Region X Kayaking Trip

Saturday, January 19, 2012

We're off on our adventure.

This afternoon my mom, the kids, and I went out on glass bottomed kayaks.  It was a great experience.  Dagan who wasn't sure he really wanted to go wants to do it again.  When we got to the launch site, Josh went over safety rules and where we would be paddling.  Then we put on our life jackets, practiced a few paddling techniques, and were off. 

The ferry is going under the bridge.

We paddled under the bridge.  We learned that before the bridge was built there was a barge that took cars across the Clyde River.  There was only room for 2 cars at a time.  If you didn't make it before the barge stopped running for the night, you had to camp on the side of the river until the barge starting running in the morning.  The other interesting thing about the bridge is that the middle can move upward.  This allows the taller ferry to travel underneath it. 

We're looking at the first stingray.

In the first sand bar, we saw a smaller stingray.  It blended in with the sand.  As it looks for food, it makes small craters in the sand.  We were able to spot these as we floated over the water.  We had to add water to the bottom of the kayaks, so there wasn't a glare on the glass.  Then we were able to see better.

Next we headed across the river.  We were going to go up a small inlet of the river to enter the mangrove forest and estuary.  We paddled near the oyster farms.  There are many oyster farmers on this river.  Josh told us they are a tough breed of Australians.  They lease a section of water from the government to grow their oysters.  They make their own equipment and are very secretive.  They use trays, cylinders, and wooden structures.  We floated over the top of some of these. They have invented tools that work with the tides because the oysters need to stay near the surface of the water, but also need to stay covered.  They filter water through their bodies as the water washes over them. He felt these are some of the best oysters in Australia because the water is so clean.  There are not any factories or as many people in this area.

Mangroves

Dagan was encouraged to try standing.

Then we moved into the mangrove forest.  My mom and I laughed and said we would never kayak in a mangrove forest in the USA.  The wildlife would make it scary.   Here, we saw some ducks and white faced herons and a few fish.  It isn't hot enough for crocodiles.  Under the water we could see these things sticking out of the ground.  Josh told us that they are part of the root system of the mangroves.  This is how the trees breathe.  They use a special desalination process to filter the saltwater.  They do not breathe like regular trees.  Sydney and Dagan's favorite thing about the mangrove tree are the leaves.  Josh had them pick one and lick it.  It is salty and tastes like a Pringles chip.  They loved it. 

My mom and Sydney floating on the tide.

Other animals that live in the area we were paddling in were nippers, which live in small holes in the sand, lots of different crabs, wild oysters and sometimes a bull shark.  Thankfully, we didn't see one of these.  Josh picked a wild oyster out of the water.  It is extremely sharp and had an interesting form.

My dad and Adam coming to visit.

Dagan and I enjoying our drinks.

We headed out of the mangrove forest and over to the fish and chips restaurant.  This is the oldest building in Bateman's Bay.  We paddled underneath two jettys (docks).  Josh ordered us some coffee and hot chocolates.  I can say I've never drank coffee while floating in a kayak before.  As we floated, we looked at the fish and waited to the resident stingray to appear.  He came after a while.  They clean fish at this restaurant, so he comes every day to feed.  The bull stingray was huge.  It swam underneath our kayaks.  Very cool!  Adam and my dad were on the jetty above us.  They spotted fish for us to look at and spotted an octopus.  It blended in with the ground really well. 

The stingray is the dark spot behind the kayak.

After our coffee, we paddled back across the bay to our starting point.  It was a great day.  Dagan and Sydney would like to convince Adam to try this another time.