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FLGOFF
Purry gets the paddling under way.
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FLGOFF
Craig Purry and FLTLT Brad Horton after their 100km transit
of the Gippsland Lakes.
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TWO
officers from RAAF Base East Sale have found crossing the Gippsland
Lakes in Victoria in kayaks can be like venturing out to sea.
Flying Officer Craig Purry and Flight Lieutenant Brad Horton paddled
two kayaks 100km from Sale to Lakes Entrance from October 30 to
November 1.
The trip took the duo along the Thompson River, Lake Wellington,
Lake Victoria and Lake King. They carried their food and tents,
which improved stability but made the kayaks harder to pull through
the water.
FLTLT Horton said they were attracted to the idea because of the
beautiful scenery and the “real challenge” presented
by some of the bigger water crossings. The biggest is the 16km
across Lake Wellington.
“Crossing Lake Wellington and being so low in the water we
couldn’t see the land behind or in front of us. Once we got
to the middle, it felt like being in the ocean,” FLTLT Horton
said.
The trip demonstrated the advantages of FLTLT Horton’s sea
kayak over FLGOFF Purry’s river kayak. FLGOFF Purry found
the kayak was fine when heading into a swell but was less stable
when he found himself surfing wind swells on Lake King and some
of the bigger crossings. “It caused him a few eye-opening
moments,” FLTLT Horton said.
The weather was fine with a relatively light chop but pushed by
a 10-knot headwind.
“Both of us were keen for a physical challenge, and a three-day
trip seemed like a good start,” he said. “We’re
both pretty new to kayaking on the whole, maybe two years [experience].
We’d done quite a few day trips throughout the local river
systems but this was our first long one.”
Both officers were impressed with the abundance of wildlife. A
highlight was a pod of dolphins that joined them in the straits
between Lake Wellington and Hollands Landing.
FLTLT Horton said the trip was a fantastic experience. “I
didn’t want it to end and could have gone on for another
couple of days.”
