Personnel from the School of Artillery fight raging currents to cross the Mitta Mitta River during a recent white water kayaking activity held in the Victorian Alps. Photo by Lt Lachlan Griffin, School of Artillery Gunners and ground-based Air Defenders make their way down a calm stretch of the Mitta Mitta River. 26 personnel from the School of Artillery spent two weeks in the Victorian Alps. Photo by Lt Lachlan Griffin, School of Artillery.

Whitewater quest
Braving the icy torrents of white water in the Victorian Alps, personnel from the School of Artillery discovered the true meaning of adventurous training.
Lt Lachlan Griffin reports

THE Mitta Mitta River is fed from the melting snow of Mt Hotham and Falls Creek alpine areas in Victoria's high country. The temperature of the water, as can well be imagined, is next to freezing. Personnel from the School of Artillery took to this snow-melt for two gruelling weeks of white water kayaking in the Victorian Alps.

The participants from the first group of 15 spent a day at the Puckapunyal Pool developing their skills with some adventurous people managing to perform eskimo rolls at the conclusion of the day.

Then it was off to the Joker base camp. After some nail-biting moments, the group arrived in one piece to move to the second phase of their training. The following day was spent entering and exiting the fast-flowing currents and wild eddies in white water on the Mitta Mitta River.

This was the first experience most of the participants had with white water and provided an excellent opportunity to practice that elusive skill of the eskimo roll.

Phase three was a step-up in skills the participants were dreading. After a restless night dreaming about eddie-monsters and waries told around the campfire about deaths on the river, the participants loaded up their kayaks and headed off for their first day of whitewater kayaking.

The Mitta Mitta rose to the occasion with a river level of 1.7m, approaching the 2m cut-off mark when nobody is permitted to kayak or raft the river.

The first rapid encountered capsized 12 of the 15 participants. This was an insight into the day ahead spent on ominous rapids such as Carnage Corner, Hawaii 5'O and Pinball.

After a challenging first day, the participants had been reduced from 15 to 10, with members pulling themselves off the activity with various concerns and minor injuries. Phase four was to be this group's Everest. Those left conquered their fears and returned to the water for further training and the ultimate aim of completing the Joker grade-two rapid. This rapid proved to be an exhilarating finish for the remaining participants.

Group two now took to the training and arrived at the base camp. After the obligatory night of wild stories and fire-gazing the second group left for their first day of kayaking feeling more confident in their skills and able to conquer anything that the river would throw at them. This was confirmed after the first rapid where no member capsized and the group was able to continue at a faster pace.

Phase four took this group, which had dwindled from 10 to six, to Wombat falls to begin their next day of paddling.

This number soon went to five when the sixth man found himself capsized and struggling against a strainer. That was his moment of adventurous training.

With the group now at five they pushed on and completed the first part of the river in good time.

Arriving for lunch, they were told to pack their kayaks for an overnight trip. This was a testing point for the group, with some considering throwing in the towel. But after some words of encouragement, the group pushed on and set up their overnight camping spot at the Bundarra confluence. The next day saw a 6am start with the ice breaking off the hutchies. This was group two's Everest; on the completion of this day they would travel the gorge paddling grade two plus rapids, some of which were too dangerous to paddle and had to be walked around.

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