G'day Snaps,
thanks mate. this is the first real paddle I have done in a long time. I have to say that my passion for the caper is well and truly back!!
Now, where was I?
Oh yeah, the following day, we put in at the old bridge upstream from my original put in
paddled down stream and hit our first obsticale on the way. We got hung up on a stump, mid stream but managed to get out of it relatively unharmed
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
It was entirely my fault in that I mis-judged the strength of the current and didn't allow for the reduced maneuverability of the boat with the extra weight. and had a cuppa on the bank to celibrate our lucky escape.
The Lovely Miz Andi. (The stumps we hung up on are in the background)
We continued along downstream, playing in the rapids and as we paddled past my previous put in, there was a bunch of blokes in canoes and kayaks making ready to head off downstream. Two ladies were infront of us on sit on tops and one had a small boy riding on the back. We quickly moved past them in the still water patches after saying G'day and we came to a very tight patch at the end of one of these stillwater stretches. I studied it for a while and the more I looked at it the more frightened I became. The water dropped about 2 metres in a distance of about 10 metres, through some overhanging vines and sticks and then turned sharply left with a steep bank on the right hand side that was liberally littered with strainers and tree stumps.
Never letting brains get in the way of a very bad decision, we decided to go for it and charged the drop (Bloody stupid) and allmost instantly, were hung up on the strainers at the bottom of the drop. (did I mention that I have allmost no white water experience) The boat quickly filled with water and all our belongings went sailing off into the distance. Luckily, the boat came free and we were able to get it to the other bank along with our precious cameras. The two ladies successfully made the drop and very kindly paddled off down stream to retrieve the rest out our stuff.
While were were calming our shattered nerves and inspecting each others cuts, scrapes and bruises, we could hear the blokes in the canoes and kayaks making their approach and they seems completely as stupid as I was.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
I just had time to grab my camera to catch the carnage!
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
(next post)