Macquarie Marshes - Part 5 - Day 2 on The Marshes

When we first started looking at what there is to see when you visit the Macquarie Marshes we came across the fact that you could go on a kayak tour.  That sounded rather lovely, so we decided to book.  Now, keep in mind, I have not been in a kayak ever and only once in a canoe - at Sport and Recreation Camp in sixth class in 1976…….. fifty years ago.  No worries, it says you just need moderate fitness and have to be over the age of 10.  Yes, I can do that.

We made sure we had our crocs for getting our feet wet getting into the kayak and had older clothes to wear.

Then, while at the camp site the previous day we were chatting to some people who had done the tour the previous day and they were talking about how they stayed an extra day to wash their clothes after they got quite muddy while wading through the mud dragging their kayaks!!!!! Say what???  There was nothing about that in the FAQ section.

We then had a chat to the organiser.  It turned out that there was a section on what to wear on the payment receipt.  It was in rather small print down the bottom and I had missed it.  It said to wear old sandshoes or reef shoes….. and not to wear crocs.  Well, Mick only had his crocs and his good walking boots.  I did have some sandshoes, but they were slip in ones.  Anyway, Mick’s crocs are not genuine crocs and do have a very tight heel strap, so he said he would muddle with them and to make sure mine didn’t get sucked off, Mick would wrap gaffer tape tightly around them.  It would have to do.

The previous day had been quite cool and windy and the people we spoke to said how cold they all were by the end of the tour.

As a result of this I was extremely anxious and seriously considered pulling out.  However, Mick encouraged me to still give it a go.

The tour has a maximum of four people and there were another lovely couple with us.  As it turned out, she too was rather anxious about the tour.

Fortunately for us, the day dawned still, so we hoped for warmer weather.

We arrived at our starting point in the early morning, just beside the Monkeygar Bird Hide and were kitted up with our life jacket and kayak.

We all managed to get ourselves in and started to paddle out into a lovely lagoon.

There were lots of pelicans and ducks.

We ended up having perfect weather and felt very lucky to have chosen this particular day for the tour.

There was a whistling kite nest in one of the trees.

We were in private property at this stage and started to leave the lagoon and head into the reed beds.  There was actually quite a current in places and we all ended up crashing into the reeds at times.  We learned to just stop paddling and the current would take us backwards and we could have another go at going in the right direction.

Eventually, we came to a barbed wire fence where we had to hop out of out kayaks and climb through the fence.  We were then in the Nature Reserve.

This is where we had to start walking through knee deep water and mud, dragging our kayaks, for about 100 metres.   There was one spot where there was a definite step down.  It was all very slippery, so we took it quite slowly.

Once we reached the other end we hopped back into our kayaks and were paddling upstream in the creek itself, among the trees, rather than the reeds.  

This was the prettiest part of the trip.

We went so far, and then turned around and went back downstream the way we had come.  It was quicker and easier. Before we turned around, we were able to see an eagle nest in a tree.

Then we had to drag our kayaks back to the fence.  When we reached that area with the step in the water, I didn’t quite step far enough and slipped over.  Oh dear! There has to be one.  It was only water and mud and my phone didn’t get wet, as it was in the top pocket of the life jacket.  At least I was still smiling and laughed it off.

We then had to negotiate the reed beds again, this time with the current behind us, so a bit more tricky to disentangle ourselves when we invariably got stuck.

We had a group photo taken of us.

Finally, we were back to the lagoon, which was much easier paddling.

All up, we were on the water for about three hours. It was quite an experience and I felt rather proud to have done it, as it was very much out of my comfort zone, not being a lover of water at the best of times.

So, this is how I looked at the end of it.  As I said, it was just mud.

Obviously, we had to do a load of washing when we returned to camp.

We then had a nice lazy afternoon.  Mick cooked a camp oven roast, after which we spent a pleasant evening sitting around the camp fire chatting to the other couple who were with us on the tour.

Would I do it again?  Probably not, but am very glad we did it this time.

Macquarie Marshes - Part 4 - Day 1 of Exploring

We had three nights camped at Willie Retreat, so two days to explore the Macquarie Marshes and environs.

Firstly, we drove a little further down the dirt road that Willie Retreat was located on to see the Monkeygar bird watching platform located beside Monkeygar Creek.  

It is quite an impressive structure that has only recently been built, overlooking a large lagoon.

The road continues across to Quambone, but there are a few creek crossing that were too deep for us to traverse.

Back to the tar road, we continued to head north towards Carinda.  

We met a few cattle trucks.  As you can see there isn’t a great deal of room on the tar, so we got well off the road to give them space.

Our first stop was at Burrima Board Walk.  It had quite an impressive entrance.  The deal is, you pay $25 on line per car to enter and when you arrive you enter your allocated pin into the key pad to open the gate and then again when exiting. It was well worth the money.

This is on private property, as is much of the marshes.  A lot is grazed, but this property has had no grazing since 2005, when it was purchased by the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Trust.

There is a large parking area with picnic area and loos. 

From there you enter the board walk, which is well constructed from steel frames with concrete planks that really look like weathered timber.  

The cost of construction would have been immense, hence being happy to pay the entry fee…..I digress.  What do you see?

The boardwalk goes for about 2kms through the wetland.  

It fits around the trees as it goes.

It was so peaceful.  

The photos don’t do it justice.

There were lots of birds.

There weren’t as many wildflowers as I expected.  These are Wavey Marshwart.

And Swamp Buttercup.

We walked among the reeds for a long time.  Reed Warbler birds could be heard singing and occasionally spotted. 

You could get an overview from this elevated platform.

A rustle could be heard a few times and to our surprise it was wild pigs.  We saw a few running through the water.

You could see the damage they cause.

We also saw a few kangaroos splashing through the wetland.

I love how this tree has fallen over, but still has its root system going, as it has sprouted new growth out of the side of the trunk.

The brochure said you could spend about an hour and half.  Initially we thought we wouldn’t take that long, but in the end spent about two hours taking it all in.  A lovely place to visit at this time of year.

From here we were back on the road heading north.  We had to chuckle when you periodically see these signs. As if we hadn’t already been driving on the narrow road for over 100kms already.

Our next port of call was to be Carinda to get some lunch.  

We had to cross the Macquarie River again and were surprised to see that the area around Carinda was a big irrigation cotton farming area.  

Tractors could be seen working in the distance.

The town is tiny and so remote.  The road we came in on was the main one and all the others are dirt and all towns are about at least 100kms away.

As you come into town one of the first things you see is a mural on the side of the amenities in the Recreation Grounds featuring David Bowie.  Why David Bowie?

We planned to have lunch at the Carinda Hotel, as this is a rather famous pub.  

You see, this is the pub that features in the film clip of David Bowie’s song “Let’s Dance”.  Look it up on YouTube.  Apparently, the brief was that he wanted a country pub, situated on a crossroads with all the roads being dirt.  A scout was out looking for somewhere suitable and having no luck.  While sitting in a pub at Coonabarabran he was telling of his woes and a fellow told him that Carinda was where he needed to go, and the rest, as they say, is history.

There are life sized cut outs of David in the pub and you have to get your photo taken with one in front of the wall that features in the film clip.

The rest of the bar has been modernised.  We were served by a friendly German backpacker and ordered our lunch.  

I must say, the meals were excellent.  I had to have a “Bowie Burger” and Mick had a rump steak.  Definitely worth the drive.

They have a David Bowie Festival on the October long weekend, just after we were there.  It was advertised as being the final one this year, but has since been announced that it will return next year.

After lunch we had a little drive around the small town before heading back to our camp.  It really is a tiny place.  

They had a mini tornado go through town last year.  The pub lost its roof, as did several other buildings.  Some are still missing. The general store (not this building) has been permanently closed as a result.

Later, we were asked if we saw the police station and court house.  No, we didn’t.  Apparently, it is rather flash for this tiny, very remote town.  It is said to have been built here instead of Quirindi, by mistake.  As you guess, this is just an urban myth.

After our visit to Carinda, we just retraced our steps to our campsite to have a nice lazy afternoon.