Day 9 Luskintyre to Belmore Bridge Maitland

Well I have been hoping for a small break in the weather and today I got a small break. It is amazing what a bit of a rest can do for the sore muscles and the spirits - not to mention a bit of reasonable weather!
Today I got to the water at about 8:00 and was away about 8:30 I think at Luskintyre. This meant that I got some km's under my belt early and was feeling like i was making some progress. The water was deep enough to paddle and generally all was well with the world. I still hurt obviously but all was well.
I managed to get to Melville ford at Aberglasslyn at about 11:30 and my parents and Tim came to meet me for a picnic lunch which was lovely. It was nice to have someone to share lunch with - so much nicer than just talking to myself and I actually savoured it for about 45min. The longest lunch so far.
Phil Milling also happened by so it was good to catch up with him also for a chat.
After lunch I still felt pretty good and the conditions were still much better than they have been so I decided to push on and get another 10km under my belt which means that I am ahead of schedule now. Woohoo!
Looking at the weather and tides it's looking like an early start in the morning. If the weather is kind then I will try to get to Raymond Terrace which is another 30km again tomorrow

Day 8 Elderslie to Luskintyre

Today I had hoped to get an early start and maybe knock over the two short 20km legs in one go. We had stayed at home last night since we are getting pretty close to Maitland now. This had the added benefit of a bath to soak my weary bones/ muscles in and also to give the parents a bit of a rest from babysitting duties!
While I am on the topic thanks Mum and Dad for coming along with us on the early part of the trip of The trip. Your help with Tim and loading the Yak at the end of each long day has been much appreciated by myself, Sue and Tim.
We were running late from the get go this morning (maybe home has too many comforts for this trip!) and when we got there I had managed to leave most of my water bottles and my hat back at home! Bugger - not a good start. The chaos continued and an early start turned into a little earlier than usual start. Oh well!
I probably got an hour in before the wind picked up so it was worth the effort for that alone. The easterlies are still hammering me and anytime I stopped to take a drink I was being blown back upstream again! I have found that the only thing harder than paddling against strong wind is trying to do this in ankle deep water and at times the only way to go forward efficiently was to walk today!Days of paddling into a headwind like this messes with your head I reckon and I wasn't in a great place mentally after the slow start and the continued wind. My Body was definitely showing the strain today
I decided at Luskintyre that I had had enough for one day and that I would try again tomorrow for an early start once again. I remind myself that I am still on schedule and that it was only my desire to squeeze in a fish somewhere along the line that has me pushing to finish early. Training for and completing this paddle has consumed all my time for the last 12months it seems and the rods and reels need some serious attention i reckon. I have seen lots of fish. A Catfish at least a metre long in the upper reaches, a multitude of carp, the occasional Bass and now the mullet are starting to get active.
Never mind I might still get a fish in once the water gets deeper and I can justify the extra weight of a flickstick and some plastics.
Might have to put a rod holder on the Necky so I can do some trolling too!
It's nice to dream but in the meantime I need to cover Km's so back to the task at hand!
Tomorrow Luskintyre to Melville ford (Aberglasslyn) but I will play it by ear if the weather is good I might get a couple more km's in :)
Phil

Day 7 Singleton to Elderslie

Well I can't believe this is the seventh day of my little paddle - or even that I am basically 2/3rd of the way to Newcastle now! Mind Numbing!
I keep saying that was a tough day and you probably want to hear something else - Believe my I would like to be saying it but what a tough one today was. The wind was diabolical, blowing hard into my face and basically whipping up waves in the hunter river. At one stage it was blowing so hard that when I stopped to have a drink I was being blown back up the river.
There was a nasty storm front rolling in also from the side so I decided to only stop for 10mins the whole leg to try to stay in front of the thunderstorm that I thought would make life unbearable. Whether this was a good tactic or not I do not know but I didn't get rained on! I did hurt like I have never hurt before with 5 hours basically non stop paddling plus I have hard the worst cast of indegestion that I think I have ever had too! Not surprising as I only stopped long enough to scoff it down and then got back into it - the GPS said 8 mins all day stopped time.
On the upside I was home early enough to catch the last 20 laps of Bathurst so the pain was defintely worth it. Go Lowndesy!!! Go Holden 1,2,3 Baby!! Eat that Oval fans!! Ha Ha
Sorry momentary Yobbo moment (LOL)

Day 4 Denman to Jerrys Plains

The case of the missing day! Well we have been having a few technical difficulties and it seems that Day 4 has gone walkabout.
Day 4 was a big one the first of the over 30km days. I thought it was 31 but it turned out to be actually 36km. I did the same thing in training and thought that I had adjusted the itinerary but apparently not so i got a little more paddling for my money on this day. It was a long day with lots of river obstructions and rapids to keep me on my toes and in and out of the Kayak. On a positive note I managed to avoid the places that caught me off guard and eject me from the kayak in the training run so that is good.
A special thanks should go to the two gentlemen that snatched my bogged 4wd that my wife was driving out of the soft sand below Jerrys Plains Bridge before I got there. You are champions and I wouldn't have been too keen to dig out and push a bogged 4wd after a 36km paddle! You are legends and I definitely owe you a brown cordial or two.

Day 6 Arriving at Rose Point Park Singleton

Gday
Happy to announce that we are back on track for Brook2Beaches! The Necky is paddling straight and true and even though I was a little more sore today than previously we were back in the saddle and covering some Km's today again. It was another tough day with plenty of sore muscles/bits combined with a headwind the whole way.
That said I passed the halfway mark to Newcastle today which was a real highlight for me!
You can really start to see the river changing over these 169 km were it was all rocks and overgrown the river is more sandy and even has some width and water about it now (most of the time). The paddle today consisted of long open stretches of water with a howling headwind joined by tight water with lots of obstructions and small rapids. Only small ones that posed little danger- which was nice after yesterdays effort.
We move the van again tomorrow so it will be another full on morning!
On the money side we have now cracked the $5000 - I know it only says $600 on the camp quality site but that is only the tally of donations made in that way so thanks to all who have donated and dug deep. If you wish to donate there is still plenty of time and you can be assured that all the money goes to kids and families dealing with cancer in the Hunter Valley. If you have been thinking of donating but haven't yet let me encourage you to do so - It would be great to make it $10,000 to help bring some cheer to sick kids that is for sure!!
We have sorted our Internet problems so we should be blogging every night from now on if all goes well. Gotta get some sleep another 33Km to do tomorrow
Phil

Day 5 Jerrys to Maison Dieu

Heartbreak Hotel
What a tough day today turned out to be. We had to pack up the camper so Sue could move it to Singleton before I could paddle so I felt like I had done a day’s work before I started. I was making reasonable Headway, although paddling into a strong headwind till I got to the Power Station.
It was here that things took a turn for the worse. As I headed in I had intended to get out and carry the Yak down over the wall that has been constructed to provide a head for the river pumps but as I approached it looked pretty straight forward. Sure the water was flowing strongly and it was deep but it looked like it was a clear path around the wall. What I couldn’t see was just around a turn was some large boulders directly in the path of any kayaker silly enough to be still be there! I knew I was in serious trouble and jumped out but the water was too deep and flowing too hard to make any real difference to the inevitable. The yak hit broadside on a large rock in the middle of the river, closely followed by me. The Yak filled with water quickly and began folding around the rock. I had my own problems with a wedged ankle in the rocks but at least I had my head above water. After some scary moments I managed to get my ankle free and tried to budge the Yak. I managed to lift (not sure how – probably adrenalin) and once started the water started assisting in the lift of the nose of the Yak. I was devastated that it appeared that I had destroyed the Yak only a third of the way into my paddle but I persisted to free the Yak (after an hour of grunting groaning and being tossed down the rapids a few times.
The paddle (the leash broke the bungy straps it was attached to), my lunch and my drinks were gone but I managed to get the yak free.
Eventually I decided I would push on and walk (dragging the now empty yak) to the next causeway which I thought was about another 6-7 Km – I had some new cuts, bruises and had managed to twist an knee but I was still in one piece. While dragging the yak I found my lunch, 1 small water bottle and eventually the paddle also.
The Yak has sustained a couple of creases on its side but to the necky’s credit she has proved herself to be tough and is still tracking true. I am so sorry to those that expected a nice newish Kayak. I am not sure whether people want raffle ticket money back but in the Yaks defence I went on to paddle another 30Km today in her and she never missed a beat. Please let me know what you think as I really wanted to hand this thing over in pristine condition.
Anyway the next 30 km continued to test my mental and physical abilities as I paddled into a relentless headwind to reach my destination at Maison Dieu (just shy of Singleton). When I arrived at my pick up point, which was a challenge in itself, I was stoked to find that the Milling family had come to help me disembark and load the yak onto the roof. You guys are absolute legends I don’t think I could have loaded it without you and Dad today. P.S. The hot chocky was an absolute godsend too! I have now managed about 140Km and will be past half way by tomorrow afternoon.
Bruised and dented the Yak and myself will push on towards the sea.

Bengalla Bridge to Denman

Today started out cool and overcast so I thought it prudent to put my cag (wet weather paddling jacket) on straight away. I only got a few spots and then the sun came out which was pretty exciting – so exciting that I took a photo of the blue skies!
Yet again I forgot to turn the GPS on straight away so I was guessing a little as to how far I had travelled but it was a rough enough estimate to gauge how I was going. I was happy to settle into some paddling early with a mixture of rapids and tree obstructions. It never ceases to amaze me that a river can gain speed over rapids and then make a 90 degree turn but this was to be the order of the day. I was pumped at one point with my progress and confidence in the rapids so much so that I was singing the “Fully Loaded “ advertisement to myself when all at once I rounded a bend and saw that a new set of rapids head off in another direction straight for an undercut bank! I remember capsizing at this point in training once before and promptly ejected myself from the kayak in time to avert imminent crashing sounds!! From fully loaded to fully ejected in about half a verse – never mind no good busting myself or the new Yak and I am sure that whoever wins the kayak expects it to be in one piece not in two like the ad!
That said I managed a nice steady 6km/h average that allowed me to enjoy the journey while still making progress. I keep reminding myself to do this as I probably will not get the chance to paddle the river in its entirety again in my lifetime.
The leg turned more difficult as time went on with rapid after rapid and fallen tree after fallen tree for the last 5km or so meaning that I was constantly in and out of the Yak to drag it around/ over obstacles.
Mental note – It’s not just about the destination but the journey too
Looking forward to some more challenges with over 30Km to cover to get to Jerry’s Plains tomorrow afternoon. From memory more rapids (some biggins too) and even some wire ropes to avoid so should be fun
Phil