Morning in Chowilla

Four days exploring the creeks in the Chowilla reserve, in the Riverland — 19-22 Aug 2023

/in , , , , , , , /by

From Plan A to Plan B

Enjoying the calmness of ChowillaThe original trip was planned to traverse the Lindsay River. But the high river levels put paid to that, as the whole Lindsay Island was closed to the public. Making the best of a bad situation, we changed the trip to the Chowilla area, where high water levels open up a lot of normally dry creeks.

We launched at midday on Saturday and crossed the Murray to find the entrance to Suders creek, which is the entrance to backwater area. This is normally a challenge, with the entrance to the creek being narrow and fast flowing, but this time the levels were high and the current very manageable, and we were soon through to Hypurna creek, which we followed up for a few kilometers before setting up a base camp where we would stay for the next three nights.

Setting camp for the trip

After setting up camp and relaxing for a bit, we went off for an afternoon paddle to check out if the short-cut through to Salt Creek was open, as we planned to take that route the next day. Luckily the normally dry creek was easily navigable so we didn’t have to change our plans. We then retired back to camp to start dinner and sit around the campfire solving important world issues.

Day 2

Next day was an early start as we didn’t have pack up the camp. We were soon paddling through wide creeks and flooded trees through to Salt Creek.  We followed it upstream for about 8km to a horseshoe lagoon which we normally bypass. Encouraged by the high water levels we decided to explore it. We were rewarded with yet another new creek which took us back to Salt Creek, cutting 4kms off our trip.

After a few hundred meters on Salt Creek we found an unmarked creek which was flowing in the right direction. We decided to throw caution to the wind and set off down it into the unknown. Flowing water is always a good sign as it has to go somewhere. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves ending up in Hypurna Creek, which is where we were planning on going. After a gentle 5km paddle downstream we ended up back at camp. We were soon relaxing around the campfire discussing the next day’s paddle.

Day 3

Lunch break before paddling the MurrayNext morning, after a quick breakfast, we set off back up Hypurna Creek to do another circular loop in a different area. We passed the entrance to a shortcut to Wilperna Creek which had been planning on using, only to find that the water level was not quite high enough to make it passable. Disappointed, we carried on up to Salt Creek to have a mid-morning break and talk about our options. After a bit of discussion we decided to continue to the Murray, and follow that around to the entrance to Wilperna Creek.

Normally we try to avoid the main channel of the Murray, too big and too busy. But this time we found the river pretty much deserted. A relaxed paddle had us going down the river at 10 km/h. There was a lot of water in the river! At that pace we were soon through Higgins Cutting and did the 8kms to Wilpurna Creek with no trouble at all.

Wilpurna Creek is one of my favourite creeks, narrow and winding, with not too many obstacles. But it can be hard to find, as the entrance is small and is just downstream from the NSW border. Unfortunately the sign for the border is about ½ a kilometre away from the actual border, on the wrong side of the creek. Luckily my trusty GPS had the entrance marked with a waypoint. We practically floated down Wilperna Creek, around fallen trees, escorted by curious emus and seeing the occasionally kangaroo, and were soon back at camp again.

Chris had bought his yabbie nets along (I don’t know how he fits it all in his kayak), and had got lucky while we had been away. That night he treated all of us to some fresh yabbie meat snacks.

Day 4

Salt creek navigationOvernight our luck changed, and we had a bit of rain. Nothing heavy, but just enough to turn the ground into sticky mud, 10 steps were enough to add a few kilograms of the stuff to your shoes. After breakfast the camp was packed up quickly and carefully, trying to avoid most of the mud, and stopping occasionally to scrape the worst of off your shoes. Most of the gear went into the kayak reasonably cleanly, but the kayak cockpits ended up decidedly brown.

We paddled back down Hypurna Creek, aided by the current, paddling through trees which normally line the side of the creek. Some paddlers decided to do the portage back the Murray, while the rest decided to try paddling back up Suders. The portage point is well signposted, but we couldn’t find any of the signs, can only think that they must have been underwater. Kayaks were soon carried across to the Murray. The rest of the paddlers set of to try our luck going up Suders Creek. This proved to be an anti-climax, as it was an easy paddle back to the Murray and the cars.

We quickly threw  all the gear back in the cars, loaded the kayaks on the roof and put on some presentable clothes.  We then headed back to Renmark and the nearest bakery to indulge in a cup of hot coffee and some unhealthy treats before heading back to Adelaide, and a lot of washing of kayaks and gear.

Overall statistics (Links point to GPX track files)

Saturday 19 August – Customs House to Campground, recce in the arvo – 11.95Km

Sunday 20 August – Salt Creek, Horseshoe Lagoon, Hypurna Creek – 24.1Km

Monday 21 August – Salt Creek, Wilpurna Creek, Murray River – 26.0Km

Tuesday 22 August – Campground, up Suders creek back to Customs House – 7.45Km

Setting camp
Preparing campground in Chowilla
Glassy water in Salt Creek
Truly flat water
Enjoying the calmness of Chowilla
Emus following along Chowilla creek
Good catch!
Yabbies for dinner
Campfire in Chowilla
Getting ready for dinner
Lunch break before paddling the Murray
Creek navigation
Salt creek navigation
Meandering among the gumtrees
Morning in Chowilla
Replenishing energy after the four-day expedition
Through Chowilla

Four day downstream meander in the creeks of the Riverland, 7- 10 Apr 2023

/in , , , , , , , /by

The River is Green

Five kayakers headed up to the Riverland to inspect the aftermath of the recent floods by paddling all the backwaters from the Chowilla Reserve back to just before Renmark, a distance of 68kms. Happily we can report that the river levels are back to normal, most businesses are open, and the whole area is looking magnificent: I have never seen it so green with so much bird life. If you can, get up there to have a look, the floods have done wonders for the countryside.

Good Friday

Charlie in the MurrayWe started our trip on Friday lunchtime from the launch spot near the Customs House Houseboats, crossed the river to get into Suders creek and off the Murray as soon as possible. Suders creek was its normal fast-flowing self, but now (thanks to the floods) with a new tree stuck right in the middle of the channel at the fastest spot, with associated eddies. This resulted in one capsize and a few near misses, not a good start to the trip! After getting organised again, we continued down the creek, avoiding the many snags to set up camp on Chowilla creek.

Leisure Saturday

A leisurely start next morning saw us paddling slowly down Chowilla creek, assisted by the current while we watched the scenery. A pair of wedge tailed eagles was spotted, along with many straw-necked ibis and the more common sacred ibis. We were also fortunate to see a lot of Black-tailed native hens, which we have never seen before. Apparently they are nomadic and take advantage of temporary wetlands, so the conditions after the floods must be ideal for them.

At the end of Chowilla creek we reached the Murray and turned left for a few kilometres to look for the next creek which would take us into Hunchee, and then RalRal creek. We stopped at the Chowilla Woolshed for lunch, where the full extent of the flooding became apparent; we were sitting on the bank at least 2 meters above the river, and could see the flood marks another 1 meter up on a building. Trying to estimate how wide the river would have been at the level was truly scary, I’m sure it must have been difficult to even find the main channel of the Murray at that level.

A Short Shower on Sunday

The third day dawned cool and overcast as the others had, but this time we were treated a short shower of rain, luckily we were all in our kayaks with wet weather gear on so we didn’t get much wetter than we already were. After turning off into RalRal creek we had a short detour to have a look at Lake Woolpolool, but the water levels were already too low to get over the regulator and into the lake itself. Maybe next time.

Portage in ChowillaJust after that there was a bit of excitement where the creek narrowed into almost a small rapid under a low bridge, with a tree waiting in the river downstream. With memories of Suders creek still fresh in our minds, some of us opted to do a short portage to avoid the obstacle, while the rest of the group took it in turns to carefully paddle through. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as it looked and no-one else went swimming.

After a leisurely paddle down the RalRal Wide Waters (which is actually a lake wider than the Murray itself), we found the entrance to Nelbuck creek and set up camp for the night. Peter put out his yabbie net and managed to supplement dinner with 2 nice size yabbies, although cooking them in a small hiking stove was a bit of a challenge.

Wrap up Monday

Next morning we continued down the creek back into the Murray and had a brief stop at the old Woolenook Internment Camp from World War II. Nothing much is left of it now except for a few plaques, but worth a look.

Another kilometre or so down the Murray and we found the imaginatively name Inlet creek, which we followed into Horseshoe Lagoon, and from there navigated our way through the creeks and lagoons back to Canoe-The-Riverland, where Ruth and Jim had kindly let us leave one of our cars for the shuttle back to our launch spot.

If you feel like a paddle in the area, be sure to contact them. They do organised tours and kayak hire, and have the best maps of the area: https://www.canoetheriverland.com/

Multi-day kayak camping trip in the backwaters of the Murray river in the Chowilla reserve — 14 October 2022

/in , , , , , /by

Water Everywhere

There is a lot of water in the Murray at the moment. So much so that all the campsites in the parks are closed due to flooding. We even considered  cancelling this trip. So glad we didn’t. Murray river may be high and flowing too strongly to paddle easily. But all the backwaters are even higher, with easy paddling and lots of normally dry creeks now easily navigable

The launch from near the Border Cliffs Campground was easy thanks to the high water levels. No scrambling down steep banks! We paddled slowly across the river as the current took us downstream to the entrance to Suders Creek. This creek is normally narrow and fast-flowing, and can be challenging. This time it was wide and easy. The usual obstacles were under water and we could paddle in amongst the trees that were normally high and dry on the banks.

From there we headed up Salt Creek and took advantage of the high water to investigate a normally dry creek. This route took us back to Hypurna Creek via some newly created wetlands. An unexpected treat was spotting a pair of wedge-tailed eagles, with what looked like a newly built nest. No sign of chicks, but it was hard to tell with the nest being so high. A short paddle up Hypurna Creek and we reached our campsite for the next two nights. We quickly put up tents, chairs and tables and we settled in to relax for the rest of the afternoon.

The Big Loop

Setting up camp

Next day was a relaxed start as we did not have to pack up camp. We did a nice easy circular route planned with unloaded kayaks, to bring us back to the same campsite. Started paddling slowly up Hypurna creek, which was sometimes confusing due to all the new channels which were now open, thank goodness for the trusty GPS. We were accompanied for a short period by some emus, which seemed curious more than alarmed, and allowed us to get really close. I guess they didn’t know what to make of these brightly coloured things floating on the water.  When we reached Salt Creek we opted to take the longer route to the Murray, this is normally not navigable without a portage due to a causeway. This time there was no sign of the causeway or the bridge which were marked on the map.

We reached the Murray River, paddled a whole 100m downstream, and went back into the other entrance to Salt Creek. Must be the shortest distance I’ve ever paddled on the Murray. Our aim was to get back to a small creek which was not on the map, but now had plenty of water and was flowing from Salt Creek in the direction of Wilperna Creek, which was where we needed to go.

Wilperna Creek is normally a small, winding, snag choked place, today it was a broad, open river, and we made good time following the current downstream towards our campsite. All went well until a kilometre before the turnoff to the campsite, where we inadvertently took a wrong turn into yet another creek which wasn’t on the map. We soon realised our mistake, but the creek was flowing in the right direction, so we continued along and magically popped out into the right creek just above our campsite.

The Scenic Route

Paddling Hypurna Creek

Next day the camp was quickly packed up and everyone was feeling good. We decided to take a more scenic route back to the cars. We paddled down Hypurna Creek which, in places, resembled a lake rather than a creek, and spent our time trying to pick out the normal course of the creek amongst all the flooded trees. Then we bypassed the normal portage back to the Murray, and also Suders Creek (which we could have easily paddled up in the current conditions), and continued down Slaney Creek for another 3 kms to a small creek which joined up with the Murray.

We had never paddled this creek before due to the imposing regulator at the entrance, which is normally impassable without dragging kayaks up steep banks and through thick bush. This time the water had bypassed the regulator, and we all paddled past without even getting out of our kayaks.

Back in the Murray, we crossed over and hugged the bank out of the main current as we paddled the last kilometre back to the cars. Getting the laden kayaks out of the water was easy thanks to the conveniently high water levels. We were soon packed up and heading to Renmark for the customary debrief at the bakery.

Map and GPX file

Click in the image below to access the map of the trip and its corresponding GPX file

Wilperna and Hypurna Creeks

Four day/three night Murray River backwaters trip in the Riverland — 26 May 2022

/in , , , , , , /by

The Murray river was flowing strongly, so eight paddlers decided to take advantage of this to do a four day, one-way trip down the river with the current. Thursday morning we dropped off one car at our finishing point at Canoe-The-Riverland, and continued up to the Border Cliffs Campground to start our trip.

Many thanks to Canoe-The-Riverland for allowing us to leave a car at their place for the car shuttle at the end of the trip. They are the experts in the area, run guided kayak tours and have a range of accommodation if you want to explore that part of the country.

Suders Creek

The weather was warm and sunny as we crossed the Murray to find the entrance to Suders creek and get into the backwaters of the Murray. Suders is normally tricky, with a fast current and lots of obstacles, but today it was no problem thanks to the higher water level, and we were soon through it and into Hypurna creek and calmer waters. After regrouping we carried on into Salt Creek, Slaney Creek and into Chowilla Creek, making good time with the current. At the entrance to Pipeclay Creek we called it a day, and found a good place for the evening camp, having done 12 kms.

Monoman Creek and the Dingy Derby

Paddling down Chowilla

Next morning was chilly and foggy, giving the river a surreal atmosphere. After a hot coffee and some breakfast we packed up wet tents and headed out on the river again. We were making good time with the current, so we decided to detour into Monoman Creek, at bit longer and narrower, but also more scenic. This area is normally popular with campers, but with the cold weather and it being a week day, we had the place to ourselves. After re-joining Chowilla Creek, the waters became wider and more sluggish as we approached the Murray River again. I was very confused as we passed under the Chowilla regulator as I remembered it as being a lot larger and more imposing, until I realised that the increased water height had made it seem a lot smaller.

After about 3 km on the Murray main channel we turned into the entrance to Native Box Creek, just after Chowilla Homestead, glad to be back in the narrow secluded backwaters again. We enjoyed a slow paddle down the creek enjoying the scenery, but slightly confused by a large number of big arrows and warning tape fixed to the trees. We set up camp for the night near to the junction with Little Hunchee Creek, and were just starting to relax when we were disturbed by a number of tinnies with large motors rushing past. After some hurried searching on Google we discovered that there was a dingy race the following day, luckily some more searching revealed that we were no longer on the course, and we should be well on our way before the race started the next day. Something to check on for the next trip.

From Big Hunchee to Ral Ral

Cool and misty morning in Chowilla

Next morning was again cool and misty as we paddled down Big Hunchee Creek until we eventually entered RalRal Creek, and the waters narrowed again as we were surrounded by large gum trees. Just before Calperum Station we passed the entrance to Lake Woolpolool and, since the water levels were high, we decided to go in have a look. The lake was full, but unfortunately the waters were not high enough to paddle across the road and into the lake itself, and we had to content ourselves with sitting in the duckweed at the entrance looking over the regulator.

Back on RalRal, we continued ambling down the creek past the gum trees and picking our way through the snags until we reached the Wide Waters section of the river. Here we were treated to a flock of pelicans and the occasional swan taking advantage of the large body of placid, sheltered water. We found the entrance to Nelbuck Creek with no problem thanks to the GPS, and paddled slowly upstream back towards the Murray. We set up camp for the last time a few hundred meters before the Murry, where the creek was still narrow and the gum trees still large.

Horseshoe Lagoon

Next morning we were treated to the sight of a large emu wandering around completely unfazed by us, probably because he was on the opposite side of the creek. Camp was packed up quickly, either due to practice, or the desire to get back to the cars, and we were soon on the Murray heading downstream and looking for the entrance to Horseshoe Lagoon. The waters changed after we entered the lagoon, with gum trees slowly being replaced with reeded banks as we made our way through the maze of channels towards our finishing point at Canoe-The-Riverland.

The drivers were send off to retrieve our cars from the launch point while the rest of us slowly unpacked our kayaks and enjoyed the sun. Kayaks were quickly loaded, and we headed off to the nearest bakery for the customary coffee and pasty.

Map and GPX file

Click in the image below to access the map of the trip and its corresponding GPX file

Chowilla RalRal Map