Kayaking : Finchy's Australia

Kayaking Australian Waterways has become somewhat of an obsession for me as we travel through this vast country. Around ten years or so ago I bought what has become one of my favourite toys, my Perception Sport Pescador 12 Kayak and I haven’t looked back since. I did my research to find the most suitable craft and I was looking for, something stable enough to fish out of but sleek enough to paddle long distances.

After some good advice I settled on my Pescador 12 and it has proven to be the correct decision. I have had a ball paddling lots of stunning, interesting and sometimes challenging waterways all around Australia since that purchase. This kayak suits all the above criteria and enables me to go for a leisurely fish or do those long paddles where I just want to keep ‘having a look’.

I suppose a combination of my need to always see what is around the next corner and my love of anything on or in the water naturally led me to the sport of kayaking and wow has Australia got some amazing places to drop the boat in the water.

There is something special about the feeling of serenely exploring a new waterway with the only means of propulsion being your paddle. Wildlife hardly notice your presence as they go about their natural order of things and I have had many special encounters with marine and bird life of all sizes and descriptions.

I remember one day fishing from my kayak at Carpenters Rocks in South Australia when a curious seal put his snout up out of the water only inches from me. Besides the initial fright when he snorted and took me by surprise and I nearly leapt out of the craft, it was a special encounter. I am sure the critter gave me a cheeky grin.

Or an epic thirty kilometre paddle along the sensational blue clear waters of the Fleurieu Peninsula where I encountered an array of sea life including what I believed to be a Bronze Whaler shark. He had no interest in me and was quietly going about what ever Bronze Whalers do on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

These and so many other wildlife encounters are truly inspiring especially when the wildlife is not threatened by your presence which tends to be the case when you have high powered eggbeaters blurting away at the back of a boat. Unfortunately the stealth kayaking approach to fishing has not necessarily helped with my ability to catch a feed but sometimes a feed of fish is small icing on what is already a really good cake.

I recently paddled the Kalgan River just out of Albany in Western Australia, a well-known Bream and fishing hot spot. I had all the fishing gear with me and after around fifteen kilometres into the paddle an angler called to me from the bank “Caught anything?” “Haven’t even wet a line” was my relaxed reply. Sometimes I just need to see around that next corner.

Whether it be the Noosa River and Noosa Everglades in Queensland, tidal estuaries and waterways in the South West of Victoria, the Mighty Murray River, or the Blackwood River in Western Australia, I look forward to sharing these kayaking experiences. The outstanding images, information and stories of our Australian waterways will be nothing short of a pleasure for me to experience and share with you as we travel through Finchys Australia.