NEWS
KAYAKING FROM BREWARRINA TO BOURKE
Welcome to Mike and Derek!
Two men from Canberra who are putting
kayaks in the river this morning, just past
the ochre beds. They’ll be kayaking to
Bourke; a river distance of 205kms.
Mike has written a book, Murray Darling
Journeys, which he co-authored with his
daughter Angela. It’s a book we’ve stocked
in the VIC for a while about the history of
rowing and paddling adventures on the Murray
Darling between the years of 1817 and
2016. His own adventures obviously continue.
The guys are going to take six to seven days
to complete their journey, camping on the
side of the river at night time and sitting
around the campfire, experiencing a very
simple life. Domestic tasks reign, life is
stripped back to the necessities and it provides
an opportunity to reflect on what is
important in life, says Derek.
A lot of your time is spent getting your routine
sorted out, says Mike. Focussing on
basic needs such as food, setting up camp,
allowing time to enjoy the late afternoon
sunset.
The friends are blessed to have good friend
Kevin with them, the driver, who has been a
part of these adventures before. You have to
make camp at 4pm during winter, he says,
and you tend to get up much earlier and go
to sleep much earlier. And it’s always a nice
surprise when you discover you’ve got
phone coverage and can send some pics or
enjoy a conversation with a loved one.
Derek said the opposite—he quite enjoys
the quiet.
Mike has paddled many of the Murray and
Murrumbidgee rivers over the last 25 years.
It’s an ongoing joy and sense of achievement
and grounding, he says. Many of these trips
he has completed alone. I’ve come to really
appreciate journeying alone, he tells me. It
was in 2018, I was on the Edward River at
Deniliquin when I finally realised how much
I enjoyed my own company.
We tend to worry too much about things,
he says, turning philosophical, but if you
actually do them, you realise how unwarranted
that anxiety was. As long as you’re
planned and organised, he goes on to explain,
everything is really fine.
I did once hear someone say that action can
be an antidote to anxiety. :), Go Guys! By
the time this goes to print you’ll have completed
your trip. We’re looking forward to
hearing about the next one.
PAGE 8
Story sourced by Leah Grant
BREWARRINA NEWS