Mudnut's Glenelg River Adventure

[mudnut]

G'day all. I have been camping in the Lower Glenelg National Park, thanks to some unknown wonderful people that cancelled their three night booking. Mrs mudsane and I went with our youngest daughter, our 16 year old son and three of his mates, so we had to take two vehicles and two trailers. The Old Trol towed our camper/boat trailer and our trusty Toyota van hauled a caged trailer loaded with a heap of wood and four pushbikes. Pics to come, but I am on slowed data ATM.

[threedogs]

great to see the boys into the great outdoors a rare breed indeed,
trust the weather was on your side?

[mudnut]

What a fail. I can't even get the "manage attachments" page to work. I will have to wait until tomorrow to upload the pictures.

I was taking the boys to the beach, when one of the rear top shocker mounts went AWOL.

I had to crawl under and remove the whole shocker. The other side was about a thread away from disappearing as well, so I did that up and headed back to camp. I took the van into Portland, bought some shocker rubbers, but I had to search for a replacement washer.

I found a dished one at a small workshop. I will have to order a flat one from somewhere. It is strange that the mounts were loose, as I have only just fitted the 2'' lift, and I have also checked ALL of the nuts as well. It is the same camp that we were at when our Panhard rod came adrift.

Anyway, long story short, I drove the boys to the beach, where they collected over a hundred metres of rope, which they used to build a raft with some logs they dragged to the river.

[mudnut]

great to see the boys into the great outdoors a rare breed indeed,
trust the weather was on your side?

The weather was changeable, with a few showers and a bit of wind, but it was quite pleasant over all. As usual the day we left, it was warm and sunny. :( The bunch of young blokes are awesome and I would not hesitate to take them out again. Sure, they were noisy, and it did get really crowded in the pegola, when it rained, but it was great to see them being teenagers and not too cool to be happy.

[TPC]

What site were you camped at?
I have canoed on Glenelg River several times and the campsites are great.
Have you been the cave close to Pattersons Canoe Camp? It is quiet impressive as long as you don't get claustrophobic.

[mudnut]

Battersbys campsite. It only has two sites, which we were able to book into for three night, which was really lucky, as it is school holidays. It was really expensive for just a drop dunny and a fire place ($215 for seven people). We did see a couple of rangers (one couldn't crack a smile, the other was really friendly), so I guess we paid their wages.

There was a seal catching fish in front of us, for the whole time we were there, so the only fish we caught was a small tupong in our bait net. The friendly ranger told us the seal has been in the river for three years now.

And yes, Tony, the cave is amazing. I have been there a few times. The river cruise and cave deal is fantastic.

[TPC]

Battersbys campsite. It only has two sites, which we were able to book into for three night, which was really lucky, as it is school holidays. It was really expensive for just a drop dunny and a fire place ($215 for seven people). We did see a couple of rangers (one couldn't crack a smile, the other was really friendly), so I guess we paid their wages.

There was a seal catching fish in front of us, for the whole time we were there, so the only fish we caught was a small tupong in our bait net. The friendly ranger told us the seal has been in the river for three years now.

And yes, Tony, the cave is amazing. I have been there a few times. The river cruise and cave deal is fantastic.

I am not talking about the Princes Margret Rose Cave but another cave that is not managed and a bit hard to find, you have to climb up some rocks to get to the entrance. It in on the northern bank between Pattersons and Mclennans Punt.

[mudnut]

Ok. There is a heap of them around here. Being a fatrrrrs, I haven't been to many. If you get the time, Bats Ridge Reserve (near Portland airport) has quite a few to check out as well.

[BigRAWesty]

How expensive are the sites.
It's bs hay.
But good to see ya's made it out. And enjoyed it. Did ya's miss the rain thismorning??

[mudnut]

I think we got a bit of rain this morning, Kallen. I had to grab all of our camping gear before it took off in the wind, this arvo. Having to book online is the biggest hassle, apart from the cost and getting a print out of the booking. We used to ring the ladies at Nelson info center and get it all done within a few minutes. They could advise on which sites were best to book and where the fish are biting. They have recently re-instated someone full time again. They can do the booking online for you, but be aware that their internet is as slow as at the moment.

[mudnut]

Data is back, so here goes... I spoke to the owners of this 4wd Canter. They are a lovely couple, from Adelaide, who were rubber necking the area, because their daughter has moved to Mt Gambier.

I asked about the rig's fuel economy and he said he gets around 20l/ 100ks at 110kph. I laughed and told him, that's what I get, when towing the camp trailer with the Old Trol.

He turned to his Mrs, raised his hands and eyebrows and says, "See, I told you it doesn't use too much fuel!"

It must've hurt for him to be right, because she grimaced and wandered off along the beach.

He said he bought the Canter instead of an Okka because it had a longer wheel base, so he can fit his registered 4 wheeler in the separate front section under the bed, when they go touring.

[mudnut]

Here is the raft, the young blokes built and used to cross the river and have a bit of a lark on. It was amazing how much old nylon rope they found along a km of beach. They did Bear Grylls proud, as the only tools available to them were a small version of a multi tool and my small tomahawk.

It was entertaining to watch them work together, as they dragged the pine logs and settled on a design.

After all the fun, they stripped all the rope off and packed it in the trailer, then set about chopping the wood into fire-sized pieces. The wet pine took ages to catch alight and there was plenty for left for the next lot of campers.

[mudnut]

As I wrote, earlier, there was no fish in our section of the river, so I drove to Nelson, and tried, to no avail. I then worked my way upriver and tried at a place called Sapling Creek.

There was no fish, but I was entertained by a pair of swallows that landed close by and started telling me off. They would fly around me and land again. It is amazing to watch their perfect hunting skills.

I also saw them drinking on the wing, skimming across the river surface, beaks just touching the water. I saw one go under the landing, and heard it chattering under my feet, so I lay down and looked under the deck. Sure enough, I found their nest, built just a foot or so above the water line. The picture is upside down, and I have circled the nest.

I caught no fish, but it I was pretty chuffed, as it was a privilege to watch the birds and have them so close.

[mudnut]

Battersbys is a great place to camp at. The river view is fantastic, and it is a little bit sheltered from the coastal weather. You do get a lot of visitors, who go fishing or are touring the National Park. Most people are chatty and some were disappointed that we had both sites.

We even had one lead-footed tool, in a hotted up Falcon, come down to have a look at the site at about 11 o'clock one night. We could hear him coming from miles away. He was ripping up the road on the way in and was doing it worse on the way out. I suppose he was upset that we were there.

We set up or pegola next to the fire as the tent sites are maybe thirty metres away.

[mudnut]

This is our camp/ boat trailer. As I have a stuffed back, I can't lift the boat up, so I have built an arm with a roller on the end. As I winch the boat up, the arm folds itself up. I still don't have a boat licence, so we have to row.

Sometimes we seem to catch more fish (not all the time though) than those with power boats. I think it has something to do with lack of under water exhaust and propeller noise. But sadly nothing was on the bite for us, this trip.

My uncle added the 90mm pipe as stabilizers on each side of the hull, and it is safe to stand up in to cast lures.

I spoke to a number of people that were fishing, and there was only one group that had any success. They started fishing at about 11 am and got absolutely nothing until they got onto a school of bream at around 6pm.