Hi everyone,
Two groups enjoyed paddles in the Limeburners area last Sunday. Greg took his group from Tom Dick’s Hole on Northshore for a pleasant paddle around the area closest to the Hastings while Bill led five of us across Shallow Lake & down the main creek to Saltwater Lake. It has been several years since we did this 27 kms return paddle & it was, as always, very special. After floods, high winds etc over the intervening years we were expecting to find trees down & considerable debris which might impede our progress, but fortunately a lot of major obstacles had been dealt with which enabled us to paddle through with minimal problems. It did become congested the closer we got to Saltwater Lake, but with a lot of manoeuvring we managed to get through & glide out onto the lake where we were greeted by a large flock of black swans, a ‘squadron’ of pelicans & other groups of flighty smaller birds who took off at our arrival, their wing tips flicking the water. It was quiet & serene & we enjoyed’ being in the moment’ for awhile before turning back. On the paddle down, once across Shallow Lake we were able to enjoy pockets of shade & the occasional puff of a light breeze which was welcome as the day was warming up. As you can see from the photos the creek is flanked by a variety of vegetation including meadows & borders of seagrass, mangroves, casuarinas, eucalypts & magnificent specimens of elk ferns. As you get further into the creek, there are areas where the canopy has grown over forming tunnels/arbours where the light is muted & the reflections subtle. As you glide through these areas, it is like stumbling across a portal into another time & place. We have always referred to this as ‘the classic paddle’, comprising as it does a winding creek, lakes, birdlife, isolation, wilderness & serenity. One moment you are gliding across an open lake; under a clear blue sky; next you are in an ever-changing creek navigating its twists & turns, dodging sunken tree trunks & marvelling at the play of light & shade on the surrounding vegetation.
The Limeburners area has a great history dating back to pre-European settlement ( the known period of Aboriginal occupation is 5-6000 years), through to the exploitation of middens for lime for building purposes in the penal colony to the development of the oyster industry in the 1880’s. In 1971 Limeburners became the first nature reserve established on the north coast of NSW. In 2010, 9,223 ha, including the reserve, was declared a national park, Since then an area of 8360 ha within the park has been declared wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1987. (Wilderness areas are defined as large, natural areas of land that, together with their native plant & animal communities, are essentially unchanged by human activity). As you cannot get tinnies up to the lake, kayakers enjoy the privilege of being able to enjoy this pristine area.
Sadly the old scout camp has been dismantled; only a fish cleaning bench remains to indicate where it was. We pulled over here for a rest/snack stop before retracing our steps to Tom Dick’s Hole. You always must paddle part of the way back against the tide to avoid being stranded on stealthy logs lurking just below the surface of the water & what can be a very shallow Shallow Lake.
Thanks Ken, Colin & Bill V for your company
Cheers
Caroline & Bill
Port Macquarie Hastings Canoe Club 