Scribe: Sean Dixon
The Bass Strait crossing we had planned for months was definitely ‘on’. The only problem that remained was how to get into Swanston Street as peak hour approached.

‘No Left Turn’, ‘No Right Turn’ warnings were on every corner and the traffic cops had no sense of humour - or pity. Being booked for asking directions, was a new one on us. We were glad to see the last of Melbourne as the big ferry slipped out of the bay and set course for Tasmania.

The trip across was not as rugged as we had been primed to believe, but each agreed paddling a kayak over, would be stacked heavily in favour of the sea winning the challenge. We arrived in Queenstown where the rest of our Franklin team were waiting and by lunchtime the next day, were on the Collingwood and paddling strongly towards Tasmania’s last wild river. For ten days we paddled in mostly clear weather, encountering little difficulty as the water level was well below normal and all major portages could be managed on the easier low boulders. All our New South Wales team were stunned by the beauty of the river and either sad, or angry, that this, too, had been earmarked for destruction.

After my friends from Goulburn returned home, I arrived in Hobart to meet Steve Jacobs and my mother, Helen, after a direct flight from Sydney. Steve and I had accepted the Tasmanian Board of Canoe Education invitation to attend the Sea Proficiency testing weekend set down for the 14th-15th March. This was still a week away, however, and Laurie Ford kindly arranged the use of a Canadian for us. We had heard of the giant trout that were regularly caught in Lake Pedder and had planned an assault on these monsters for some months prior to leaving home. Strathgordon isn’t the most picturesque of Tasmanian towns, and I was wondering if we had the right place when I saw a giant trout looming out of a rain squall only a few yards from the roadside. Jamming on the breaks, we skidded the car around to confront the monster. It was a large replica, bidding anglers to the Lake Pedder Boat Hire Service. All fishermen know that local information is the best kind, so we dropped in to ask a few dozen casual questions on the feeding habits of the Pedder browns.

Armed with this new advice we set off in the preferred conditions to do battle.

Rain and wind gusts to 25 knots lashed the surface of the lake as we slid the Canadian into the dark waters near the Serpentine Dam. Those conditions, we were assured, brought the leviathan browns on a savage feeding cycle. Halfway out we were hit by a particularly hard gust that sent the big canoe across the turbulent waters sideways, as we leaned into a hard paddle brace. Two more days of heavy weather didn’t produce a single bite, but as we were leaving, a beaming Victorian angler proudly displayed a 10 pound trout caught only a few hundred yards from the boat ramp. I vowed never to return.

The Sea Awards weekend was preceded by a short paddle arranged by Tony Gaiswinkler, so Steve and I could try out the Adrian Dean Designed Greenlander. After a night as guests of Tony and Jill, in which several of our hosts’ prize home brew were downed, I was having second thoughts about this lobster gathering trip as we left Marion Bay. The sea was calm at first and we made good time towards Lagoon Bay. Without warning, the wind suddenly increased from a few knots to about fifteen, and it became harder to push the big Greenlander into the rising chop. The island out from Lagoon Bay was still some miles away as the wind increased to over 20 knots and heavy rain pelted down. Lightning cracked in the black mass ahead of us and the wind really started to howl as we got to the sea caves near the bay. These amazing caves were only the first of many we were to explore with our Tasmanian friends in the next few days. Tony dived for crays while Steve and I shook and shivered near a raging fire we’d built on the lee of a small island. In twenty minutes Tony had four good crays and some abalone and we quickly set off for home. This had been a good introduction to the notorious nature of Tassie’s rapid weather changes.

As it turned out, Laurie Ford managed to arrange clear weather for the next two days and we had a wonderful time exploring the sea caves south of the Lanterns on the Tasman Peninsula. We joined about fourteen other sea paddlers, who attended the Sea Awards weekend. Unfortunately, we were the only interstate paddlers to attend. The Sunday trip to Tasman Island was a highlight of our stay in Tassie. Enormous cliffs that rise straight from the sea are intersected by many large and small caves that can be explored for hours on end.

We left our new friends and explored parts of Southern Tasmania, accessible by car, for another seven days. There were many fabulous parts of the coast to explore, but just too little time. At least another long trip is contemplated for the future.

Sean Dixon.