Way, way back in 2013, soon after we
had moved to Australia, we did a six day sea kayak trip around the
eastern islands of Nooramunga Marine Park getting as far west as
Snake Island. It was a grand trip, protected waters to paddle in,
very little power boat traffic, amazing bird and ocean life, pleasant
campsites and easy access to the wild 90 Mile Beach. Our memories of
the trip were so good we wanted to go back again and paddle the area
to the west of Snake Island, the Corner Inlet area.
Pied Oystercatcher Eggs
Day One: Port Welshpool to Biddies
Cove
Without much of a plan in mind - every
thing seemed to depend on the winds - we set off from Port Welshpool
on a cloudy day with light winds blowing. There is a $10 per day fee
to park at and use the boat ramp, but the beach to the east, near the
old jetty is free to use and to park, so that is where we launched.
At low tides, this could be a bit problematic as you might have a
long carry, but we managed to pack up near high tide and, while we
had breakfast in the caravan, we secured the boats to the old jetty.
Although we thought they were in deep enough water, both were high
and dry on rocks when we came to launch.
We were paddling against the tide which
did not seem to slow us down too much. Then again, I might be just
used to going very slow. Paddling out through Lewis Channel past
Little Snake Island we had to stay a fair way off-shore due to low
water, but, were able to pull in to Snake Island pretty easily where
a channel comes close into shore. You could camp anywhere along this
west side of Snake Island all the way down to Townsend Point without
difficulty. There were a ton of powerboats of all sizes out fishing
in Singapore Deep but luckily not driving around constantly as power
boaters sometimes (frequently) seem to do.
From Snake Island we crossed Singapore
Deep - some small standing waves - using Mount Singapore on Wilsons
Promontory as a reference point and landed at the lovely Biddies
Cove. While we had lunch, we debated whether or not to camp where we
were or carry on. It was a stellar camp. Some granite slabs to sit
and cook on, a really long beach to walk - you can walk all the way
to John Souey Cove - even bouldering slabs behind camp (wish I had
brought my rock shoes). We weren't really tired, however, as we had
only paddled about 16 km.
But, we really had no plan. The
weather forecast was for a mix of strong easterlies and westerlies,
so it was hard to plan a trip that did not involve a lot of slogging
into headwinds. Any one way trip - the premier trip is a paddle
right around Wilsons Promontory - requires two vehicles as there is
no public transit available. In the end, we just decided to camp and
walk down the beach for the afternoon. Hindsight always brings
clarity and, were I in this situation again, I would probably paddle
down to John Souey Cove for the night then return the next day,
although I much prefer either a one way through trip or a circle
route. Sunset from camp was spectacular, the most vibrant mix of
reds and oranges I have ever seen, worth camping at Biddies Cove to
see.
Now that's a sunset
Day Two: Biddies Cove to Tin Mine Cove
to Swashway Jetty
Tin Mine Cove is supposed to be a
really nice place to camp, at least all the sea kayak tours go there,
so we wanted to paddle around and have a look. Once again, we were
against the tide but it was a nice paddle and we had no where to go
in a hurry. Even with virtually no wind, there were a lot of
standing waves off the unnamed point to the north of Freshwater Cove
where the deep water comes close in to shore. In windy conditions
this spot could get bumpy fast.
You pass a couple of small beaches and
coves before you reach Tin Mine Cove. I remember Freshwater Cove in
particular as it has a prominent "no camping" sign. We had
breakfast at Tin Mine Cove and noted that the track that heads south
to Chinaman Long Beach had been freshly brushed out. The beach is
nice, but I did not think as nice as Biddies Cove. At high tide
there would be very little beach left and the camping area is a bit
tight. Although there are a couple more spots hacked out of dense
brush up the hill, those sites are sloping and not convenient for
kayakers.
Tin Mine Cove
The forecast was for 20 knot westerlies
in the afternoon followed by 20 knot easterlies the next day, so we
decided to head east up Nooramunga, then come back west the following
day. We paddled back across Singapore Deep and with the tide rising
were able to paddle into the channel between Little Snake and Snake
Islands. There is a channel marked all the way through but at low
tide the water gets pretty shallow. Good for kayaks, not good for
power boats.
We stopped on Little Snake Island for
lunch as Victoria Parks shows a campsite on their Nooramunga brochure
which we wanted to check out. After walking up and down the beach we
finally found a little fairly overgrown spot in long grass behind the
beach which is completely covered at high tide (the beach, not the
camp). Not really a great camp.
Camp at Biddies Cove
With the wind behind us we seemed to
speed east along the channel to Swashway Jetty which has a nice
campsite. The water in channel is pretty clear and it is a favourite
spot with rays. I saw about a dozen, some quite large. We had
covered about 25 km by now, enough for a couple of old out-of-shape
paddlers, but, for some reason, we decided to go on to The Gulf
campsite, about five kilometres away. We arrived quickly as we had
both wind and current with us, but, as we rounded the point we saw a
big bogan camp with a smoky campfire billowing toxic fumes out. I
hate these camps where there are too many men - there are never any
women - and too much beer. They make me very uncomfortable, fearful
even, so, I persuaded Doug to turn around and paddle back to Swashway
Jetty to camp.
It was going on for 3.30 pm and we were
both feeling a wee bit tired as we had started paddling soon after
7.30 am so plugging back the way we had come into a headwind was a
bit confronting, but, sea kayaking in Victoria seems to almost always
mean paddling into the wind so we are, at least a little bit, inured
to it. Paddling steadily, we made it back in just under an hour and
were soon having some afternoon tea and enjoying a really nice
campsite. I went for a wander on the tracks around camp and saw a
couple of Hogg Deer and there was a Pied Oystercatcher nest on the
jetty. At sunset, all the kangaroos came out and went down to the
rapidly receding channel and drank sea water. It was pretty
interesting as I have never seen kangaroos drink sea water before but
perhaps that is how they get salt.
Apparently, kangaroos drink sea water
Day Three: Swashway Jetty to Port
Welshpool
We had a lazy morning enjoying a couple
of cups of coffee while our tent dried out from the previous nights
heavy due. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it felt foolish to paddle
back to Port Welshpool but the forecast was for a series of strong
westerlies, and, the truth is, we had paddled to the east, and we'd
paddled to the west. There really was not anywhere new to go and, as
we are all about novelty, we packed up and lazily paddled back to
Port Welshpool.
It was interesting to reflect on our
previous trip when we just getting back into sea kayaking and the
area to paddle in Nooramunga/Corner Inlet seemed huge. Three years
later, I realised that a complete loop around Nooramunga/Corner Inlet
is about 200 km and that is possible in five or six days. Still a
beautiful place to paddle but suddenly not so large seeming anymore.
Doug leaving Biddies Cove
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