Cradle Mountain Canyons — Attraction in Cradle Mountain

Due to very low water levels this trip was very disappointing. Most of the rapids on the first day required the boats to be portaged, and even well into the second day boats regularly became stuck on rocks or had to be pushed by our guides. It was really more like a grade two kiddies’ waterslide in an amusement park than paddling grade two rapids at full throttle. We had asked up front what would happen if the water levels were too low and were repeatedly assured that the water levels would be sufficient as the flow was a controlled release from a dam. This might be the case early in the season (September/October) where rainfall and snowmelt contribute to the water flow and agricultural out-take is likewise low. But as the hotter and drier summer and early autumn is reached, these extra sources provide less, and the out-take begins to take a toll on the river levels. The last reassurance that the water levels were sufficient was posted just a week before the tour was set to begin, and at that stage the company must already have known that this was not the case, as it did not rain at all in the meantime. In hindsight, these reassurances now look exceedingly like boilerplate. For the price of $1,550 per person it might be expected that CMC would consider itself a stakeholder in the river management. By this I mean as regular users of the river they might be able to negotiate the purchase of additional flow (perhaps as little as two four-hour waves timed to reach the daily starting points) when the river level drops. Recreational releases such as these are commonplace, e.g. on the Tongariro in New Zealand, or the Oker in Germany. Perhaps a release wouldn’t be needed for trips earlier in the season, but then the money could be saved for a later release. So I don’t know why CMC don’t consider themselves to be stakeholders just as the farmers along the river do. Unless they don’t realise what it means to be a stakeholder. Or they are only interested in making as much money as possible. The meals provided were pretty non-descript as well. Lunch on day 1 was a prepackaged turkey roll, and on the others just some cheese or salami and salad on wraps. Breakfast on day 2 was at least some eggs on muffins and by day 3 only the muffins. Dinner on day 1 was chicken, vege and noodles and was of reasonable quality, but the cooks should be told that they only need to boil 1/3 the amount of water to cook the noodles in and they will be al dente no matter how long they boil for. Saves both time and energy. Dinner on day 2 was a very bland “curry” with the vegetables being boiled beyond recognition for half an hour. Also I don’t see why tofu has to be fried for an hour and a half. Perhaps I had been treated too well by Magnus and Anaïs on the five-day Cliffs and Caves/Bay of Islands sea kayaking tour offered by New Zealand Sea Kayak Adventures in 2019. Highlights there included a fresh fruit and chocolate fondue dessert. All for about a quarter of the price (on a per person per day basis). So all in all, may the paddler beware.

Added on Aug 2, 2024: Not to put too fine a point on it, but according to NRE Tasmania Water Information Web Portal (https://portal.wrt.tas.gov.au/Data/DataSet/Chart/Location/60-1/DataSet/Flow/Hydro%20Tasmania%20MLD/Interval/Custom/2024/02/01/2024/02/29) the water flow was just under 190 ML/day or 2.3 cumecs on the days we travelled. In comparison, the Oker in Germany has a release of 6.5 cumecs when the power station is running, and that valley is very much narrower than the Mersey. That results in Grade III-IV whitewater. As can be seen on the chart at wrt.tas.gov.au, there was a release of about 4.8 cumecs on the previous weekend. Whether that is enough to ensure plain sailing is not my job. If CMC can’t guarantee more than “environmental flow” then it’s not worth it.

As shown in the pictures,...

PackRafting Alum Cliffs: Amazing three-day journey. No end of superlatives can describe this adventure fully.

Imagine sleeping in a one-person tent on a rock ledge at the bottom of Alum Cliffs gorge, listening to the sound of the river coursing over rapids continuing to shape its journey over millions of years. Unforgettable.

Learning to control what seems initially to be an uncontrollable inflatable raft, one that the river is intent on its journey and taking you to the nearest boulders to impede your progress. Finally, you start to learn how to maneuver and read the river to try and find the sweet spots that will take you through this set of rapids and onto the next.

Thankfully our guides, Maddie and Urs are there to guide us, point out the best direction and assist when we get into trouble, at the same time stepping back to allow us to have our own adventure and learn through experience. This is not an adventure I would contemplate without their expert knowledge, whilst the rapids are not massive, they are still fast and can be dangerous. Most of us capsized at one point or another remembering to keep our feet up and float, however nothing beats the exhilaration of successfully navigating another rapid no matter what the method; forwards, sidewards, backwards or floating.

Our guides expertise continued to amaze me as we navigated each rapid, they would then jump back into their heavily loaded rafts and with ease and grace join us at the eddy below. At the end of the day their job was not done, a great meal and conversation ensued, followed the next day by breakfast, tea and coffee, and not to forget a freshly prepared lunch each day with wraps.

Our team was quite diverse in age ranging from teenager to the almost elderly (me). This is not an adventure for the faint hearted, once you start you are committed for the three days. You do need to be physically fit and whilst the younger members of the group seemed to take the strenuous activity in their stride, I am glad I spent significant time in making sure I was physically fit. The companionship and conversations we had together built our small group into a real team that supported each other as we faced each challenge of the next rapid on our journey.

This is an adventure to remember and tell your...

Epic day! Zac and Rae were great instructors. Very organised getting fitted out with all the gear, 3 layers of wetsuit, wetsuit socks and boots, helmet, harness and PFD. Short 5 minute bus to the start point, a 30 minute walk/hike with your wetsuit pack on your back to ‘change rock’, change into your wetsuit gear before heading down another 10 minutes to the canyon where the adventure begins. An awesome day with wicked views, scary but fun obstacles, plentiful lunch and more wicked obstacles. The instructors were great at hyping us up and encouraging us to get out our comfort zone. There was a variety of jumps/slides/abseils which kept it interesting and 2 instructors for 12 people made us all feel safe the entire time. The water was icy, particularly the hands, but the wetsuits did their job, and the adrenaline keeps you warm. There is a decent 20 minute hike/scramble (using hands) in your wet gear to get back up to change rock, followed by the 30 minute walk/hike back to the bus with your wet gear in your pack, but this is unavoidable and well worth it after the exhilarating day. There is no pressure to move quickly so if you are reasonably active you will be fine. Also, there were plenty of great quality photos which were included in the package and were sent by email the same day!! I definitely recommend this experience, especially if you have never done anything like this before. I’ll definitely return to experience another tour...