The starting point

The starting point

Sunday, 4 February 2018

30/1/18 Glenreagh & Orara paddle

 Having moved south from Grafton to Glenreagh , we stopped for a few days at the rec grounds and decided to have a look around . We arrived just as the skies opened up and dumped a heap of rain , so we sat and waited for 20mins or so till the rain stopped before setting up and having lunch .
 After lunch we headed out to have a look around , crossing the Orara River to find the railway tracks for the Sydney to Brisbane trains . There was an old station and water tank , but not much else .


 This is the bridge over the river .


Stopping at the park beside the river we found some steps down to a small platform - used for swimming purposes . The river looked good , clean water , turtles and nice reflections .


Looking up & down the river , we were thinking that this would be great for a paddle - tomorrows task !!


















  Massive Blue Gums lined the banks at the park , a lot of the trees on the river banks were covered in vines , the rest of the banks were covered in dense foliage , a beautiful sight .
  We then drove around to Nana Glen and found another road that followed the river on the eastern side taking us to Coramba . From there we headed back to Glenreagh . The drive took us through the river valley, country that would have been dairy country previously , but know populated by horses and some beef cattle . There were also areas that were growing plants under netting - not sure what they were though?
 Arriving back at the rec ground it was time for a quiet beer .


   After a great sleep , this place is seriously quiet !!! we got organised and headed down to the river & unloaded the kayak and dragged it down the steep bank to the river , the anticipation was growing .
 Slipping quietly along under the road bridge , then around another turn we came across the rail bridge !! quite unexpected - apparently it was used for timber transport back in the day - it hasn't had strain over it for many years - sleepers were rotten and many missing .


 We were expecting many trees and logs in the river , with access in some places very restricted , some trees were right across the river , some you could go under , others we had to get out and drag the kayak over - there were 4 complete blockages that we had to get out and drag over during our paddle - so that was 8 all up . There was some wildlife , not as many birds as we expected , some flying foxes in a small colony in between the road and old rail bridges . The scenery was stunning and this was one of our most enjoyable paddles . Here's some of the stunning scenery .





 This next one is great when you turn your screen 90 degrees - you can see a mask in the middle , arms & legs - try it !!




 Here's some of our obstacles .







 We scared a green tree snake at one of the obstacles , and found this rather large python when we were nearly back at the road bridge - look closely for it , it's only about 3.5m long !!!


 You can also see it had a large stomach - probably a flying fox that fell out of the trees above - the python wasn't interested in anything or anyone , it didn't move at all while we paddled past - probably a food coma !!
  We finished off the paddle with a swim / cool down , before dragging the kayak back up the hill and loading back onto the ute . What a great day we've had !!
 Here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hHLB9hcsO2lWX8na4bpDURK8pbxzns_t&usp=sharing

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