It was great to get this paddle underway. It will hopefully lead to the resumption of our regular monthly recreational paddles. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Chris, Ned, George, Therese and myself gathered at Lismore and drove to Lawrence where we met Clay and Greg who made their own way to the weir on Weir Road, Lawrence.
There were some delays and we didn’t get on the water till about 10 am. We proceeded upstream and appeared to follow the main creek in a left direction. Unfortunately this proved to be the wrong direction as the water soon shallowed. We soon had to turn around and take the seemingly smaller fork to the right side which was the main channel. We encountered water lilies on the creek surface. The lily covering became increasingly thick but it was possible to push through them. Some of our party became tired because of the heat and the energy taken up by the detour. Others pushed a bit further upstream and lunched in a wooded area. As the day was getting increasingly hotter we turned around, paddled back to join the others and then back to the weir.
The highlight of the day was the bird life. Greg said he marvelled looking at 2 sea eagles who circled for 20 minutes and had totem pole like patterns underneath. Therese remarked on 2 swans that she observed. Chris liked the smell and lilies and Ned liked paddling through them.
I was disappointed that we didn’t get as far up the creek as I wanted to. The late start, amount of water lily covering and heat of the day was against us. We asked some locals at the Lawrence Tavern about the lilies and other put in places for Sportsman’s Creek. We were told that it is easier to make your way through the weed in winter and a kayak can be launched from the Summerland Way end of the creek and paddle in a downstream direction. So I would like to scout this creek out again in winter before possibly leading a group downstream from the Summerland Way Bridge.
