SydneyAdventurers40+

This weekend flat water paddling adventure is one of the most amazing things you can do in the Sydney region, with epic landscape, peaceful remoteness and wildlife!

• Sat 16 Nov meet at Kangaroo Valley township (2 hours from Sydney), drive to Tallowa Dam, and pack our camp gear into our kayaks.
• Spend the day slow paddling on flat water for 10km up the immense gorge, with towering red sandstone walls and eerie sunken forests.
• Arrive at our remote river-side camp, relax with dinner, good company, and intense starry skies.
• On Sun 17 Nov slow paddle back to Tallowa Dam, easy drive home.

If you like, come earlier on Friday night 15 Nov for a pleasant car camp at Bendeela camp ground (just outside Kangaroo Valley township) to relax, pat the friendly wombats, and get a good night of sleep before the paddle trip in the morning.

If you don’t own a kayak you can hire (see hire info below).

If you are bringing your own kayak, any kayak with sealed compartments and at least 4 metres long is OK. No inflatable kayaks or stand up boards.

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THE PLAN

FRIDAY NIGHT (optional)

This is an opportunity to enjoy very inexpensive but absolutely wonderful heritage accomodation in Kosciuszko National Park, and share a huge value-packed weekend of easy-moderate walks through dramatic gorges, rock formations, a secret cave, sparkling blue pools, waterfalls, starkly beautiful alpine plains, and a luxurious dip (if you like) in the thermal springs.

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THE PLAN

FRIDAY NIGHT

- Relaxed drive to Yarrangobilly Caves House, which is 480km or 6 hours south of Sydney. We will be in contact with everyone in the week before the trip to organise how best to carpool everyone from around Sydney on this friday evening.

- Chill out in the classic mountain accomodation, and get a good night of sleep in your own separate room.

SATURDAY

We make a big group breakfast together at 7am, then drive 45 minutes to Blue Waterholes to spend the day on two amazing but easy bushwalks:

- In the morning we follow a flat track (4km total) between the dramatic walls of Clarke Gorge and have lunch on top of an impressive waterfall. The trail follows the creek through the gorge, so expect to get your feet wet up to your knees as we cross it several times (it's not hard or scary, just take your shoes off each time and walk across the easy shallows, or bring an old pair of shoes that you don't mind getting wet).

- In the afternoon we will head up Nichols Gorge, taking the 6.5km loop between mysterious rock formations, and explore inside an INCREDIBLE dark cave. Then walk up an easy slope of 40 metres to emerge from the gorge onto the alpine plateau and sit with a hot drink while the setting sun pours golden light over earthy tussock grasses and wind-gnarled snow gum trees. Finally, it is 1 hour walk in the settling darkness across the high plains to return to the cars.

- Drive back to Yarrangobilly Caves House to prepare group dinner. BYO drinks.

SUNDAY

- Maybe a wake-up dip in the thermal pool (it is 27 degrees all year round), prepare group breakfast from 7am.

- Then we head out to walk the Yarrangobilly River and Castle Cave trails. Total walk distance is 6km, but hugely value packed. We follow the very impressive Castle Gorge with dramatic rock faces, and stopping at the South Glory, North Glory and Castle Caves. Though we probably won't do the paid tours with the rangers at these caves, just visiting their entrances with huge vaulted archways, fenestrated ceilings, and carved limestone walls is impressive and fabulous photography potential. At the far end of the trail we'll stop for lunch by Yarrangobilly River, enjoy the peace and cool our feet in the bubbling flow, and circle back to Caves House.

- Finish in the afternoon making coffee and snack at our Caves House, last chance to dip in the thermal pool, and check-out of our accommodation.

- Drive back to Sydney to arrive about 10pm.

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COST SHARING

We have already split the cost of the accomodation and food evenly - thank you everyone for your very prompt payments that allowed us to secure the house booking.

As mentioned, it will be impossible to cater for everyone arriving late on Friday night, so feed yourself at the highway truck stops on your way down. I will shop to get us a very decent supply of fresh food for the weekend to last until our departure from Yarrangobilly on Sunday afternoon. BYO drinks (alcohol is fine as long as you don't drink on the trail).

For the car pooling, we have two cars going to fit the eight of us, and we will be in contact in the week or two before the trip to organise when and where to pick each other up. As already agreed, we will split costs evenly among the four people in each car to cover petrol and highway tolls Sydney to Kosciuszko and return, and any national park vehicle day entry fees. Please bring cash or do PayID transfer to settle up when we figure out the final amount at drop off time back in Sydney on Sunday evening.

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If you've fallen in love with the fun of paddling, come and learn how to kayak with super smooth whole-body technique so that you can move at that next level of freedom and capability, and explore effortlessly for miles to all the hidden natural wonders. Coaching cost for this 2 hour learning session is just $60.

You can borrow one of the coach’s high performance sea kayaks, high performance paddle blade, and bouyancy vest, FOR FREE to use in the learning session.

This is not a competitive activity and you don't need elite fitness – just a willingness to learn, with the coach giving you close individual attention to develop outstanding technique and be your best self.

Class size is strictly limited to the coach + 2 paddlers to ensure highest quality learning. To book your place, RSVP to the event and the organiser will email you to transfer your $60 contribution. Your place is confirmed on receiving payment. First in, first served.

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THE PLAN
Meet at 9.00am by Narrabeen lagoon, on the lawn next to the Limani restaurant (bottom of Narrabeen St, Narrabeen).

Getting ready:

• We take a few moments to set up your high performance boat to fit your body length for best ergonomics and paddling efficiency.
• There is secure storage for your bag while we are on the water.
• Do not bring vulnerable valuables (phone, cards, keys) on the water, leave them safe in your bag.
• We paddle barefoot, leave your shoes in your bag, but you may want to wear flip flops walking to the boat.

The on-water session:

• We'll spend 2 hours training on the beautiful protected waters of Narrabeen lagoon, including short breaks
• The coach will run you through style improvement and practice drills, to sharpen how you move, generate smooth effortless power from your leg muscles, and give you awesome endurance.
• Bring snacks and a water bottle as we will take breaks as needed to rest, stretch, refuel and have a toilet stop.

Session finishes about 11.30am. High fives all around!

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DIFFICULTY - IS THIS ACTIVITY RIGHT FOR ME?

Mandatory experience level: To benefit from this advanced skill training, you should have previously done at least one of our beginner kayaking sessions at Narrabeen, or equivalent beginner practice elsewhere (message the organiser if you are not sure).

This event is fine for people with basic fitness and mobility. The focus is on learning efficient movement of your whole body, and using your legs rather than your arms to generate effortless power.

You will be doing moderate exercise, with lots of breaks, for 2 hours. Expect to be tired, but not destroyed, by the end.

Safety and enjoyment are paramount - we paddle slow, take lots of breaks, stick together for a sociable, fun and safe learning environment, and look after you individually.

You will be swivelling your shoulders and torso a lot, so do not do this activity if you have issues with shoulders, elbows, wrist or spine, or a hernia in your abdomen or pelvis.

You must be able to swim 20 metres in the unlikely case that you fall out of your boat and have to swim back to it.

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MEETUP CONTRIBUTION for this activity is $60 per person. RSVP to the attendee list (2 persons max in the class) or the waiting list, and the organiser will email you to arrange a bank transfer to confirm your place.

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BOOKING CONDITIONS
Given strictly limited places in this class (and a constant issue across the meetup community of people irresponsibly putting their names down for events but not turning up), payments for this learning activity are NON-refundable except where the organiser cancels the event at their discretion due to unsafe weather such as storms, flooding, and extreme wind. Otherwise we paddle in all conditions including light intermittent rain and moderate safe wind levels.

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TRANSPORT
By car: there is a free carpark and street parking at our meeting point – on busy days spots can be hard to find so arrive at least 30 minutes early.

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER and PLAYING ON THE WATER!!! Join us for our usual fab monthly social gathering and relaxed paddling on the beautiful protected blue waters, hidden creeks and gorgeous beaches of Narrabeen lagoon. You don't need huge fitness, strength or skills – the leader gives everyone individual coaching attention and support. And kayak hire is cheap and easy right here on the lagoon. Afterwards we retire for great food and drinks at the fantastic mexican bar next door. This will be our last paddle day for the year (next one is mid-late January?), and places are strictly limited, so don't miss out!

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THE PLAN
Meet at 12 noon at the bottom end of Narrabeen Street by the lake, gather on the lawn next to the Limani cafe and the Prokayaks shop - NOT inside the shop.

• We will go into the shop together to individually pay for our kayak hires and pick up our paddling gear.
• Cost is $50 for a single kayak for the 3 hour session (everyone has to use a single seat boat, no doubles).
• Lifejackets are provided by the shop and mandatory on the water.
• There is secure storage for your bags while we are on the water.
• Do NOT take unprotected valuables (phone, keys, cards) onto the water - store them ashore with your bag. If you want to take things on the water, bring a dry bag or well-sealed kitchen food box to protect them.

Then the paddling starts, yay! We'll spend 3 hours (12.30am - 3.30pm) paddling on Narrabeen lagoon and its beautiful creeks, islands, beaches.

• We'll teach you how to hold a paddle correctly, and how to use your leg muscles instead of your arms for easy paddling - it's definitely not about brute strength!
• We'll tour the best bits of the lagoon, with the leader coaching alongside everyone to help you move well.
• Bring snacks and water bottle as we will take breaks on stunning beaches to stretch and have a toilet stop.

After we drop off our boats at 3.30pm, you can grab your bag to change into warm dry clothes, and visit the toilet.

Then, if you wish, join us 300 metres further along the lake shore at the JB & Sons mexican bar for awesome tasty food and excellent beer and margaritas.

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DIFFICULTY - IS THIS ACTIVITY RIGHT FOR ME?
This event is fine for beginner paddlers with basic fitness. You don’t need big arm strength or previous experience. Expect to do a moderate amount of exercise, at a relaxed pace, for 3 hours.

We paddle slowly, take lots of breaks, stick together as a group to keep it social, fun and safe for everyone, and look after you individually to make sure you cope. Nobody disappears ahead on their own, and nobody gets left behind.

You will swivel your shoulders and torso a lot, so do not do this activity if you have injuries to shoulders, elbows, wrists or spine, a hernia, or any other issues causing pain or immobility.

You must be able to swim 20 metres in the unlikely case that you fall out of your boat and have to swim back to it (we don't normally fall out).

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GRATUITY
Please contribute $10 cash (not PayID) on the day.

This is separate to your kayak hire fee which you pay directly to the kayak shop.

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TRANSPORT
By car: there is street parking in the residential streets around the kayak shop, but spots can be hard to find so arrive at least 30 minutes early.