Elimbah Creek is worth paddling as it presents its own series of surprises, one of which is it's size and how far you can go on an incoming tide. The last time we were here the creek showed no signs of petering out at the place we had lunch with the mossies. Google Earth gave the impression that it was only another 3Km before some sort of dam which became our destination for today.
Six kayaks left Toorbul on a classic still morning with hardly a ripple. The Glass House Mountains rose up into a soft haze which dissipated into clear blue skies. The tide was coming in and we hitched a lift with the flow passed the oyster lease and into the creek. A series of houses lined the banks. I don't think the functionality of the 40 gallon drum jetties or the surf ski speared in the mud overseen by a raunchy manikin would have been appreciated by the waterfront dwellers of the Gold or Sunshine Coasts.
The creek wanders inland and at times you have a three way choice. Keep following the flow and you will come across a bridge to nowhere. The concrete piers in place look modern and sturdy but the bridge only makes it to the first pier from the Southern bank.
The last time we paddled Elimbah Creek we came across a couple bathing naked. They had come down to a grassy bend that looked like it would have made a great place for AM tea. We did not stop as we thought they may have preferred their privacy. Around the bend today and for yet another surprise, there were plenty of captain winkies and doodle dandies out and about. Turns out this is where people staying at a 'clothes optional resort' http://www.pacificsunfriends.com.au) come to bathe. Peter knew one of the bathers (you can't get away with much around Brisbane) and another chap asked if we knew the Roscoe Group ! We were invited to pull in for AM tea and did so. The dress code taken up by people across the generations seemed a sure invitation for sunburn and a mossie attack in painful or awkward places.
There is a lot of bird song and while the creek banks may give the impression of undisturbed bush, look more closely and you will see you are paddling through forestry plantation. Every now and then you hear the racket of trail bike riders. The banks are muddy and the water turbid so it comes as a surprise when rock formations loom up for rudder strike. The rock shelves were peppered with smooth holes suggestive of once turbid flow.
As the creek continued to narrow three ducks were herded upstream, lizards plopped off branches, snakes were seen swimming and the surface became strewn with leaf litter, bottles, bits of foam and other rubbish. The plastic pots a plenty from last time must have either sunk or made there way out to the bay. It was hard to figure out exactly what was on Google Earth when the creek became straggly. What we came across was a series of fallen trees. Maybe you could float over on a kingtide, but certainly not today. Peter got out to check for the possibility of a port and returned with a definitive 'no', to both boats and walking.
There are few places to pull up on the steep or muddy banks of Elimbah Creek. There were only two reasonable possibilities before having to share lunch space with an eyeful of worangdongle et al. The lunch spot was a bit squeezy, had it's share of mossies and the gentle sounds of trail bikes. Nevertheless it was a welcome break as by now we had travelled 20Km and there was an industrial watermelon in my back hatch to celebrate the beginning of watermelon season.
Tanked up on tucker and melon we headed off hugging the banks as the tide was still coming in quite strongly. It was not until another 5Km or so that it was in our favour by which time the NE was not. The sails provided some welcome assistance for the final 1Km of the 36Km day.
So Dave, if you have read this far, maybe you should come along on the next paddle up Elimbah Creek as you might just get to enjoy some of its surprises.
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