If you have ever been into a Wilderness environment you may be part of a minority. And if you have ever been into the Tasmanian Wilderness of the Great South West – The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, you are definitely part of a minority and should be exuberantly grateful. Once upon a time, this stunning environment was proposed to be damned for Tasmania’s Hydroelectricity.
The Franklin River, enjoyed by Rafters, Kayakers, Alpacka rafters and punters is an ever-changing environment that has the ability to consume humans as they travel into its depths.On a third attempt in 1959 Hawkins and Dean descended the 100km stretch of the Franklin River out to the Gordon River confluence. It is a story of survival, which has been recounted in ‘Shooting the Franklin’. Read the story, or go on a trip down the Franklin with Tasmanian Expeditions and James Thorp as your guide and you will feel like you have been taken back in time as he recounts tales of first descents, protests, photographers, logging of Huon Pine and convicts that worked along the banks of this wild river. If you have travelled down this river you will sympathise with the amount of awe I am in over its beauty and pristine nature, despite the commercial trips that operate in the area. The fast flooding of the river is partly to thank for its cleanliness, and the fierce nature of the winter in the South West Tasmania mean that this river is inaccessible for two thirds of any year.
Shooting the Franklin
courtesy http://www.leatherwoodonline.com/index.php/history/shooting-the-franklin/
Without scouting any rapids and aiming for the path of least resistance – the less you have to drag your boats the better, you paddle 5km’s, negotiating the rocks and logs of the mighty Collingwood River, which at 0.7m (water level) is no comparison to the Franklin, you enter the fierce river at the confluence. Although dusk may be biting at your heels, and your stomach is about to do a flip to gain your attention, it is worth continuing that extra hour on the Franklin to arrive at Angel Rain campsite; a big overhanging cliff that requires no ‘tarpology’ skills to stay dry, just a suitable eye to scout out the best cave to sleep in.
The beauty of having James Thorp as our river guide – his 40th journey down the river to date – means that everyday and campsite has a story to go with it. The stories generally have a message, most of the time it is: Eternal Vigilance or Self Preservation. Not mentioning the time he referred to his crew as ‘sieve plugs’.
James Thorp - River Guide
Our 10-day adventure begins with stories of broken bones, flooded rivers and sieve plugs. These grow and evolve as the river grows and evolves.
Never in my life (as far as I can recall) have I enjoyed waking to drizzle so much. Not heavy drizzle, nor was it drizzle that soaks you, but enough to keep a river at a steady level. Once in a dry suit, always in a dry suit and the weather, unless the sun is belting down, remember we are in the South West of Tasmania, moves around you as if it wasn’t even occurring.
So a drizzle has set in and we are set to concur Aesthesia Ravine, Descension Gorge and the Irenabyss. Two kayaks, three 12ft rafts, two river guides and 9 participants. Within the river guides, James Thorp, his 40th trip, he could do this with his eyes closed and Ebony Arnold (my very own Miss Miyagi), Australian rafter and her 2nd descent of the river.
Packing up on day two - Angel Rain Campsite
Most of this day was pulled of successfully, until this particular rapid. It was at the most perfect level if the ambition and goal of the day was to flip, swim and flat wrap a raft.
The first attempt, James decided to R1 the raft. Nearly wrapping on the rocks at the top of the rapid, he managed to jump out and save the craft from wrapping, but not flipping, he had to perform a technical maneuver and ‘belly flop’ onto the upturned raft and paddle it into the eddy upturned then re-flip it and go for the next two. This was just the beginning of our flipping adventure.When an R1 doesn’t work, what do you do next? R2 was meant to be the answer…
Ebony made up that number. I don’t think anyone else would’ve volunteered to guide the raft. With what was looking like a promising line, Ebony and James nearly, very nearly pulled off what would have been an amazing stunt. With a raft teetering on the brink of a flip in the effort to tease the guides, it is successful and goes over, Ebony and James go flying, now in debt to the rest of us with jugs of beer. They swim the remainder of the rapid, emerging with bruises but smiles from ear to ear.So, when 2 experienced guides don’t work, the result was lining the final raft. Again a successful beginning to the rapid but you have to get out the other side and into the eddy before you can call it a success story. James and Amy, waiting on the flat wrap rock ready to launch themselves into the raft as it shoots out the bottom of the rapid. There wasn’t a lot of shooting, but more stalling as the raft attempted to glide over the flat wrap rock and come to a halt.
With about 15minutes of pulling and tugging, the raft was set free from it’s destiny. James had learnt about how rafts like to tease their guides and he wasn’t giving into this one. Did I mention that Ebs had flat wrapped her raft on this exact rock when she first descended this river? It took them 3 hours to get the raft off.
Near wrapping of the raft - Descention Gorge
The journey continues like this for the duration of the trip. With stories being told – true, false and elaborated on. The history and beauty of the area is enough to provoke emotion and attachment into anyone that travels the river’s length.
Learning of Bob Brown and the protests against damning the river was an unforeseen benefit of the trip.We have many damns in Victoria, man made and holding our water so that we can survive. Could you imagine the landscape that would dominate the south west of Tasmania if this tranquil environment was to be damned with concrete and filled with water?
An image taken by Peter Dombrovskis contributed to what saved this river from being damned. It is the image of Rock Island Bend, just below Pig Trough falls and above Newlands Cascades.
Rock Island Bend - Georgia's interpretation
Newlands Cascades by moonlight
But we must visit the Great Ravine. One of the most photogenic, awe inspiring Ravines I have visited. It can swallow you at it’s front gate and ejects you out the back gate. It is advised that the rapids in the ravine are to be portaged, but with James on board our trip, rapids were run and lined but never did we undertake a 100% portage. From earlier drizzle on the trip, the river level had risen and become steady, a grand level to enter the ravine and conquer it in a day. From Corriscades, through Thunder rush and out with a bang on the Wild Thing, we sailed through the white water like a hot knife through butter, nearly.
The 'Wild Thing'
Corriscades
Thunder rush. A two part rapid, where the top section must be lined, as the consequence is death and when such a consequence is looking you straight in the eye you shouldn’t toy with it. The bottom section, unless you are willing to take the high portage trail and carry all your gear half a kilometer down stream below the rapid, can be run, be needs to be guided successfully to get out without a wrap.
Section 1 - Thunderush
The moving bolder
Section 1 was negotiated successfully, with a lot of hand gestures and yelling, but no boats flipped and all were hauled into a micro eddy, ready for their crew to return with full bellies. James, being trip leader, took off in his little 12ft raft and made the second section. You wouldn’t expect any less from someone who is running the river for the 40th time.
The kayakers exit the eddy and slide through the gaps and holes as if it were a lazy Sunday morning. The ‘self-guided’ raft, with captain Aidan at the helm was a different story. Admittedly this is a tricky section of river to run. The scouting for this part of the rapid is not easy and getting your boat in position to be able to see James’ line is difficult as you would generally get shot down the rapid.
So the second craft, a skilled boat, took off down the rapid, hoping to stick to river left, and shoot out between two snug rocks. What they didn’t know was this wasn’t possible. The rocks, too close together and the water pushing up on them, became a trap for a wrap. With myself, Jo and Ebs in the third craft, we waited patiently to see them shoot out the bottom of the rapid, but nothing, minutes were passing and nothing seemed to be happening. So anchoring our boat again, Ebs went for the scout. Reports of a near miss came back.
Nearly missing a wrapped boat. Half an hour had now passed, swearing was a means of communicating, but the boat eventually freed itself of the rocks and nearly of the crew. With it inching away from the rock and the crew standing on the rock, reactions were slow, but time was on their side and with seconds to spare they made the gap and launched themselves into the raft. Finally we had a visual and they shot out the bottom of the rapid. Has it ever been mentioned that in the 2006 floods that enormous boulder lying at the bottom of thunder rush, got tired and wanted to find a new home, so it up and moved itself inches toward the center of the river?
The Great Ravine, a success story, took none of our paddlers and released all our boats on one of the most stunning days on the river yet. Camp was made and pizza was cooked, but not with out a hissy fit from James.
Our Journey continued with only three days of paddling left in us and a rest day tied in there as well, we negotiated Three Tears, with a styling line pulled off by Ebony and myself, after previously watching Aidan and Matt enter the rapid, flip and swim. ABC was coming up next, a Log jam of a rapid, where if you don’t hug river right, you end up smashing your crew and the left hand side of your boat into the log. There is definitely a story to go with this one.
Relaxing before a day of paddling
To set the scene: This is a rapid the must be entered through center left, drive right and then a visual of the life eating log can be grasped. It is a log the lays horizontally across the river from river left to right, but doesn’t quite make the width of the river. There is a small opening on river right for you to slot your raft through before relief is felt on the other side.
The story as told by James: The river was up a little from what it is now, so the slot was smaller, all efforts need to be made to stay well clear from the log, as there was a craft being guided down this rapid on a commercial trip, where the guide misjudged and the left side of his raft and passengers were being put in the firing line of the log. The passenger at the front, instead of ducking down into the raft, lent backwards, only problem was he leant backwards onto a solid barrel, his head got jammed between the barrel and the log and popped his skull like a pimple. Stay clear of the log and tell your crew to get down.
I was at the stick and had Amy and Jo as my passengers, I didn’t get a visual of the rapid until we had entered the lead up rapid, and then the story became quite clear, it was a skull popping log that was coming up. But with a clear head and a crew that was following command, we negotiated the skull popper and the weights released themselves from my shoulders.
Another story worth telling about this river is its cave system. These were discovered when the proposal to damn the river was being protested against. It was the discovery of life. The most Southern discovery of human life in our country was found on the banks of this river. The cave system was home to Native Australians. The Kuti Kina caves were nearly destroyed by those that wanted the river damned, so that it couldn’t be deemed ‘sacred’. But since this discovery, the Franklin River very soon became a heritage site. It would be interesting to talk to some natives of the area and find out more about the story, as there is not much animal life in the area. It is quite a harsh land due to its ability to change so rapidly, it would be a tough environment for any animal to pursue life in, when there are definitely easier parts of the state to live in. The Kuti Kina caves along with others are now protected under law and can be visited when traveling down the Franklin River.
The caves, the imagery, the protests and Bob Brown, all helped in saving this river. It can now be enjoyed by anyone, from anywhere. It is a phenomenal experience that Lonely Planet rate as one of the top 100 adventures in the world. Go and do it, respect it and learn from the power of the water.
G
