trip in 2012. What this means is that previously quiet stretches are within reach of more boats. With more boats, comes more wash. The erosion that is happening now is not from boats, it is caused by the current and action of wind driven waves, but when the base of the channel is widened it destabilises the bank above it. Water softens the soil and it crumbles. Over multiple floods a stable angle is reached, the more clay the steeper the bank. Some of the erosion is a side effect of river regulation. The Murray all but dried out in summer before dams were built. Summer levels eat into the base of the banks and high rivers cause them to collapse. Boat waves eat further in, they are not alone to blame, but they do accelerate the process. What if these developments had to invest in bank protection measures, so that they had a positive effect on the environment, instead of a negative one?

For all the change that is apparent, the stretch remains beautiful. The wind, though challenging, brought sparkles to the surface of the water and the stretch was peppered with friendly campers and people enjoying the river in all manner of boats.

The collapsing banks, form a sediment toe which is then colonised by river red gums. Perhaps what we are witnessing is the beginning of a new cycle of widening and colonisation. Key to the new form establishing and not becoming runaway erosion is the establishment of trees, and in particular the river red gums - which are what my journey is all about.

Setting off from Echuca boat ramp. The change of boats turned out to be fortuitous. I would have been blown all over the river in the double.

Before the wind, the sun came out. Perfect paddling weather - or so I thought then.

Old pier from paddle steamer days and windmill - a look into a past time, when riverboats were a life-line: the means of getting wool to markets and goods to homesteads. 

Bora Bora Wildlife reserve, just down from the Five Mile reserve.

Erosion adjacent to a new boat ramp. Again and again on this trip i have witnessed how the power of the current on outside bends causes bank collapse. In situations like this one, where a new boat ramp has broken up an otherwise stable bank, the river has something to bite on. The grassed bank to the right of the photo is what the bank looked like before the high river.

The wide river is quiet and peaceful. I have it pretty much to myself.

Erosion up to the high water mark. The overhanging soil will also collapse, eventually leaving a new, stable bank sloping up from the river behind it. Hopefully, over time, new red gum seedlings will be able to establish on the bank toe and face in the coming years.

The roots of these trees show where the bank once was. Without them it is difficult to imagine what the bank once looked like. The age of the trees gives a clue to how long the bank looked like that.

2:41 p.m. Just passing 1668. This was the location of my first camp on my first long journey down the river 2012. It was quite a bit hotter back then. River Red Gum on the fringe on the New South Wales side… with forest on the Victorian side…

Thunderbird lake was built by a farmer for the purpose of racing hydrofoil boats. It was made by building a rectangular levee bank one kilometre long and several hundred metres wide and then pumping it full of water from the river. Races no longer take place and I am unsure what became of the lake, but the sign still remains.

Ruined farmhouse. Typically the first dwelling was single room. Initially a chimney made of flattened kerosine tins would be made. Later other rooms would be added and the chimney replaced with brick. Up until that time, the houses were made purely with materials from the surrounding bush and repurposed supplies. They are a testament to the resourcefulness and resilience of the early settlers.

Whilst the day began peacefully, the wind became progressively stronger, until I found myself punching through 40 to 50 cm high waves and against a wind which gusted regularly to 50 km/hr. It became difficult to take the photographs I depended upon for my research of bank condition. I had to give up on using my good camera and resorted to hurried single handed shots using my pocket sized Nikon AW130. 

Amongst the wind and the waves there were still moments of sunshine and peace. I guess that is one of the benefits of having a river that meanders all over the place - at least some of the time you are out of the wind. These were moments to savour.

...and back into the wind... the nose of my boat would disappear up to my water bottles underwater at times. I was so glad for the work of the designers and manufacturers in building such a solid and reliable boat. 

Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 11 Morning Glory to Echuca

Morning Glory to Echuca 41km.

I enjoyed the novelty of having the river so high. Usually the banks are 8 - 10 metres above us. Now the river is almost level with them. In low areas it flowed through the forest. Flood runners were like small rivers themselves, replenishing the billabongs where turtles feed and breed and the black box forests which depend on such occasional drinks to remain healthy.

Coming into Echuca the river moves into a new landscape. Along the higher areas, groups of black box begin to dominate. Because they need less frequent floods than river red gum, black box are often thriving in areas where red gums were suffering, gradually replacing them.

In Echuca, I have had a few days together with family and have swapped over to a smaller boat (paddling the double as a single I was being blown around by the winds too much). Tomorrow, I set off again towards Torrumbarry and the beautiful Gunbower-Perricoota-Koondrook Forest.

Just downstream from the Kanyapella Sandhill. Drinking in the early morning atmosphere. The river is still dark in colour from the organic material forced into it by the Barmah Choke. The green plant on the surface is Azolla (duckweed, a floating fern which grows in shallow, still water) from the same source.

Pulling up in a shallow spot, this egret seemed unfazed by my presence.

A shallow area where I was able to pull up at for a rest.

Sneaking along between the trees is one of the pleasures of paddling on a high river. You can glide almost silently and able to witness wildlife close up.

Early morning birdcall 8:47am. Approaching 1774km

The dark colours in the water are due to organic matter from the forest. At this stage of the river, this is a healthy amount. I have not seen any of the fish kills that I have heard of below the junction with the Edwards-Wakool System.

The banks are usually 8 - 10m high. With the high river, it was like canoeing on a lake.

Azola, otherwise know as duck weed adds colour to the water surface.

Headed for Echuca, this video was taken just after 1736 on a South-Easterly straight, with light rain falling. Water is at, or near the top of the bank and is flowing through flood channels into adjoining billabongs. 10:15am

This home classifies as temporary because it is set on wheels, but i don't think this old truck is going anywhere fast.

Cottonwood caravan park's huge wall was not enough to stop the high water, with staff having to sandbag the entrances to these riverside villas.

Kilometre trees mark distances to the Murray Mouth.

Big Bend, 10km upstream of Echuca by river.

At this height the paddlesteamers found it difficult to pass under the bridge. The captain on the Emmylou edged up to the bridge watching how many centimetres there were between the top of its flag pole and the bottom of the bridge. Too high and they would knock off the funnel.

The river is so high at the moment, that the paddlesteamers, normally so far below the wharf, now are able to see over it. When you see the river like this, it makes sense that the wharf is so high. Before dams were built in the upper reaches of the river, it used to be this high every year.

Murray River Paddle 2016 Day 10 The Gulf to Morning Glory

The Gulf - Morning Glory 71km

At Picnic Point and have 3 bars of reception (sometimes). A good to chance to post some photos of my camp at The Gulf and a few of the sights this morning. Get out into the forest if you can, but keep the waves down. There's not much bank there..).

What an eventful day. First waking up with the kangaroos - literally. A beautiful sunny day, after so many wet and windy ones. Then a magic cruise into Picnic Point, with the bush flowering on either side.

Never underestimate a river, or reckon you know it. First of all, the current stopped. It was slowing down in Picnic Point, down to say one km an hour, but later it just stopped. I thought that the bush after Picnic Point would be drier than upstream. I was so wrong. Most of the bush was under and on top of that, trees had fallen down everywhere, sometimes blocking of all but 8 metres of river. Whilst this is no barrier to a paddler, it must have an effect on river flow.

The further I travelled down the deeper the banks went under. With no dry natural levee animals were stranded and many died. I came across two brumbies who looked like they had already been standing in water for a week or so, totally lost, just waiting for the water to recede. It will, but will it be fast enough for them.

My recommendation to get out in the forest does not apply to the first 15km downstream from Picnic Point. This is best avoided. It is a sad place. As a biologist, it is important to see these things. It is part of the cycle. Nature can be cruel.

There were creatures that revelled in the watery mass. i saw a family of sea eagles, huge birds, silently winging their way through the trees. Herons seemed in their element, many with nesting material in their beaks. Restless fly catchers happily scooped up mozzies from the water's surface, or wherever. There are enough of them. Sacred kingfishers gave the impression that this was a good year. And ducks, nirvana.

The still and high water lasted all the way to Barmah. In the end i paddled through about 30km of dead still water. A short section where swifts creek entered the Murray was black, giving lovely reflections to the photos and important organic matter to the river ecosystem - so long as there is not too much of it. The still water was covered in streams of duckweed, a bright green fern, which slipped silently around my boat.

In this watery expanse, at the top of circular bend I saw the guardian of the forest. Never before had I seen it in so much water. This tree is acknowledged to be at least 800 years old. The oldest tree in the forest. it even has its own Koori name - though I have forgotten it (can anyone help me on that). How many floods and droughts has this tree seen? How insignificant by comparison are our short lifespans? I stopped to honour the tree as is appropriate. Happily it seems to be recovering. When I last saw it a few years ago, it had lost most of its branches. As a kid I had stood under this tree. We visited it even then. Its branches were so wide and so thick, that each could have been its own massive tree. At the end of the millennium drought and an extended period where the forest it stood in had not been flooded it had lost most of these. Now they seem to be growing back. What a survivor. It left me happy.

After Barmah, the river changes, the current comes back (what a relief) and it gradually becomes contained within its banks again. Black Box alternates with Red Gum on the undulating river's edge and along remnant sand dunes. The evening light made being on the river and photography a pleasure again. I continued on, enjoying every minute, until paddling up to a cabin I had booked at Morning Glory. After 70km, I needed a shower.
Echuca tomorrow and a few days with family, before continuing.