Irenabyss to Camp Arcade Beach: Packrafting the Franklin River, Tasmania
I love the creative names given to the various features on this river: Cranny
nook, Aesthesia ravine, Angel rain cave, Gordian gate, Indaba passage, Adze
corner, the Irenabyss just to name a few.
It was hot today, I overheated in my drysuit and ended the day with a
headache. We paddled through some nice canyons. Our day was long at around
25km much of the river had low grade rapids, however there was no idle loafing
as wood was a constant risk to consider.
It wasn't all easy street as our journey was slowed down with Gerard blowing a
seat, and Lachie's new Alpacka Mage exploding at the T-Zip which tore the hull
in the process. Just as well that we brought with us a spare packraft, and
between us we had loads of repair material and adhesive. I would not normally
travel with a group of ten, but in a remote area such as this, the safety in
numbers backup was rewarded. I think a group size of 3 would be a minimum with
a prefenence to 5.
The heat of the day and the high pressure applied to the Mage probably caused
the failure. After this incident we all let out air from our vessels when
stopping.
No brand confirmation bias for me with these two leading brands with issues. A
lot of naysayers belittle Chinese packrafts or Chinese anything for that
matter, but I will stick to my Frontier packraft thank you. So far I have not
had major issues with it and I have been in some pretty formidable waters. In
the early years, I admit that their quality was questionable a few years ago,
but then there were many issues with the brand names as well at the same time
(leaky valves, rupturing seats, leaky T-Zips, thigh braces ripping out to name
a few).
Our campsite was situated on a quiet picturesque site by the river. It was
great to chill out, repair the boats and get to know each other.
All in all today was a mixed day of misadventure, heat and adventure. One
can't expect it all to be perfect. Preparation and experience played a good
part in its outcome. One thing is for sure, there is nowhere else I would
rather be at this very moment.
Blog Indexes:
- Contents
- Navigate:
For an interactive map see:
Comments
Post a Comment