Seven members travelled to Coffin Bay to enjoy a kayak camping trip into the National Park there. Unfortunately the weather forecast predicted very strong winds for later in the week so the plan was altered so we enjoyed two days in Coffin Bay National Park and then relocated to Lincoln National Park.

Day 1

The paddle out from Coffin Bay township to Black Springs camping area was great. We saw seals on The Brothers Islands and lots of marine bird life. We booked our usual camp site which has a beautiful view over the water towards the oyster beds and Point Longnose. Highlights of the day included the small beach we stopped at for lunch, catching a ride on the swell and looking into the crystal clear water.

Day 2

The second day had us retracing our paddle along the cliffs, past The Brothers Islands and then into Mount Dutton Bay to explore the western side where there are more oyster beds. There were lots of fish visible as we turned into Mount Dutton Bay and then the wind and tide working against each other gave us interesting confused water as we paddled across the bay to the eastern side. As we came out of the bay and headed back to Coffin Bay township the wind changed to a following wind and we made good time on our return. Dinner in the air-conditioned hotel was one of the many highlights of the day.

Day 3

On the third day we relocated to the sheltered side of Lincoln National Park. The road into the camp ground at Woodcutters Beach was 4WD and gave some of us their first experience of bouncing over rocky ground and missing pot holes. The drive was well worth the effort as we had a beautiful beach-side camp all to ourselves. In the afternoon we walked to Stamford Beach and then up to the monument on Stanford Hill before completing the loop back to camp.

Day 4

The next day we paddled around to Spalding Cove for lunch. The beach here was very flat. The tide was out so we had a long walk to dry ground and needed to keep an eye on the water coming back in and refloating our kayaks. We saw a very large pod of dolphins in Spalding Cove and enjoyed surfing the waves there that the tail wind created for our return paddle. The last day we paddled in the opposite direction to Wisemans Shack campground, enjoying the coastal scenery.

Overall Trip

Overall we had a great week. Everyone was friendly, fun and flexible as we discussed alternatives and problem solved the weather forecast, coming up with Plan B which worked very well.

Paddling/walking distances

• Day 1 – 17km
• Day 2 – 22km
• Day 3 – 0km; walked 7.8km
• Day 4 – 18km
• Day 5 – 22 km