Second Valley Archives - Adelaide Canoe Club

Paddling Second Valley to Rapid Head Coastline

Beach Master at Work

The Fleurieu Peninsula (in particular the coast south from Second Valley into Rapid Bay and down towards the Starfish Hill Wind Farm) never ceases to amaze me. Our paddle on Sunday confirmed we should be paddling there more! Eleven (11) Club members joined Bernard and Frances leading in their Delta T to enjoy this stunning stretch of South Australia’s coastline.

Paddlers were Bernard and Frances Goble, Simon and Anne Langsford, Mark Loram, Charlie and Marina Walker, Shauna Ashewood, Michael Grundy, Anthony Aardenburg and Berny Lohmann.

It’s lucky the paddlers arrived at all! Some had to navigate the closure on Anzac Highway due to the City to Bay event. The South Road underpass was the only viable route for crossing the Highway if coming from the north. When we arrived, Second Valley Jetty and car park were busy with people making the most of the stunning day.

Briefing and Departure

Birds at Old Jetty

Bernard briefed the group on the paddle plan and safety precautions as well as suggesting the best locations (eg Investigator Strait) to check BOM weather for paddling in this area of the Peninsula. After unloading and packing kayaks we were on water about 9.30am. We set off heading south of Second Valley Jetty, ensuring we were well clear of fishing lines and nearby rock platforms. We paddled towards the small beach just south of Rapid Head for lunch.

GoPro Action Footage

It’s very easy to see why this area is so popular. It wasn’t long before we were admiring the stunning rock formations leading towards Rapid Bay. Charlie took the opportunity to sneak into any rock crevice for some action shots with his GoPro. Check out his video on our YouTube Channel below.

The Paddle South

Conditions were suitable for the group to spread out a little and make the most of the paddle, whether looking for sea eagles, seal pups or just soaking up the stunning scenery.

We gathered up the group at Rapid Bay then headed towards the Jetty. The normally turquoise coloured water in the bay looked churned up and creamy – evidence of recent swell.

Manoeuvring Practice

We made our way to the old Jetty with Bernard suggesting some manoeuvring practice doing figure of eights around the jetty pylons. A large flock of seagulls looked on to see who was disturbing their territory. We were careful as the jetty continues to deteriorate, but it looked safe enough as long as we avoided colliding with the pylons – good incentive for perfect manoeuvring.

The original jetty was developed and worked by BHP from 1942 until 1981, with the quarried limestone being shipped to BHP’s steelworks at Whyalla, Newcastle and Port Kembla where it was used for steel production.

Seal Pups at Rapid Head

Rapid Head Seal Pups

After working on our skills we headed further south to Rapid Head. We checke out the numerous seals, caves and magnificent geological folding that can be viewed from the water. Plenty of seal pups around but mostly warming themselves on the rocks or playing in the shallows. They normally tend to investigate and follow our kayaks, however not this time. I wonder why?

There must have been a heavy SW swell over winter as the small sandy beach has disappeared. After a short break we headed back towards Rapid Bay for lunch.

Big Wave Rescue

Rescue Underway

There was reasonable rebound close to cliffs with underlying swell rising up when reaching shallow water. As Bernard mentioned at the briefing, always keep one eye to sea for that unexpected larger wave rolling in – and one did! Most of the group managed to turn their boats towards the 1.5m wave however one of the group just wanted to practice support strokes (more practice required?) followed by a rescue. It may not have been planned, but always good to practice.

Lunch at Rapid Bay

Paddlers with Stunning Rock Formations

Returning to the northern end off Rapid Bay for lunch there was an opportunity to practice surf landing skills with small breaking waves. After everyone was safely on the beach we enjoyed lunch in the shade of the large cavern – if only the walls could talk! During lunch we talked about recent kayaking experiences and some of the kayaking skills required for paddling around Second Valley and Rapid Bay.

Towing Practice

Once back on water Bernard decided to get the group participating in a tow, ensuring we were well positioned around our ‘ailing paddler’. He gave several in the group an opportunity to tow or assist with supporting the towed kayak. We had a couple in the group who had not participated in towing before so this was a beneficial exercise.

Getting ready for Tow

Supporting Towed Paddler

Completion and Coffee

Safely back on Second Valley beach about 3.00pm and soon packed up after another very enjoyable day padding. Looks like the average Strava track shows we covered 14km, with a few twists and turns.

Finished off a very enjoyable day with coffee at the café in the Second Valley Caravan Park. This led me to think that we must spend another weekend based at the Park and explore more of the stunning coastline.

Many thanks to Bernard for organising and leading the trip.

By Greg Adams

The Pages islands expedition was the brainchild of Phil Doddridge, an ambitious adventure starting at Victor Harbor and ending at Second Valley via Tunkalilla Beach, The Pages, Pink Bay, KI, Antechamber Bay, and Cape Jervis.

The weather gods needed to be on our side, and they were, providing the perfect wind and weather conditions for this epic adventure. The only real problem was a strong ground swell.

Day 1 – Victor Harbor to Ballaparudda Beach

Seven paddlers, Phil and Pat Doddridge, Tresh Pearce, Karl Meyer, Giresh Chandran, Gordon Begg, and I met at the Bluff boat ramp, Victor Harbor at 8am on Friday the 21st of April.

Conditions were perfect, the sun was shining, and the wind was absent. We managed to be on the water and left by 9am passing The Bluff, West Island and rounding Newland Head after 2 hours paddling.

Beach Ballaparudda

Waitpinga and Parsons beaches had a large oily swell rolling in and a grey sky above, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Karl and Tresh paddled in close near the surf zone to experience the power of the swell as we continued approx. 1 km out to sea, waiting for them to join us again at Parsons beach.

Looking for a place to land

Leaving Parsons beach, we realised that landing at Tunkalilla beach with this size swell would be very difficult. There were two options, Callawonga and Ballaparudda beaches, just prior to reaching Tunkalilla. Arriving at Ballaparudda, the closest, 23km from Victor Harbor, it looked quite manageable. We decided that this would be tonight’s camp.

Tresh, Gordon, and Pat successfully made the first landings. Then Karl, I, Giresh, and Phil attempted landing. All capsized in the difficult conditions. Phil’s kayak nosedived into the sand bar causing a fatal fracture in the bow. The kayak was then swept into the rocks on the western shore. All in all, with four in the water it was a disastrous landing attempt. No one was hurt and all gear was salvaged beside the fatally damaged kayak.

Thoughts were with Phil as he had planned the expedition and now, he would have to abandon after only one day on the water.

With Karl’s local knowledge, he managed to wrangle access for his daughter, Sahara to drive down the beach through paddocks to extract Phil and Pat and their kayaks the following morning. Once things settled down, a comfortable campsite was established, and much discussion of the days adventures was had around the campfire.

Day 2, Saturday – Ballaparudda Beach to Pink Bay via The Pages

North Pages

With a healthy respect for Ballaparudda’s sandbar, the remaining paddlers said their farewells to Phil and Pat and headed out through the surf zone one at a time, Tresh leading.

Within 30 min all were out and prepared for the 16km paddle to North Pages Island in calm conditions with virtually no wind. We were heading slightly east of the islands to counter the flooding tide which worked perfectly, paddling in a tight group, and chatting, we headed south. The closest island was reached in 3 hours and there was a reasonable swell running. A fishing boat was anchored nearby, and we explored the lee of a barren, guano covered, granite island. Australian Sea Lions, screaming Gannets and Terns greeted us, this is a wild place!

Heading around the eastern side to the southern islands, we encountered clapotis waves which kept us very alert. As we paddled between the islands, large boils were appearing indicating submerged bombies. Not a place to hang around. The southern island had a lighthouse and tower. It seemed smaller but just as inhospitable. There is meant to be a place to land on one of the islands, but it was not obvious. A quick feed and discussion and we then headed to Cape Willoughby, 16km away.

To Cape Willoughby

For the first hour we had amazing conditions, blue sky and oily seas and paddling with a flood tide, 7 kph was a comfortable pace. We noticed the tide was drawing us towards Antechamber Bay and on this course, we were potentially going to run into a dangerous shoal called “The Scraper”. Gordon made the decision to head for Cape St Albans. The sea and wind picked up as we got closer to St Albans. We were then working hard against the flood tide to try to get to the cape. The tide was about to change but we were fighting a strong current. My computer was telling me we were not making much headway.

Once we got close to Cape St Albans the tide went slack and we had a beautiful 4km paddle along the cliffs to Pink Bay in the late afternoon. A 16km paddle turned into 24km taking 4.5 hours.

Pink Bay is paradise! (don’t tell anyone). Camp was set and I found out that I had left my tent poles and pegs back at the previous camp. Ben Weigl joined us, paddling from Cape Jervis to Pink Bay in 4.5 hours. He, Tresh, and Karl were going to leave us and explore the south coast of KI the following day, Giresh, Gordon, and I were heading to Antechamber Bay. A beach campfire rounded out a big eventful day.

Day 3, Sunday Pink Bay to Antechamber Bay

Pink Bay from Gazebo

We bid farewell to Tresh, Karl, and Ben at 9am the next morning and we went for a walk to Cape Willoughby. From the lighthouse we could see the trio sailing towards Cape Hart, an awesome sight.

We spent a leisurely morning exploring the lighthouse and surrounds returning to camp for lunch and a departure to Antechamber Bay by 1pm to catch the end of the flood tide. It was nice to have a bit of a rest day and only a couple of hours on the water. Passing Cape St Albans was exciting with lots of turbulence and at times travelling with the flood tide at up to 9.5 kmph. An awesome beach camp was made in Antechamber Bay on a glorious afternoon. A walk up the river and through the campground then back along the beach was the end to another perfect day.

Day 4, Monday – Antechamber Bay to Second Valley

Steam rises from the sea at sunrise, Antechamber Bay

Phil had contacted us and had decided to paddle down to Cape Jervis (from Second Valley), wait for us and complete the final leg together. The tide was due to flood at 10.30am. Gordon recommended that we head off at 9am and get as far across Backstairs Passage before the flood tide kicked in and assist us to Cape Jervis and beyond.

The sea was like a mill pond and the first 2.5 hours were a dream. But nothing is ever that easy. 8km from Cape Jervis, a 15kt (27km) northerly head wind blew against the flood tide. The sun was in our eyes and the sea was a crazy mess. It was a tough 1-hour + slog to the shelter of Cape Jervis. It felt like we were not moving but with the flood tide we were easily travelling at over 7kph and at one stage at 10.5kph. What a relief it was to paddle into the harbour and meet Phil, who was lounging on the beach in glorious sunshine. A stark contrast to where we had been.

After a 1-hour break, we headed around the corner and into the gulf. The plan was to camp on Morgan’s beach or a smaller one further north but because of the long weekend, Morgan’s was crowded with car campers. So, we decided to press on and with light winds, sunshine and a following tide, paddling cannot be better.

Because of the high tide the second beach option was not suitable, so decided to press on to Second Valley. We landed at 5.30pm on a balmy evening, finishing the expedition with the final night spent in Giresh’s holiday shack. Perfect.