If you have made a ‘faux’ pack raft (as here and here) as I have you will have had the same problem with the paddle. The cheap (Intex) rafts come with a set of oars which need to be converted into a double bladed paddle (which will fit in a canoe drum!) I tried several […]
The Lower Latrobe is a delight particularly like now when most of Gippsland’s rivers are too low for a canoe trip. From Thom’s Bridge (Morwell) to Lake Wellington (Sale) is approximately 165 km (by river) or about 8 days paddling at our normal speed (4 km per hour) and five hours per day. Of course
We knocked off early on Anzac Day to have a stroll along the Wirilda Track from the W3 ‘road’ downstream. (I am still recovering, slowly). You can put a canoe in here and with some difficulty paddle down to the old Morwell pumping station at Wirilda Park. The river used to be clearer (and may
Adventure Pro. This is a great site for information about canoeing just so many wonderful streams in Australia. In this particular section they showcase little known and difficult sections, or ‘steep creeks’ such as the Moroka which I have copied below (hope they don’t mind). This is the section I talked about hiking/pack rafting in
This is a truly wonderful section of the river. One of Australia’s greatest treasures and one of our last wild rivers! It took us fourteen hours (paddling and portaging) to make it from Meyers Flat (15 minutes below Waterford by canoe – but easier to put in) to the first take-out point at Angusvale. The
You can make an improvised bow saw from a bent branch and a couple of large key rings (or similar) I noticed Erin & Hig used small carabiners in Ben Fogle’s New Lives in the Wild Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOUcDt96IrU Since a bow saw blade itself only weighs 30-100 grams (depending on length), this could be
Della and I had a foreshortened trip on the Wonnangatta River upstream of the Moroka confluence when she developed a bad chest infection on the second night out which turned out to be pneumonia. Fortunately I had brought along the Alpacka ‘Fiord Explorer’ raft, their ‘moose boat’ as they termed it (now the ‘Mule’), so
Supai Adventure Gear say, ‘At just 14 ounces, our pack raft paddle is the lightest on the market…When combined, our pack raft (24 ounces) and paddle (14 ounces)…weighs an astonishingly light 38 ounces (2 lbs, 6 ounces).’ If you want ‘light’ these guys are the place to go! https://www.supaiadventuregear.com/ Their pack rafts range from US$299-349
I recently bought one of these for $A20 (July 2018) from K-Mart to play with. I wanted to practice some seam heat-sealing with something available and cheap before I began modifying an expensive hiking pad: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/axl-air-down-pad/ . I had in mind that I would probably be able to make an inflatable pack frame with one
This guy made 8.5 which is pretty awesome. What a wonderful addition to DIY watercraft this hobby is: https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/aboard-a-gourd/
