Crocodiles and waterfalls PADDLING THE HERBERT RIVER
I had written the dates into my calendar way back in December, just hoping the stars would align, but by early April chances of a lap on the Herbert were looking slim. Paddling mates from down south were non-committal or injured, and a solo mission, while somewhat enticing, just wouldn’t be the same.
After watching the level drop for several months (didn’t have much else to do after the road up to the Tully River was washed away in massive floods, leaving myself and a handful of other river guides fun-employed through March and April) finally by the end of April the Herbert was entering its Goldilocks Zone – not too high, not too low. Just right is a 1.6-1.7 by the Gleneagle Gauge. Then, like magic, a crew of paddlers came out of the woodwork for the exact weekend I had prophesied months earlier. At 8pm Friday night I was plucked from the side of the highway by Jeff and Mark whom I had only ever met when passing eddies. Getting to know each other on the road, we rocketed up into the mountains arriving to the take-out (Blencoe Falls Lookout) around midnight. Most of us quickly found a warm nook in which to sleep (under the car, next to the car, in the car and a couple of us even went to the trouble of setting up tents). The next morning we awoke to a stunning sunrise and the unhappy discovery of how far below us lay
