Back to Lake Tyers

On Monday Simon and I drove for 4 hours from his place in Bunyip to the boat ramp at Lake Tyers Beach. We last visited the lake in 8 years ago. This trip was Simon’s idea and I was keen because we haven’t got away together for far too long. I was looking forward to putting the kayaks in the water even if only for a few days.

Day 1

It was a late start as I had to return a rental vehicle before setting out from home. We were ready to launch around 2:00 pm. We expected it would take 4 hours to paddle across the lake and up Boggy Creek to Nowa Nowa where Simon had booked a campsite at Mingling Waters Caravan Park.

Initially we paddled into the wind across the widest part of the lake. On the Eastern side we entered the arm that leads past the old Lake Tyers Aboriginal Mission. There is no access to that site although it is a stunning location with an interesting history. 

On this part of the lake there is some private property. Some tucked away among the trees and some other larger farming properties. Once past that it is forest all the way to Nowa Nowa. The flora and landscape is very similar to the Mitchell River below Angusvale.

We kept up a steady pace and arrived at Nowa Nowa before 7:00 pm. We only had one break to stretch and pee about halfway. There weren’t many spots where we could have got out probably due to the high level of the lake. The estuary sandbar has not been open to the sea for a long time. Around Nowa Nowa there was plenty of evidence of flooding.

We were surprised to find we were the only guests at Mingling Waters. Despite very good facilities and what seems to be a great stopping point for grey nomads we had the place to ourselves. I used the camp kitchen to prepare Chilli Con Carne with rice which went down well. I had made the Chilli months ago and dehydrated it in preparation for other trips but hadn’t used it.

I was happy to get to bed, it had been a long day.

Day 2

Another hot day was expected so we planned to get our exercise early. Mt Nowa Nowa is 7 kms from town with a some quite steep sections. We headed off after breakfast with a diversion to the nearby railway bridge lookout. It gives a view of the Nowa Nowa gorge. Unfortunately it is difficult to get a good view but it looks lovely. 

The walk up Mount Nowa Nowa accelerated our heartbeats particularly nearing the top. The views up there are great without having any particular highlights. We rested briefly before heading back down trying to keep our feet on some slippery gravel. A number of times I almost fell but managed to get to the more level section without injury. Simon was behind and landed on one knee at one point but fortunately no damage done.

Back at the general store we bought drinks and had an early lunch. It was stinking hot so we headed into the air-conditioned recreation hall at the caravan park and watched the television and napped. It was a very lazy afternoon.

For dinner we had sausages and Deb mash. 

Day 3

The weather had cooled down and we started the day by exploring upstream of the caravan park. We paddled under the Princes Highway bridge and toward the rail bridge. We did not get far and our path was blocked by large boulders that the creek flows through.

On our way back down we saw a beautiful kingfisher, unfortunately it was too hard to get a photo. Not long after a White Bellied Eagle landed in a tree just above us. It was a magnificent sight but again it was hard to get a photo.

I was feeling a little time pressure as we had a long drive ahead of us once we got back to Lake Tyers Beach. We kept up a steady pace in ideal conditions. There were lots of Black Swans  and lots of ducks. We also saw 1 lonely pelican.

We were back at the boat ramp by 1:00 pm. We quicky loaded our gear inot the car and the kayaks onto the roof racks and we on our way back to Bunyip. I arrived home just after 6:00 pm. It had been a good three days - an excellent mini-adventure.