Just spent an enjoyable couple of days paddling a section of the Nymboida River down near Grafton (from Buccarumbi to Jackadgery for those who want to know these things).  We had 13 blokes in a mixture of canoes and kayaks (total 9 boats) and though water levels were a bit low, enjoyed a good weekend together.

Saturday was an epic 11 hour epic – we paddled 34 km and finished the last couple of hours in darkness – including dragging boats through rapids in pitch black conditions.  Never have I been so pleased to reach a campsite!  We camped by the Junction of the Nymboida and Mann rivers in a beautiful spot by a wide bend in the river and surrounded by mountains.  Sunday was a more leisurely 10 km and we were out and on our way home by early afternoon – arriving back in Boonah at about 6pm.

The section of the Nymboida we paddled was mostly grade 1 and 2 rapids, with an occasional grade 3 and couple of bigger borderline grade 4 sections including New Zealand Falls (a drop of about 7 feet) and another technical section – Cundlebung – which included a 6 foot drop and some tight technical turns.  I managed to break my boat on an earlier rapid, so had to portage both those biggish drops for fear of actually snapping it in half.  Some of the rapids were relatively small and straight, others a bit bigger and required some careful navigation mid-rapid.  Everything was pretty “bony” due to the low water levels – so we spent a fair bit of time pinballing through the rocks on our way down.

I managed to get through the weekend with only two “unplanned swims” through rapids of various sizes, so came home relatively unscathed – just a few bumps and bruises and some very, very sore and tired arms and shoulders.

I paddled a Coleman Ram X – a plastic Canadian canoe which uses aluminium tubes to provide bracing for the hull.  We hung it up on a rock in one of the more difficult rapids and badly bent one of the braces. We tried to straighten it – but succeeded only in cracking the tube – so we taped and braced it as best we could and continued. A similar incident in a later rapid caused the brace to break right through – so we had a pretty sick and slow boat by the time we reach the end.  We also had a couple of guys paddling a Caption which coped well despite being filled with water and wrapped around a boulder banana style. It popped back into shape ok and continued with a minimum of damage. The third type of cane was made of a material called Royalex. The boat proved hardy but a little less stable than the others – so the boys in the Royalex met the water a little more often.  Kayak wise we had 5 boats, with a mixture of Dagger, Perception and Overflow boats.  The going was generally easier for the kayakers with water levels definitely on the low side for the canoes.

All of the kayaks successfully paddled both Cundlebung and New Zealand Falls, while at both spots two canoe crews made the attempt. One made it through the upper part of Cundlebung (including the big drop), but not the lower, while both crews came unstuck in the boiling water at the bottom of New Zealand falls.  We had various other capsizes mostly due to missing the right line, or just not being able to make the turns tight enough to avoid rocks at the low water level.  Nobody got hurt – which is always a good thing.

We took some great photos and video – and in a week or two once we compile it all and I get a copy I’ll post a few images for your enjoyment.