Macquarie Harbour Canoe Paddle 1999
Synopsis
The trip left from Strahan, at the beach just down from the Police Station.
We paddled along the eastern shore of Macquarie Harbour, stopping to have a look at the King River. Then continuing onto Sophia Point to Camp for the first night.
Day 2 continued along the eastern shore, stopping to have a look at Philips island. Planned to camp at Braddon River but the hut was to dirty so we moved on. We paddled/sailed into and around Farm Cove and then into Kelly basin to camp at Pillinger.
Day 3 was spent exploring Pillinger.
Day 4 we continued south to the Gordon River. We paddled up the Gordon River stopping for lunch at Pine Landing. After lunch we continued up the Gordon River stopping to have a look at Heritage Landing. We intended to camp at Eagle Creek but could not find the beach in the rain and mist so we continued on to Warners Landing (Gould Landing on the map) This was the longest day (arriving at the hut at 10:00pm).
Day 5 was a lay day but we did walk to St John's Falls.
Day 6 We started to paddle up the the Franklin River but the current was very strong so we started back down the river, this time we found the Eagle Creek camp. It was well hidden under the rain forest trees.
Day 7 We continued down the Gordon River and across the southern shore of Macquarie Harbour to camp at the mouth of Birchs Inlet.
Day 8 We paddled/sailed south along Birchs Inlet. At the southern end of Birchs Inlet we tried to find the bird sanctuary. We initially paddled up the wrong river (Sorell River) but we met the caretakers of the sanctuary and they put us right. We paddled up Birchs River to the sanctuary. After having a look around we returned to Birchs Inlet and camped on the eastern shore about half way along.
Day 9 We continued north and out of Birchs Inlet and on to Grummet and Sarah Islands.
Day 10 We continued along the south western shore of Macquarie Harbour, camping in Betsys Bay
Day 11. We had intended to cross Hells gates and paddle into Strahan but the weather turned and we had to pull ,into Elizabeth Island for some 12 hours until the weather improved. Elizabeth Island was not the best spot to stay, it is very scrubby and has no water. We left the island at 7:30pm to continue the paddle but the weather turned again and we had to camp at Neck Island ( 11:00pm cold, wet and tired)
Day 12 We continued sailing into Strahan, arriving back at the car at 10:30am