Hey Mate! I am so glad to see this underway! Thanks again for bringing us along on your wonderful expedition of this river. I am excited to finally see the highlights of your trip. HooRoo!
Thanks Jake 😊 it's sure is beautiful up that end if the river! And yep, the best way to spend a night in my opinion... under the stars, in front of a fire, glass of wine in hand!
Thanks Jim, much appreciated! I'd love to spend a year in Canada to experience what you guys get to enjoy on your doorstep... although, yes winter would be very different! The world has a lot of beautiful places to visit!
Cheers Marc. Yeah, a bit of wind means that, but a lot of wind is just a pain in the butt! plus... no flies in winter, which is just one of the many reasons I chose winter to paddle!
@@gregm9569 that sunset was one of the best of the whole adventure! I did take the river charts with me, but ended up not using them at all... I relied almost solely on google maps on my phone for navigation. Google used to have an app that worked offline called "my maps" which was brilliant... but they've since turned it off, much to my chagrin!
Off and paddling! Can only imagine the excitement you must have had pushing off from the bank on the first day, knowing it was all still ahead of you. Beautiful scenery along that stretch. Great opening episode to the series. Looking forward to the rest!
Absolutely... but also a healthy dose of trepidation too! I'd heard some pretty good tales of the troubles with the upper river, and I've seen what it looks like at low water too and it scared the heck out of me. Knowing I had more water was a good thing! Thanks Chris, I know paddling isn't your thing, but thanks for following along!
Yes, the mega series has finally released! Good to see you here again Amy! Looks like you got to a great start. I'm not a fan of flooded areas, despite looking pretty unique with all the dead trees. I'm sure you had lots of fun with the shoreline. But you're getting the mileage in and seeing another unique part of the country, as well as sharing it with us. Looking forward to more! 🙌
Thanks tPP... yep, at last! the problem with editing it all is that I want to get out there again. Right now! ah well, it'll cool down again soon and I will build up my leave while I wait, lol. Thanks for coming on the journey :)
Great video! I can not wait to do my first epic paddle. I've been on dialysis for the past several years but just had a transplant this past June! You are inspiring and I really enjoyed watching this. I can't wait for the next one.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it! And so happy to hear you're going to get out and do an epic paddle too, especially after the rough trot you've obviously had. Well done mate, and good luck!
Thank you Amy for this video and it's only day three I can't wait to see the rest of the series great work love your smile and I'll see you in the next video 😃
Fantastic to do this section. Back 30 years ago, I bushwalked (hiked) the upper Murray near the very beginning of the river. Well done to the support crew for getting you to the drop off spot. Cheers, Paul
That looked like such a perfect day for the start of your journey. I absolutely love seeing your view from the river - it's such a different way to experience the country instead of the roads I'm used to. So excited to follow along the rest of your expedition!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Been waiting for this series to start, so looking forward to watching the whole lot. Love the good old quick grip clamp as a camera mount, that's brilliant
Glad you like the episode Dan, thanks! haha, yep... those clamps were the best thing I ever thought of. Of course, I'm sure I wasn't the first to come up with the idea, because it's such a simple, easy, quick solution!
Great first episode Amy! The scenery is beautiful, especially your campsite locations on nights 2 and 3, just gorgeous! I appreciated the sunset timelapses on night 3 as well, brilliant 👍 Gonna be a great series! 🍻
@@chrisfrost9527 hell yeah, me too! ... and I would have got back there by now to do from Bringenbring bridge to Walwa if it wasn't for this rather annoying pandemic getting in the way of me getting back home!
Hi Amy. I was halfway through enjoying MRX2 and writing a comment when the screen went blank and a message appeared "this video is no longer available" or something like that. Hope it will be back up soon.
G'day Lawrence. Bugger! I've been able to upload the video again (finally! I have veeeeery slow internet here!) so I'll be posting it again at 6.45pm SA-time tonight, after I've made a few checks to make sure this one doesn't glitch.
Great video, thanks Amy. And timely - I am in the middle of planning a trip across to Walwa to kayak in early Feb. Using Walwa as a base we hope to do a few day trips between Brigenbrong Bridge and Kennedy's Reserve (which I think is the last take out point before the dam). A few questions for you: a) do you know what the water level was at either the Brigenbrong Bridge or Jingellic when you started your paddle? b) which section between Walwa (or did you put in at Gadds Reserve?) and the start of the lake was your favourite? c) Do you remember how long it took you from Walwa to Jingellic? And I would love to know what you think of your Old Town Next? I paddle an Old Town Castine 145 and have no idea how one gets out of a canoe can you explain? Thanks again for the inspiring, scenic, informative and entertaining videos you produce. FYI the Hume Dam is at 99% capacity at the moment.
Thanks Lawrence, much appreciated! some answers... (a) the water level was 1.5m at Bringenbrong bridge... perfect levels for the safest paddling (b) I put in at the boatramp next to the Walwa caravan park. The section between Jingellic and (probably?) Kennedy's Reserve was great fun! fast water and rapids split up with calm water between so enough time to gather yourself for the next one. If the levels at B' bridge are lower those rapids would be a LOT harder though, so downstream of Burrowye would be a good option on those days (c) it's only 5kms from Walwa to Jingellic, so it only took me about half an hour. I love my Old Town Next for this kind of trip. It was bombproof, so I didn't need to be too worried about hitting rocks/snags or dragging it up onto rough banks. I found it easy to negotiate the swift water in, though it was a bit of a pain on the later parts of the river where it was long, wide straights and lots of wind. You get into a canoe the same way you get out of one, lol... but if you want my technique (which is very basic, and not elegant at all) you grab the gunnels (a hand on each side), put one foot on the centre line of the canoe, lean forward and get your bum off the seat, and then put your other foot on the ground which is usually in the water. I did master deep water exits eventually, but that took a LOT of practice before it didn't look like I was about to fall in!
@@AmyOutdoors Thanks for the info Amy. Its good to know a safe minimum level; like you (but a few decades older), we are flat water paddlers. The level at the B'bridge is currently 2.28m so am hoping it will drop to around the 1.5-1.8m mark by early Feb. We are thinking to start with the downstream sections first and save the presumably faster flowing Brigenbrong Bridge section until last. Its also really good to know how fast you were travelling so we can plan the length of each day's paddle. Re exiting a canoe - for me it reads like I would have the same problem at step 3 as I do in my kayak - getting my bum off the seat ! Looking forward to pt.2 of your adventure. Cheers
Your storytelling and videography is spot on. I reckon the river will be full of Amy inspired adventure paddlers in the near future. Such an inspiration, Thank you for sharing. 👏🏻
Finally Amy. Well done and just in time to watch before my first week on the river begins. Im off monday . Looking forward to the next episode. I have so many questions to ask. But they can wait till you recover from editing 100hrs. Congrats 👏 a great job by your support crew aswell. Are they for hire . 🤔
Thanks mate! Yeah, it took a while to get this first one done, but hopefully the rest will fall out fairly easily now... 🤞 Looks like you've missed the worst of the heat up here thankfully, so you should get some beautiful days and night around Loch Luna... plenty of shade there too, which will help. Have a great time, I'm very jealous!
What a great adventure, awesome video work. I love you story narrative as well. I was hoping to kayak from Echuca to Swan Hill in my fishing kayak, but border closure were a problem. I’ve done multi day trips with it and it handles quite well in all sorts of conditions. What do you think are the biggest risks in solo kayaking the Murray.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Gary! I used use my Perception Tribe 11.5 sit-on-top to go kayak camping... it just means you have to pack less and lighter; it's perfectly do-able! Echuca to Swan Hill is a lovely section, you'll really enjoy it. The biggest risks for a solo paddler... Capsizing or getting caught in a strainer (willows that overhang the fast water) are much bigger risks when you're on your own, so always wear a lifejacket and leave a float plan with a reliable person that will get worried if you don't check in at a pre-determined time. Of course, don't get to close to the strainers either if your boat is bit hard to control. Snake bite is always a worry... look where you put your feet and hands! Hoons driving around your campsite at night were one of my biggest worries... it does happen! I organised to check in with someone (by SMS text) every morning and every night while I was on the river... it gave me piece of mind that someone would miss me if anything did happen where I wasn't able to press the emergency button on my PLB.
Hello Amy! Absolutely amazing video, knowing you’ve got so much adventure ahead is absolute gold for the spirit. I’m heading off next Friday to start my thru paddle of the Murray. Think I’ll be dark at lake Hume! How long did it end up taking you?
G'day Darcy and thanks! Oh, how exciting for you... you must be buzzing with energy right now, it's so close! Lake Hume took me 3 days in the end, most folks do it in 2, but I took my time. You'll have so much more water to cross too, but that's a great thing... less muddy banks and snags to worry about and probably a LOT more flow. Thanks for watching and commenting mate, and all the best for your own trip, may the winds be behind you!
Beautiful editing Amy! I’ve been looking forward to watching these videos for so long and have saved them to watch during my school holiday work break. So glad I did. I watch with the eyes of someone who 100% hopes to do the same trip so I’m taking note of advice along your journey, but also as a “local” (we are just out of Albury). I can’t wait to see the rest of your trip. Amy, a question…. Not sure if you’ve talked about this in previous videos (if so, could you please direct me to where…) but I’m interested in your reasons for choosing to paddle in an open top canoe versus a kayak. And also, which mattress are you using??? I have just done a week of white water rafting down the upper Mitta, slept on a crappy self inflating thing and REALLY need to reconsider my sanity!!!!!! Cheers Samm PS your Lulu lamp and poncho recommendations have proven to be excellent!!! Although my Lux doesn’t have a charging port nor the ability to un”pop” the hanging strap. (No biggie, just an interesting observation) 😊
Thanks so much Samm... very pleased to hear you thought it was worth the wait! I'm looking forward to getting some time to finish off a few more videos in the series before I take off on my next expedition in May. Re: open canoe vs kayak... a few reasons, and you touched on one of them by accident with your other question, lol. First and foremost, I can't comfortably sit in a seat where my feet are at the same height as my bum for more than about an hour without getting cramp or pins and needles. I wanted to be able to paddle for hours without pain and without having to get out of the boat many times a day. Also, a nice side effect of that which I hadn't considered before actually buying the canoe is that in the canoe i have a dry bum, which is undeniably a luxury whilst paddling in winter (which is when I do 90% of my trips). I also wanted to be able to pack a lot of gear. the open canoe has about twice as much storage space as a closed-in kayak. Gear carried in kayaks is limited to whatever can fit in a multitude of small drybags... I store the bulk of my gear in 2 huge dry-duffle-bags, which are super easy to pack and unpack gear in and out of, but also super easy, fast and relatively mud-free to pack into the canoe... I don't have to get down on my knees to push little bags into the very front and back of the boat. An open boat also makes it possible to load and unload while the boat is still floating without getting wet... again, a nice thing to have in winter. And because I can fit a lot of gear in and not be too restricted in size... I can take a huge quiet mattress and sleep like a baby every night, lol. I use a Zempire Monstamat self inflating mattress... it's honestly like sleeping on a bed at home but it takes up a lot of room - you'd never fit it in a kayak. I also made a fitted sheet for it, used a small real pillow with a pillowcase and reshaped a regular single bed quilt with a quilt cover to sleep under... it was just like having a real bed every single night - I never regretted handing over so much space to my sleep system! If you'll be in a kayak I'd suggest something like the Sea to Summit Etherlite mats, which is what I use when I hike. All the inflatable hiking mattresses are noisy, but the 10cm height makes it a comfy sleep for a side sleeper... I would also recommend getting a small rechargeable air pump for it though (I got one off amazon) ... absolute game-changer if you don't have to blow it up yourself every night!
@@AmyOutdoors oh my heavens! Thank you for such a detailed response. I am “on the larger side of life” and 100% identify with everything you have said, about everything!!!! I’d like to try a canoe… will have a look around to see if anyone here offers them for hire. I have a pretty basic kayak with limited storage so I wouldn’t be using that for a long river trip anyway. Was starting to look for an upgrade and the idea of a canoe is appealing. Not too many Old Town stockists here though…. Might have to expand my search area!!!! Let me know if you’re ever back up this way! I’ll come and say hi
I will! Dave runs Murray River Canoe Hire out of Albury and he's got a few different canoes to try out (great guy too), and there are other hire companies nearby. I had to order my Old Town Next from Sydney and get it shipped to me. A canoe will move slower than a kayak (I only managed 8km/h at the most up around your area... once I got to Mildura it was back down around 4 or 5km/h), and you'll need to pick the right one if you want to paddle it with a kayak paddle... but there's quite a few good ones to choose from. Just something to keep in mind - the speed and the efficiency of great tracking are why most folks that do a thru-paddle choose a touring/sea kayak. Obviously, that was a compromise I was willing to make ;)
Hi Amy, so I'm looking forward to your new adventure on the river. I really like your canoe, a bit atypical for me with a kayak paddle. Beautiful shots from a gopro camera. What other cameras do you use? David PT
G'day David, thanks for checking out this series! I do prefer to use a kayak paddle and I chose my canoe specially so I could use it with a kayak paddle. Yes, the GoPros take some great footage... I also use a DJI Pocket 2 for most of my handheld shots, and I sometimes use my phone (samsung note 10+), and the drone shots are captured with my DJI Mavic Air. Cheers 👍
I spent time before I left marking 2km intervals upstream of the Hume dam into a Google My Maps layer (which, at the time) I could use offline. So I use my "invisible blue markers" to work out distance very easily... I didn't want to use an app to record distance, because it chews up battery life on my phone.
lake Hume with the wind reminds of headings cliff straight to murtho forest landing, head wind and took me 40 min to do 1.2km to lunch and nearly rang the wife to come pick me up but then i remembered that you keep going.
oh wow, that's awesome 👏 Thanks for sharing that! well done to keep going. Yep, its hard, and not much fun, but we're not in a race, just keep chipping away and you'll get there!
G'day Narndi. No, although I'd love to do that! This is the thru-paddle I started last April, I've finally found the time to edit it! The year before last I completed the South Australian end of the river as a section-paddle... the last 600kms of the same river.
Love this video. Love your energy. You are obviously doing what you love and were meant to do. Well done. Really looking forward to this series.
Thanks mate, really appreciate it. Yes, I'd definitely do it all again if given the chance!
Hey Mate! I am so glad to see this underway! Thanks again for bringing us along on your wonderful expedition of this river. I am excited to finally see the highlights of your trip. HooRoo!
G'day Jon, great to see you back for more 🥰 thanks mate 👍
You deserve a bigger audience. Very professionally done and looks like you had a ball.
😊 thanks so much Paul! I do love adventuring and sharing it through video, I'm glad that really comes through!
Such great story telling!
So beautiful, what an epic start to the adventure!
Great way to finish day 3, fire and wine :)
Thanks Jake 😊 it's sure is beautiful up that end if the river! And yep, the best way to spend a night in my opinion... under the stars, in front of a fire, glass of wine in hand!
@@AmyOutdoors wasn’t expecting it to be that fast in parts either
Awesome! The Murray is definitely on my list
Excellent, I hope you get to do it soon! Thanks for watching and commenting mate :)
Brilliant Video Amy, now I'm jealous and will have to add this trip to my long list. Keep up the great work, very enjoyable to watch.
Cheers mate, really appreciate it! Yep, definitely recommend taking this adventure on one day... absolutely loved it!
What a beautiful river, your country has a better winter then we do here in Canada. Very well done..
Thanks Jim, much appreciated! I'd love to spend a year in Canada to experience what you guys get to enjoy on your doorstep... although, yes winter would be very different! The world has a lot of beautiful places to visit!
Wonderful Ep. 1! The fast water looked quite fun! Have been looking forward to this adventure, thanks for sharing. :) :)
It was, thanks Jacqueline!
Awesome video, really enjoyed this one and looking forward to the rest .
Cheers mate 😁👍 glad you enjoyed it, plenty more to come!
Looks like a fantastic trip Amy🤘Out here a bit of wind means no flies! 😆
See you on the next one✌
Cheers Marc. Yeah, a bit of wind means that, but a lot of wind is just a pain in the butt! plus... no flies in winter, which is just one of the many reasons I chose winter to paddle!
Like a boss 😃 can’t wait for the next episode 👍👍
haha, indeed! thanks mate 👍
Great viewing, as I knew it would be. Can't wait for episode 2. :-)
Thanks K, ep. 2 shouldn't be too far away now
Waiting with baited breath for the adventure to start...superb!
Thanks Greg! So pleased you enjoyed it 😀
Brilliant production, sunset on day 3 was glorious. Are you using river charts?
@@gregm9569 that sunset was one of the best of the whole adventure! I did take the river charts with me, but ended up not using them at all... I relied almost solely on google maps on my phone for navigation. Google used to have an app that worked offline called "my maps" which was brilliant... but they've since turned it off, much to my chagrin!
Off and paddling! Can only imagine the excitement you must have had pushing off from the bank on the first day, knowing it was all still ahead of you. Beautiful scenery along that stretch. Great opening episode to the series. Looking forward to the rest!
Absolutely... but also a healthy dose of trepidation too! I'd heard some pretty good tales of the troubles with the upper river, and I've seen what it looks like at low water too and it scared the heck out of me. Knowing I had more water was a good thing! Thanks Chris, I know paddling isn't your thing, but thanks for following along!
@@AmyOutdoors no I love watching your paddling videos. Love a big outdoors adventure whatever it may be!
Yes, the mega series has finally released! Good to see you here again Amy! Looks like you got to a great start. I'm not a fan of flooded areas, despite looking pretty unique with all the dead trees. I'm sure you had lots of fun with the shoreline. But you're getting the mileage in and seeing another unique part of the country, as well as sharing it with us. Looking forward to more! 🙌
Thanks tPP... yep, at last! the problem with editing it all is that I want to get out there again. Right now! ah well, it'll cool down again soon and I will build up my leave while I wait, lol. Thanks for coming on the journey :)
Thanks for sharing, Amy. Enjoying your videos. I wish I can do this one day.
thanks Cornelius, I hope you can too!
Simply wonderful! So excited to finally see the trip! Thanks for bringing us along! HooRoo!!!
Cheers Jon, thanks for hanging in there! Pleased you enjoyed it too! Hooroo!
Beautiful country
It is, isn't it? I'd love to go back sometime soon.
Wow what a great video, fantastic editing. Loved it. Cheers Jeff
Cheers Jeff 😁 so pleased you thought it was worth waiting for!
Great video! I can not wait to do my first epic paddle. I've been on dialysis for the past several years but just had a transplant this past June! You are inspiring and I really enjoyed watching this. I can't wait for the next one.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it! And so happy to hear you're going to get out and do an epic paddle too, especially after the rough trot you've obviously had. Well done mate, and good luck!
Amazing video. Love your channel 😊
Thanks mate 👍
Thank you Amy for this video and it's only day three I can't wait to see the rest of the series great work love your smile and I'll see you in the next video 😃
Thanks mate, really appreciate you checking it out 👍 glad you enjoyed it enough to watch it all in one go 😉
Fantastic to do this section. Back 30 years ago, I bushwalked (hiked) the upper Murray near the very beginning of the river.
Well done to the support crew for getting you to the drop off spot.
Cheers, Paul
Ooo, you did the hard yards! I'll go back and do that one day, for sure.
That looked like such a perfect day for the start of your journey. I absolutely love seeing your view from the river - it's such a different way to experience the country instead of the roads I'm used to. So excited to follow along the rest of your expedition!
Thanks for coming along on the journey!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Been waiting for this series to start, so looking forward to watching the whole lot.
Love the good old quick grip clamp as a camera mount, that's brilliant
Glad you like the episode Dan, thanks! haha, yep... those clamps were the best thing I ever thought of. Of course, I'm sure I wasn't the first to come up with the idea, because it's such a simple, easy, quick solution!
Great first episode Amy! The scenery is beautiful, especially your campsite locations on nights 2 and 3, just gorgeous! I appreciated the sunset timelapses on night 3 as well, brilliant 👍 Gonna be a great
series! 🍻
Thank you so much Pete, and thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!
Your voice over voice is nice it reminds me of a presenter on Getaway haha also your editing between cameras makes it very watchable! :)
😎 thanks Hayley... i think 😉
Love it !
Thanks mate... I reckon I had a bit more water than you did in this section.
@@AmyOutdoors yeah i reckon, it was hard to recognise without all the rocks, it all makes me want to do it again….. and again 😊
@@chrisfrost9527 hell yeah, me too!
... and I would have got back there by now to do from Bringenbring bridge to Walwa if it wasn't for this rather annoying pandemic getting in the way of me getting back home!
i just love her laugh...just the best 😄😄😄😄😄😄👍👍👍👍👍👍
Do you have footage on the arrival of youre last day
😊 thanks mate. I have footage of every day I was on the river 🙃 so yes, I've got arrival footage too 👍
Hi Amy. I was halfway through enjoying MRX2 and writing a comment when the screen went blank and a message appeared "this video is no longer available" or something like that. Hope it will be back up soon.
G'day Lawrence. Bugger! I've been able to upload the video again (finally! I have veeeeery slow internet here!) so I'll be posting it again at 6.45pm SA-time tonight, after I've made a few checks to make sure this one doesn't glitch.
Great video, thanks Amy. And timely - I am in the middle of planning a trip across to Walwa to kayak in early Feb. Using Walwa as a base we hope to do a few day trips between Brigenbrong Bridge and Kennedy's Reserve (which I think is the last take out point before the dam). A few questions for you: a) do you know what the water level was at either the Brigenbrong Bridge or Jingellic when you started your paddle? b) which section between Walwa (or did you put in at Gadds Reserve?) and the start of the lake was your favourite? c) Do you remember how long it took you from Walwa to Jingellic? And I would love to know what you think of your Old Town Next? I paddle an Old Town Castine 145 and have no idea how one gets out of a canoe can you explain? Thanks again for the inspiring, scenic, informative and entertaining videos you produce. FYI the Hume Dam is at 99% capacity at the moment.
Thanks Lawrence, much appreciated! some answers... (a) the water level was 1.5m at Bringenbrong bridge... perfect levels for the safest paddling (b) I put in at the boatramp next to the Walwa caravan park. The section between Jingellic and (probably?) Kennedy's Reserve was great fun! fast water and rapids split up with calm water between so enough time to gather yourself for the next one. If the levels at B' bridge are lower those rapids would be a LOT harder though, so downstream of Burrowye would be a good option on those days (c) it's only 5kms from Walwa to Jingellic, so it only took me about half an hour.
I love my Old Town Next for this kind of trip. It was bombproof, so I didn't need to be too worried about hitting rocks/snags or dragging it up onto rough banks. I found it easy to negotiate the swift water in, though it was a bit of a pain on the later parts of the river where it was long, wide straights and lots of wind. You get into a canoe the same way you get out of one, lol... but if you want my technique (which is very basic, and not elegant at all) you grab the gunnels (a hand on each side), put one foot on the centre line of the canoe, lean forward and get your bum off the seat, and then put your other foot on the ground which is usually in the water. I did master deep water exits eventually, but that took a LOT of practice before it didn't look like I was about to fall in!
@@AmyOutdoors Thanks for the info Amy. Its good to know a safe minimum level; like you (but a few decades older), we are flat water paddlers. The level at the B'bridge is currently 2.28m so am hoping it will drop to around the 1.5-1.8m mark by early Feb. We are thinking to start with the downstream sections first and save the presumably faster flowing Brigenbrong Bridge section until last. Its also really good to know how fast you were travelling so we can plan the length of each day's paddle. Re exiting a canoe - for me it reads like I would have the same problem at step 3 as I do in my kayak - getting my bum off the seat ! Looking forward to pt.2 of your adventure. Cheers
Your storytelling and videography is spot on. I reckon the river will be full of Amy inspired adventure paddlers in the near future. Such an inspiration, Thank you for sharing. 👏🏻
Wow, thanks Sue! That's very kind of you to say :")
Finally Amy. Well done and just in time to watch before my first week on the river begins. Im off monday . Looking forward to the next episode. I have so many questions to ask. But they can wait till you recover from editing 100hrs. Congrats 👏 a great job by your support crew aswell. Are they for hire . 🤔
Thanks mate! Yeah, it took a while to get this first one done, but hopefully the rest will fall out fairly easily now... 🤞
Looks like you've missed the worst of the heat up here thankfully, so you should get some beautiful days and night around Loch Luna... plenty of shade there too, which will help. Have a great time, I'm very jealous!
What a great adventure, awesome video work. I love you story narrative as well. I was hoping to kayak from Echuca to Swan Hill in my fishing kayak, but border closure were a problem. I’ve done multi day trips with it and it handles quite well in all sorts of conditions. What do you think are the biggest risks in solo kayaking the Murray.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Gary! I used use my Perception Tribe 11.5 sit-on-top to go kayak camping... it just means you have to pack less and lighter; it's perfectly do-able! Echuca to Swan Hill is a lovely section, you'll really enjoy it. The biggest risks for a solo paddler... Capsizing or getting caught in a strainer (willows that overhang the fast water) are much bigger risks when you're on your own, so always wear a lifejacket and leave a float plan with a reliable person that will get worried if you don't check in at a pre-determined time. Of course, don't get to close to the strainers either if your boat is bit hard to control. Snake bite is always a worry... look where you put your feet and hands! Hoons driving around your campsite at night were one of my biggest worries... it does happen! I organised to check in with someone (by SMS text) every morning and every night while I was on the river... it gave me piece of mind that someone would miss me if anything did happen where I wasn't able to press the emergency button on my PLB.
Hello Amy! Absolutely amazing video, knowing you’ve got so much adventure ahead is absolute gold for the spirit. I’m heading off next Friday to start my thru paddle of the Murray. Think I’ll be dark at lake Hume! How long did it end up taking you?
G'day Darcy and thanks! Oh, how exciting for you... you must be buzzing with energy right now, it's so close! Lake Hume took me 3 days in the end, most folks do it in 2, but I took my time. You'll have so much more water to cross too, but that's a great thing... less muddy banks and snags to worry about and probably a LOT more flow. Thanks for watching and commenting mate, and all the best for your own trip, may the winds be behind you!
Beautiful editing Amy! I’ve been looking forward to watching these videos for so long and have saved them to watch during my school holiday work break. So glad I did.
I watch with the eyes of someone who 100% hopes to do the same trip so I’m taking note of advice along your journey, but also as a “local” (we are just out of Albury). I can’t wait to see the rest of your trip.
Amy, a question…. Not sure if you’ve talked about this in previous videos (if so, could you please direct me to where…) but I’m interested in your reasons for choosing to paddle in an open top canoe versus a kayak.
And also, which mattress are you using??? I have just done a week of white water rafting down the upper Mitta, slept on a crappy self inflating thing and REALLY need to reconsider my sanity!!!!!!
Cheers
Samm
PS your Lulu lamp and poncho recommendations have proven to be excellent!!! Although my Lux doesn’t have a charging port nor the ability to un”pop” the hanging strap. (No biggie, just an interesting observation) 😊
Thanks so much Samm... very pleased to hear you thought it was worth the wait! I'm looking forward to getting some time to finish off a few more videos in the series before I take off on my next expedition in May.
Re: open canoe vs kayak... a few reasons, and you touched on one of them by accident with your other question, lol. First and foremost, I can't comfortably sit in a seat where my feet are at the same height as my bum for more than about an hour without getting cramp or pins and needles. I wanted to be able to paddle for hours without pain and without having to get out of the boat many times a day. Also, a nice side effect of that which I hadn't considered before actually buying the canoe is that in the canoe i have a dry bum, which is undeniably a luxury whilst paddling in winter (which is when I do 90% of my trips). I also wanted to be able to pack a lot of gear. the open canoe has about twice as much storage space as a closed-in kayak. Gear carried in kayaks is limited to whatever can fit in a multitude of small drybags... I store the bulk of my gear in 2 huge dry-duffle-bags, which are super easy to pack and unpack gear in and out of, but also super easy, fast and relatively mud-free to pack into the canoe... I don't have to get down on my knees to push little bags into the very front and back of the boat. An open boat also makes it possible to load and unload while the boat is still floating without getting wet... again, a nice thing to have in winter. And because I can fit a lot of gear in and not be too restricted in size... I can take a huge quiet mattress and sleep like a baby every night, lol. I use a Zempire Monstamat self inflating mattress... it's honestly like sleeping on a bed at home but it takes up a lot of room - you'd never fit it in a kayak. I also made a fitted sheet for it, used a small real pillow with a pillowcase and reshaped a regular single bed quilt with a quilt cover to sleep under... it was just like having a real bed every single night - I never regretted handing over so much space to my sleep system! If you'll be in a kayak I'd suggest something like the Sea to Summit Etherlite mats, which is what I use when I hike. All the inflatable hiking mattresses are noisy, but the 10cm height makes it a comfy sleep for a side sleeper... I would also recommend getting a small rechargeable air pump for it though (I got one off amazon) ... absolute game-changer if you don't have to blow it up yourself every night!
@@AmyOutdoors oh my heavens! Thank you for such a detailed response. I am “on the larger side of life” and 100% identify with everything you have said, about everything!!!! I’d like to try a canoe… will have a look around to see if anyone here offers them for hire. I have a pretty basic kayak with limited storage so I wouldn’t be using that for a long river trip anyway. Was starting to look for an upgrade and the idea of a canoe is appealing. Not too many Old Town stockists here though…. Might have to expand my search area!!!!
Let me know if you’re ever back up this way! I’ll come and say hi
I will! Dave runs Murray River Canoe Hire out of Albury and he's got a few different canoes to try out (great guy too), and there are other hire companies nearby. I had to order my Old Town Next from Sydney and get it shipped to me. A canoe will move slower than a kayak (I only managed 8km/h at the most up around your area... once I got to Mildura it was back down around 4 or 5km/h), and you'll need to pick the right one if you want to paddle it with a kayak paddle... but there's quite a few good ones to choose from. Just something to keep in mind - the speed and the efficiency of great tracking are why most folks that do a thru-paddle choose a touring/sea kayak. Obviously, that was a compromise I was willing to make ;)
Hi Amy, so I'm looking forward to your new adventure on the river. I really like your canoe, a bit atypical for me with a kayak paddle. Beautiful shots from a gopro camera. What other cameras do you use? David PT
G'day David, thanks for checking out this series! I do prefer to use a kayak paddle and I chose my canoe specially so I could use it with a kayak paddle.
Yes, the GoPros take some great footage... I also use a DJI Pocket 2 for most of my handheld shots, and I sometimes use my phone (samsung note 10+), and the drone shots are captured with my DJI Mavic Air. Cheers 👍
Love watching your videos missed you since the last series. Quick question what length is your paddle please. Cant wait for more..Cheers
Thanks so much Kim, that's great to hear! My paddle is 230cm.
@@AmyOutdoors thanks I have just discovered how good a double paddle is for the solo canoe myself. How often are the videos coming out please. Cheers
Well, I fit editing in around my normal full-time working life... so a new episode will be out every week or two hopefully!
@@AmyOutdoors thanks cant wait
I'm so jelly! Well done :) Hey - did that hat serve you well? What brand is it?
G'day Martin, and thanks! Yes, loved my hat! It's a Sun Protection Australia adapt-a-cap.
what do you use to measure distance that you have traveled?
I spent time before I left marking 2km intervals upstream of the Hume dam into a Google My Maps layer (which, at the time) I could use offline. So I use my "invisible blue markers" to work out distance very easily... I didn't want to use an app to record distance, because it chews up battery life on my phone.
lake Hume with the wind reminds of headings cliff straight to murtho forest landing, head wind and took me 40 min to do 1.2km to lunch and nearly rang the wife to come pick me up but then i remembered that you keep going.
oh wow, that's awesome 👏 Thanks for sharing that! well done to keep going. Yep, its hard, and not much fun, but we're not in a race, just keep chipping away and you'll get there!
Hi Amy. Have you started your trip again??
G'day Narndi. No, although I'd love to do that! This is the thru-paddle I started last April, I've finally found the time to edit it! The year before last I completed the South Australian end of the river as a section-paddle... the last 600kms of the same river.