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Craig

Mark, fantastic trip and a beautiful video. Thanks for sharing it with us. Just watched your AAWT video, truly inspiring. Brought back a few memories for me, as I walked the track solo a couple of months before you two did your traverse. Great to see you had the support of your family during the tri...

Craig

Depends what you are after; packraft specific trips (ie walk in, paddle out) or just general paddling (using car shuffles). For the latter have a look at the Paddle Australia website, there are plenty of options for both single and multi-day trips. Packraft specific trips are only limited by your im...

Craig

The thought of a crossing hadn't even entered my mind Darren! Must be getting less adventurous in my old age. We were thinking about going for 3 day jaunt around the Prom this weekend but I don't think I can spare the time off work unfortunately. Btw I'm loving the look of that pourover rapid with t...

Craig

Well that makes two of us who with fingernail injuries from Sunday! I lost a decent chunk of mine yesterday whilst sea kayaking in the surf at Barwon Heads. Got trashed by a monster wave, with the end damage report being a bent rudder, snapped paddle leash, broken rudder cable and the missing chunk ...

Craig

I reckon with an extra 100-200mm it would be ideal for skill development Darren. At the level it was at on Sunday it was great fun, but there wasn't enough volume going through the rapids to try different lines or manoeuvre etc. Incidentally we never felt in any danger on the way down; the rapids we...

Craig

Hi Haydn, we dropped in at Four Mile Hill as the extra couple of km down from the bridge would have taken a long time with the low levels. Blog post is up, see here: http://paucifloraadventures.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/eucumbene-river-packrafting.html Also, I did a paddle on the Saturday through Clar...

Craig

Yep it was a great paddle, thanks Steve for organising it all. The top gauge was at 5.11 when I drove past on Sunday afternoon, so it was ultra low volumes. Made for good fun though, as it was tight and technical. We ran everything that was runnable and had fun seal launching off the smooth granite ...

Craig

Welcome Haydn! It's great to hear there are a few more packrafters in Victoria.

I will be organising some group paddles down here this winter when the rivers pick up again.

Craig

Thanks! I'm in Bendigo. Whitewater is a bit scarce close to home, so us locals have to head east for our fix!

Craig

I'm still keen Steve. The Goobarragandra, Tooma and Indi gauges have all come up today so there's definately water around. I can swing past the Euc gauge on Saturday and see how it's looking. If it's waaaay too low then we can always head elsewhere; explore a bit more of the Thredbo, or even have a ...

Craig

A few months ago I used a conventional raft repair glue to attach extra grab loops to my raft. The glue would probably be fine for repairs/patches, but I'm not going to use it again in load bearing areas, as one of my loops is starting to peel at the edges. It seems that not all urethane glues are t...

Craig

Check out eBay Steve and look for sellers from China, that's where I got mine from. Try here for example: http://stores.ebay.com.au/shakoo-watersports-store My top is branded 'Marine' but is exactly the same as a Palm Equipment top, at less than a third of the price. I'd say they come out of the sam...

Craig

Sweet, it was a great paddle and I'm keen to head back there once the temperature drops and the rivers start flowing

The video puts the Kluger's location into perspective

Craig

Will hopefully be coming up from Victoria for the Eucumbene, so if anyone else down here is interested then let me know and we can sort something out with transport. My plan is to head over Friday night and do something on the Saturday, be it packrafting, walking or otherwise :) With regard to other...

Craig

Good stuff Ross. The riverside vegetation looks interesting, nice trees. Most of the rivers I paddle seem to be infested with blackberries!

Craig

Thanks Ross.

Fishdejour wrote:We should hook up and do the Eucumbene soon whilst it is a little warmer?

Yes definitely! We'll have to wait for a drop of rain though. Wish the Snowy Hydro gauges were publicly accessible, would make trip planning much easier.

Craig

Thanks Steve. There were a few signs of fish on the way down, and apparently there is no shortage of eels in the river, if you're into that sort of thing.

Craig

Thanks mate. There's nothing as satisfying as lugging big loads and covering long distances. All the sissys who only do day trips are missing out

Craig

Went for a bit of a walk and paddle after Christmas, from the top of Australia to the ocean. It was my first decent expedition with the packraft, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuNLWMAUsE8/TxAAkex6awI/AAAAAAAAAE4/jKzlZbI_9P8/s400/P1040726.jpg See my blog for t...

Craig

Trip went well Darren, pulled the raft out of the water yesterday afternoon and arrived home an hour or so ago. Did it a lot quicker than expected, which is nice. Once I've sorted out the gear I'll knock together a trip report and upload some photos, give it a couple of days.

Craig

Bloody hell Darren! Have been thinking about how you've been going every day since I left, and now I come back to civilisation to find you down & out after only a day or two! At least it was a genuine combat wound inflicted whilst battling the elements, much better than being stuck in bed with a col...

Craig

Amazing videos Mark, great editing & tunes. I reckon your Snowy River excursion would have been the first ever ski-raftaneering trip in Australia!

Craig

Looks great Darren, perfect way to spend an afternoon. Wish I had paddling like that so close to home.

Craig

Arrrrgh, no pics, sorry Darren! I usually head down with a mate or two, but they're surfing at the same time I am (albeit on boards). The raft catches waves so easily that often you'll be trying to get out past the break and end up getting caught in a wave, dragging you back to shore. Every time you...

Craig

I've been using mine in the salt water a bit too, always in the surf though (mostly down at Ocean Grove). It's great fun, they catch the waves really easily. A good substitute for 'proper' whitewater when the nearby rivers aren't high enough.

Craig

Nice looking water there Darren. Must admit I'm guilty of the same rapid a couple of times before moving on, it's so easy to portage with the packraft

Craig

Beautiful stretch of river there Chris, nice easy access too

Just out of curiosity, did you find you were using different paddle strokes in the packraft? I've been wondering if high & low braces would be useful in our little rafts?

Craig

Some lovely photos there Darren. The scenery looks good enough to justify the 1km of agonising flatwater

What breed is the budget packraft, and how does it compare size-wise to the Llama?

Craig

A bit of general advice on looking for rivers to paddle in. There are two main factors I look at; catchment and gradient. Minimum catchment sizes will depend on your area, rainfall, topography, dams etc. In alpine areas if the river has about 100km2 of catchment then it will probably be paddleable a...

Craig

Hi Darren, grades vary depending on where you put in. From Jindabyne down to the Delegate/Maclaughlin River area is apparently quite feisty, but only paddleable when they're doing a release from the dam (such as at the moment). Between the Delegate River and around the park boundary there are two wa...

Craig

Yep I'm out here Steve, just busy with work. The Indi (Upper Murray) is packraftable from Leather Barrell Creek down to Murray Gates trail (north of Tom Groggin). Below this it enters the Murray Gates, which is some pretty fearsome whitewater (Grade 4). Having paddled it in a raft there's no way I'd...

Craig

I'm out for the 22/23 Steve, got an engagement party that weekend. November is looking pretty full up for me too, so will have to let you blokes enjoy the snowmelt on your own.

Craig

I'm keen for the Tooma. The road opens on October 3, so how does the 8th/9th sound? Spent a bit of time thinking about other rivers today, it really depends how far we want to drive. The Yarrangobilly and the Eucumbene are the closest two that come to mind. If there's enough water I'd love to paddle...

Craig

Yep it was a great weekend, thanks for organising it Steve. It was good to meet some fellow packrafters in the wild, particularly such good company. It was worth doing the lower Thredbo just to see the trout, the water was swarming with them! The Indi went well, the level was 0.9m at Biggara. Plenty...

Craig

Agree that it's better to decide on Sunday's paddle after seeing how we perform on Saturday. The longer paddle appeals to me more, mainly because the walk in will warm up the wetsuit :) If you've got a spare bit of floor area on Saturday night then I'm happy to stay with you guys, otherwise I'll cam...

Craig

12:30 suits me well, might be able to sneak in a quick ski in the morning :P We can make the paddle on Sunday as short or as long as we want, so a late start time is fine. The river will always be liquid ice regardless of the time of day. A run from the top end of the picnic area down to the take ou...

Craig

Sounds good Steve. What time do you want to meet up on Saturday?

Btw, does anyone happen to have a spare raft lying around (long shot, I know)? One of my mates would be interested in coming if he could borrow/hire some gear.

Craig

Steve, for the Indi (Upper Murray) you put in and take out in the vicinity of the Tom Groggin picnic area, around 25km west of Thredbo. There are two options for the put in; a 2km walk in from the Alpine Way on an old vehicle track, or put in at the southernmost point of the picnic area (accessible ...

Craig

Yeah and don't worry about paying park entry either, just ask for a transit pass at the gate as the NPWS ticket inspectors rarely venture past Thredbo.

The Tuross sounds pretty sweet if the level gets high enough. Where are the put in and take out points?

Craig

Usually the Khancocan to Cabramurra Road is closed until October, so access to the Tooma could be an issue?

Craig

I'm interested, depending on where you're going to paddle. There's some good water for beginners around Tom Groggin, it's easy to do multiple runs in a day there as the car shuffle is quite short. The Swampy Plains River through Devils Grip Gorge could be worthwhile, though I haven't paddled this be...

Craig

Got back from a paddle this afternoon and noticed some abrasions on the floor of my Yak. http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss62/craigdphotobucket/Summer%202011/PackraftFloor.jpg As you can see, the spot on the left has actually torn through, creating a small hole about 2mm in diameter. These abrasi...

Craig

That's a fantastic video Roman. Thanks for sharing it with us!

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