Day 2 @ Yambuk

We woke to a damp grey morning, the wind is still blowing but not as strong as yesterday.  During the night there was a little rain but I think we all slept through alot of it so we have no idea how much rain fell!

Despite the grey clouds the sun did pop out now and then and it was considerably warmer than yesterday!

We looked at the map of the lake last night and we realised that where we tried to cut through yesterday where it was shallow would have taken us through to the other side of the lake.  Looking at the view of the lake from the lookout we could see that too.

We started out around 10.15am and since the wind is still blowing from the same direction - south we had a good tail wind going up the lake ....

 before I forget - we are using your 'hoko' Ray

 there is plenty of birdlife on this lake - no ducks at the moment (I suspect they may have been scared off or shot during hunting season the other weekend!)

 Neil is trying out a few fashionable designs for his head gear on this trip!

 it is a bandana under a cap look - Kouta looks away in disgust and embarassment!
Here is Neil scaring off a flock of birds ...

 We wanted to find the mouth of the Eumeralla river and go up it a bit but weren't sure how far it was but it was easy to find if we stuck to the left side of the lake when going north ...

 it is a lovely narrow river and once on it it was considerably calmer than the lake.  When it came time to having a cuppa we couldn't find anywhere to land so we did the next best thing and that was launch ourselves into the long reeds that are either side of the river ...

 my kayak wouldn't stay put so Neil had to hold it while I made the cuppas ...

 not long after this photo was taken my kayak moves, knocks my thermos onto my cup of coffee which in turn spilt all in the kayak and to make matters worse I went to rinse my sponge out to clean the mess up and I loose it while squeezing it out in the water and it gets stuck under the kayaks, so Neil prepares to get his sponge and eventually my kayak moves and up pops my sponge ... I set about cleaning up the mess and I end up drifting up stream!
at this point it has taken us around 55mins to get to our cuppa point, knowing that we have a solid headwind getting back we decide to go back.  It was easy going to the mouth of the river...

once in the lake it is another matter, water is going everywhere - poor kouta is wet from the spray from the paddles and is not enjoying himself at all!  The going is hard but the arms are remarkably strong and we find it easier than what we had anticipated.  We get back and it has only taken us 70mins to get back following the same route we took up.
Tomorrow we pack up and make our way to Nelson.  As this week progresses the wind is suppose to get lighter!

Day 1 @ Yambuk

Today we woke to a very grey dull day in Colac and it had been raining last night and this morning it was a very light misty rain from Colac to Camperdown and then the showery weather stopped for the rest of the way to Yambuk.

We left around 9.30am and stopped off at Warrnambool for some bread and a few bits and pieces as well as a top up for fuel.  

A few caravaners going in the opposite direction to us but otherwise the traffic wasn't heavy.  There was a very strong southerly wind (tending from the west) today and when we got to Yambuk just on lunch it was blowing a gale!  It was still grey and cold.

Set up the tent in the unpowered section which is on a slope but the tent is pretty flat!  We have a sensational view of Yambuk lake and are a little closer to the water compared to where the powered sites are ...

 our view looking northwards ...

 had a late lunch and then decided to go for a paddle despite the raging winds - probably around 25km per hour.  So we set up the trolleys for the kayaks, chucked Kouta in Neils and walked down to the lake ... that Kouta he really has the life!

there are quite a few spots to launch from and if you look at the kayaks you can see they are angling to the right - we didn't put them in like that - the wind is blowing left to right (of the photo) and is pushing them that way and so the waves on the lake are also flowing left to right.

 we head out and decide to go to the mouth of the river as it is more sheltered compared to the rest of the lake ... the sand dunes shelter the water from the howling winds coming off the ocean.

 as you can see it looks pretty calm here ...

it is  not far to the river mouth and the tide is out as there is sand between us and the ocean!

on the way back you get a good view of the look out and giant slide - this slide is quite popular and every now and then you get a disturbance of the peace and tranquility when someone goes down it!

 so around the corner from the slide we pass by where we launched the boats and if you look at the water you can see it is a little rough - but when this photo is taken the wind is behind us ...

 and it is really pushing us along - no need to paddle.
We can see the giant windmills from the campsite but you are even closer to them when you pass by them on the lake ...

 We are heading north of the lake and we are  not sure where the Shaw and Eumeralla rivers are will have to google them.  We thought we came to some turn off and could see water and birds ahead ... alas when I tried to go through it was very shallow and the rudder had to come up and the wind was so strong I couldn't control the kayak let alone paddle through the shallow water!  So we turned around to come back and boy was that hard!  It is a very strong head wind and we didn't do that bad coming back - figured out it is best to tackle the waves head on (rather than at an angle) and have the kayak perpendicular or bisecting the wave - I found I went alot faster and didn't drift towards the short much!  I did manage to get a photo out in the middle of the lake of our tent spot!

 relieved to get back we decided to beach the kayaks just below where the tent is and off course Kouta gets a free ride back ... this time in my kayak!

tomorrow we are here and will try to make it to Eumeralla river - I think the wind is here for the rest of the week!

Boot Camp day 7 Tuesday

Our final day of paddling here at Lakes Entrance today so we left this morning around 9am.  It is a very cloudy day with absolutely no wind when we started out ... the complete opposite to yesterday! 

We decided to have a go at going up the narrows since it is flat calm so here is where we are going ...

just past the bridge is the entrance to the narrows which if you turn right you go up and around to Paynesville .... if you turn left you will most probably end up out in the ocean as the sea entrance is not far from there, here is Neil approaching the entrance to the narrows ...

 the 2 signs warn you of swift currents just behind the rocks and I suppose on a day like yesterday we could have tried it and made it to Tasmania with the flow and wind blowing!

 but since it was dead calm we went out and it is so deep! and we headed north wards and it was so calm and peaceful! I would imagine on Saturday it would have been busy!

 we went up as far as Kalimna pier, beached ourselves and let Kouta run around.  The arms we a little tired due to yesterdays hard slog  and it wasn't until on our way back agains the outflowing tide that I really began to feel the past 6 days worth of kayaking!
I thought since I am out in the narrows that I would take advantage and take a photo of the quite narrow sea entrance  into Lakes Entrance ... I can imagine the currents would be horrendous especially at the change of tides!

once at the bridge and we were on the home straight I had to keep stopping to give the arms a little rest and boy were they really tired especially between the shoulder blades so it was with relief that we got back to camp!
Since it was early we decided to wash down the kayaks and pack a few things away in the hope that we will leave early tomorrow!

Boot camp days 5 & 6 Sunday and Monday

sort of skipped yesterday as I seem to be repeating myself everyday ... Kayaking is even more mundane to report on than cycle touring!  No real episodes or happenings really ... maybe we need to deliberately capsize ourselves so I have something to put on the blog!

Below is a photo of the campsite we are on ... I couldn't remember if I posted a photo or not 

 Sunday was a very cold and drizzly start so we weren't sure if we were going to go kayaking, the wind was blowing so it was a little choppy out on the water.  By early afternoon the sun came out and the wind died down so we headed up the north arm again ... the other day we thought we went to the end but  we could continue on so we are not quite sure if it is a river and how far up it goes .... it is not clear on the google maps and it looks like it just dead ends on all maps we have looked at.
I have to mention we have a little routine when launching the kayaks ... actually it is Koutas routine really.  He doesn't seem as enthused about kayaking as he is with cycling .... with cycling he trots up to the trailer and jumps in, with kayaking it is something along these lines ... first we drag the kayaks down to the water, kouta follows to the edge of the grass and waits and watches, Neil turns around and heads back to get this paddle so Kouta sprints back to the annexe of the tent waiting for the door to magically open, meanwhile Neil has picked up his paddle and is now going to get Kouta, Kouta is trying to hide in the annexe but is not very successful .... here he is in Neils arms walking back to the kayaks ...

 Neil walks in the water while holding Kouta and automatically Koutas legs begin to doggy paddle (so we like to call it air doggy paddle!) and continues to do so until he is in the basket, he then settles and waits for us to get in and paddle off!
This happens everytime we go out paddling!
Here is a nice quiety photo of Neil kayaking ...

 Monday is a lot better, the sun is out shining and the wind starts out weak but soon picks up, we decide to go around to the esplanade and up to the pedestrian bridge again but the wind is picking up and is forecasted to be around 20knots while we paddle which means we will have 2 legs where we will have strong headwinds.

 It was okay going down to the bridge but once we got to the Cunninghame arm we were paddling into a very strong wind and there was some very choppy water out there.  We pulled over just before the bridge for a break and something to eat ... you can see Lakes Entrance township in the background ...

 the wind was very strong that Neil had to remove his hat as it kept blowing off.

going back down the Cunninghame arm was okay and it was very hard once in the the north arm going back to camp ... we were relieved to get back.  Although it is a good strenthening excercise for us these strong winds and the arms while weary weren't ready to give in so we must be getting stronger!
Tomorrow we might venture right of the bridge and go up the narrows a bit for our last day of kayaking.

Boot camp Saturday day 4

Oh the arms felt it by the end of todays journey!  A cool night according to everyone in there caravans but we both slept like logs and didn't feel cold at all ... it seems that the more valuable the caravan the less they spend on a good doona ... a down doona would go a looooooong way in a caravan to keeping them warm!

So todays plan was to go down, under and around to the other side of Lakes Entrance to the Esplanade and have some fish and chips for lunch ... estimating it would take us just on an hour to get there by kayak (ironically we could have walked to the fish and chip shop in less than 10 mins!)

We head off and again it is a very calm day, hardly any wind at the time and a few boats here and there.  It is not until we get closer to the bridge that we encounter recreational boats so we slip over to the right hand side only to come back again to the left just before the bridge ...

 getting to where the fishermans co-op is we decide to go down on the right hand side of the Cunninhame arm where there is very few boats moored and it is predominantly beach.  So paddling along and again it is lovely and sunny and we decide to take a break in a little bay and beach ourselves ...

 by now we can see boats coming up and down this arm and there is a speed boat towing some rubber thing with kids in it and then they switch over to someone water skiing.  So we continue on and battle through the waves they create to get to the pedestrian bridge ...

 we then decide to go back to our beach spot and cross over there to the other side, personally I would have preferred to cross over here at the bridge but Neil seemed reluctant to go on the other side where all the boats are moored ... so we go back and this speed boat is going up and down and we finally get to cross and beach ourselves just up from the fish and chip shop .... I tell you it was lovely fish and chips ... the chips were so crispy!

 Originally we had planned to return to the other side of the Cunninghame arm and go back down to our turning point at bullock island but I said it was safer to stay on this side (right side now) with all these moored boats as it seems to be bedlam out in the arm .... and it was a good decision as all boats going out stayed on the left and all boats coming in stayed on their right! LOL not quite sure what goes on we regard to that so we were perfectly safe going in and out of the piers with the moored boats as no one was going anywhere and when they did move the moved very slowly.

So at our turning point we duck up the quiet estuary which comes to a T junction and we wait to join the flow going up the north arm just before the bridge and it is like peak hour.  Most boats are small but there was a large speed boat (not going fast at all) passing in front of us as we were merging and it created 2 big waves and we got over the first wave but the second came up and over our front and poured into where my legs were so I quickly unplugged the plugs to let the water out but too late I was saturated ... I hate having a wet bum!  so we got under the bridge and pull over so I can bail out some of the water that is in my compartment where I keep my box of knick knacks ... I must remember to carry a bailing container with me from now on!
From here it is a straight run to the campground ... the wind is blowing from a south east so it is a head wind and now I can feel it between the shoulder blades but still manage to paddle on knowing that I am sure to experience worse discomfort in the future so I might as well get over it and paddle!
Todays paddle was around 2 hours in total with a 30min lunch break ... not bad.

Boot Camp Friday day 3

We all had a good nights sleep last night .... Kouta is on his steroids for his allergies with the Kooch grass (Kouta is a bit like you Mum the day after you started chemo when you took your first steroid ... full of beans and bouncing around ... great that is all we need a 100 plus (in human years) year old dog prancing around feeling like a teenager exactly like you mum!)

Anyway we had 10 hours solid sleep and woke this morning to a very grey dull day and the wind was blowing from the south west so it had bite to it.  We piled on all our warm clothes and walked down the esplanade to warm up.

We got back at 10 and decided to head out as they forecasted a wind change and for it to get a little stronger this afternoon so by the time we headed out the wind wasn't blowing as strong and if it did pick  up we would be okay as we decided to head up to the of the north arm ...

 We both felt okay and the arms we going strong

 unfortunately the kangaroos that we normally see while cycling have been replaced with shags and pelicans!

 as you progress up the north arm you are sheltered from any wind coming from the west and so the water was very calm and the paddling was easy ... enough to get a selfie!

 We got back just on 12 and managed to do just under 2 hours of paddling we were very chuffed with ourselves.
By now the sun was beginning to shine and there was no wind to speak of, the water was very calm and it stayed like that for the most of the afternoon.  The wind did swing to the south east but it was light so we decided to have an early dinner and head out again this time down to the bridge and back again ...

 it took less than an hour but a nice way to end the day ...

 on our way back you pass by where alot of boats are moored and also where the birdlife settle for the night ...

 at nearly every mooring pole you can guarantee there will be a pelican procariously perched on the top of it settling in the for the night ...

I think even Kouta was wishing this one would fall in as he passed by it!
Tomorrow we will paddled around to the township to somewhere near the footbridge and all going well even a little further.  There we will have fish and chips for lunch and make our way back again.