nature

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The Final Fling

No, not my Final Fling; well hopefully not anyway. It’s a kayak race on the Mitchell River in Victoria , Australia. “King of the Fling Extreme Kayak Race.”

Saturday I joined a group of club paddlers, organised by Dita Pahl of Canoes Plus Racing Team, (yes I’m a rather slow member) for a 9km paddle down the Mitchell River, from the Den of Nargun rapid to the Final Fling rapid. The first task is carrying your kayak down the 700 metre path into the gorge then across the Iguana creek. I admit dragging my kayak the last bit of the descent.

Dita and the crew . Photo Facebook CPRT

The landscape is stunning as are the many grade 2 and 3 rapids. I apologise for the lack of photos of the rapids, however, I was otherwise occupied at those moments.

The Gorge

We had time to play on some of the smaller waves

Having a little fun on the way down

Arriving at the Final Fling rapid it was time to work out my line and have a practice run for tomorrows race.

View of the top section

I lined up the left side drop and tried to get over to the centre. Not far enough to the centre obviously as I ended up running the large hole towards the bottom of the 200 metre rapid. Still I was pretty happy with just getting down in one piece.

That’s me. Past the hardest section but heading for another big hit

Then it was a 200 metre carry back up the rapid to the carpark. No path, just a drag across the rocks and undergrowth.

Back at Echo Bend campsite it was a BBQ and meetup for the group. A great night of fun and games.

Race Day dawned to sunshine and a balmy 4 degrees C in the carpark.

The format was 4 or 5 paddlers starting together up stream of the main rapid, finding their way down the course to touch a banner attached to a rock at the bottom. Sounds easy enough, except the bit about getting down the rather pushy Grade 3 rapid in one piece.

Here’s a few photos to give you an idea of the course.

I was in the Masters category, and certainly the oldest by a long shot. We formed up in the starting position and then off on starters orders.

That’s me number 20 Photo Facebook CPRT

The top section is moving water with a few rocks and I managed that fairly well. Next came the drop into the main rapid. I was planning to keep left then head to the centre, avoiding some of the larger sections.

That was the cunning plan anyway. I hit the first drop a little bit off course, but thought I could recover. Into the next wave I got even more off line and sideways. I thought, “this is serious” just as the next wave smashed me over.

Not what I had planned

I tucked into my roll position, and swept the paddle into position just as my body smacked a rock and the paddle impacted another rock and I lost my grip. Upside down,  no paddle, my race was over, except for a rough swim into the hands of the rescue crew. Thanks guys, I appreciated your help.

So “I Flung the Fling and then the Fling Flung me”

Fantastic river trip. Broken paddle. Bruised ego.

As luck would have it, I won a new Werner paddle in the competitors Prize Draw.

Was it worth the 2000km round trip ? Hell yeah !!!.

Thanks to everyone who helped organise the event, volunteered their time and a special thanks to Roy and Dita at Canoes Plus.

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Mud Sweat and Gears

Glamping the Lavender Cycling Trail.

Another blast of wind hit, almost stopping me in my tracks. This wasn’t fair, I’m going down hill on a graded dirt road and I’m struggling to keep a constant speed. I picked up speed again and was whacked again by a side blast that pushed me across the road and into the shrubbery. Robyn was slightly ahead of me and fared worse, being smaller, and was off the bike.

The day’s ride had started with a warning of gale force winds about the coast but being inland we figured it would just get a little windy and we would be able to get protection in the valleys, even if the hilltops were gusty.

Even the Corellas had found the trees too windy and opted for safe ground

We approached the Old Rockleigh School House and sought shelter for a food break. I knew that the wind would only get worse and hoped we could make our way to Mt Pleasant without any more incidents.

The Old Rockleigh School House now a campsite on the trail

On the road again, I lost count of the number of times we were pushed sideways across the road or had to brake to save us from another visit to the trees that lined the route. Tree debris was all around, just waiting to catch a derailleur and I also took timber on the helmet. Just to make things harder, rain drops started to splatter on my glasses. Nice day for a ride.

We had been in Western Australia for 6 weeks, where it rained almost continually on the Muda Biddi Bike Trail, making it impossible to make any good riding days. The areas that weren’t a foot deep in mud were a foot deep in running water. So we opted for a glamping trip to the Lavender Cycling Trail in South Australia, a trail that runs 300km from Murray Bridge to Clare. Glamping meant using our caravan as a base and riding out and back day loops to cover the 600km needed .

The riding was challenging due to the weather but certainly rewarding. There were so many interesting and unusual sights as we looped from South to North.

So what’s this tiny house doing set on the hill ?

Yes it’s a model house but why, what for ?

Look at the next photo to get it in perspective.

Yep it’s a jumping course for ponies.

I was impressed by the number of churches we passed, most being still in use and well cared for. This was an area settled by followers of the Lutheran Church as well as many other Christian religions. Sadly many of the towns they lived in have disappeared.

Sitting on the crossroads
No ones been through that gate for a while
Freshly mown grass and look at the size of that bench seat. Maybe that was the old “Smokers Corner”
Another well cared for exhibit

Not only were there places of worship for the living but also places to house the dead. The Shannon Family Mausoleum on a hill above the town of Moculta has 24 residents with room for up to 80. Oddly enough this place of the dead was the only place we saw another rider on the trail. They were heading over the next hill as we approached and we never saw them again.

The Shannon Family Mausoleum. Resting place where the last person took up residence in 1962

Apart from the old buildings, quaint villages and churches there was some great landscapes to admire. We travelled on typical Australian dirt roads and saw some iconic spots.

I think every cyclist on the trail has this photo
I was captivated by the tree and granite boulders
Dirt roads and gum trees. Some of my favourite things.

We had made it to the town of Eudunda where the loop to Inspiration Point starts. Yep, it was still raining and predicted to get heavier. We rugged up with every bit of warm clothes we had and charged on.

Lunch amongst the Cactus

We had to make a few route changes due to the mud. Cyclists know it as the Mawson Mud as it famous on the 800km Mawson Bike Trail. It comes in two colours. Black oozing mud that squelches under your tyres, splattering everywhere and red that simply clags up your wheels, chains, derailleurs and you, making movement impossible.

We tried this road but eventually had to back track
We knew we were heading into red mud country

Re-routes were interesting. This one being because the normally dry creek crossing was anything but dry. It was also going to be the course for a car rally in a few days. Good luck with that !

It always pays to carry your reading glasses. Yep, remember that in future.

Then the rains really hit us. We had passed the highest point of the ride and had only to coast into Clare but with pouring rain we decided to cut the ride short. We had ridden the last section before and knew the red dirt roads would be impassable with the only re-route being onto busier roads, so we called it a day and headed home.

A great ride in interesting country. In winter it’s a sea of green and in summer a scorched earth under a blazing sun. Ride it whenever you can and experience the landscape.

WE LIKED
Green pastures
Cloudy brooding skies
Kangaroos bounding along side us
Large flocks of birds
Wombats in their burrows
Stone buildings of all shapes and sizes

WE HATED
The wind

The Lavender Cycling Trail has it’s own website with lots of articles and planned routes as well as a Ride With GPS download of the trail.

BTW. Mud Sweat and Gears is a group of distinguished riders that raise money for the WestCare homeless shelter in Adelaide.

Happy Riding
Ian and Robyn.