Brisbane River Paddling

I have been in Brisbane a week now, and this weekend was my first full weekend here. Since Tuesday when I collected it, I have been itching to try out my new (second-hand) kayak, so finally having another set of hands around to help me get it on and off the car meant that I could finally get on the water!

I don’t have an Owen or a Bec to kayak with in Brisbane, and Adam is a novice paddler, so nothing as ambitious as paddling out to an island just yet… Instead, we made do with the Brisbane River. I arranged to hire a kayak for Adam from Riverlife, a sort of urban adventure centre at Kangaroo Point, opposite Brisbane’s CBD. Launching my own kayak from James Warner Park, just along the river from Riverlife but much nearer to where I could park the car, I paddled along to meet up with Adam, who was getting his safety brief before being let loose with a sit-on-top kayak.

I was really pleased with my new (to me) Ysak RTM Touring Kayak – it was fairly fast to paddle, it didn’t feel heavy to fight against the current on the river. It was a lot more manoeuvrable than the kayak I had borrowed to paddle to Magnetic Island, more responsive to my paddle strokes and easier to turn. The only downside was that the high front and rear ends would catch the wind, and the wind found the kayak as easy to turn as my paddle did.  Maybe if I learn to paddle with the rudder this will be better?

Adam needed a few tips to help his paddling technique, and a few reminders to keep an eye on where he was heading – you have to concentrate so hard when you try something new, so you always lose track of something – but he did pretty well for a beginner. 

The sit-on-top kayaks for hire are stable, wide, and buoyant, and there is less to worry about with regard to capsizes than in a normal sit-inside kayak, so while Adam is happy to do more kayaking (and perhaps get his own, so we are more free to explore) he is pretty keen to stick to this type of craft.

To start with, we battled the wind and current to paddle up the river – always better to do the hard work first, then you don’t get carried away, end up going too far, and struggle to get back. Apart from a few frustrations involving the wind trying to turn my kayak, I was still really pleased with it and really enjoyed being able to turn and manoeuvre more easily. It was good that I was enjoying the kayak, as the paddling was a little less enjoyable than what I’ve been spoiled with in Townsville – the river was busy with traffic: jet skis roaring past, city transport boats to avoid, a party boat blaring out loud music. The business meant that there was also far less wildlife to enjoy.

I tried to enjoy the urban sights – some of it was pretty cool, although I’m much more at home with a bit more nature around.

I even managed a half decent selfie this time!

My crazy hat gets another outing...

I did enjoy this cute sculpture of a pair of pelicans, made from scrap metal. It was a little difficult to photograph from my vantage point on the water, but it was really great to see that little bit of unexpected art.

We paddled past the maritime museum, I might have a look at that from the land at some point.

Getting up the river as far as South Bank, we decided this was about as far as we would get on this occasion and still be on time to return the hire kayak.

Taking it easy as we were now paddling with the current, we paused to chat about possible future kayak plans. I glanced down, and noticed a bit of wildlife I hadn’t seen in Townsville before: a little puffer fish chilling out next to my kayak! It was very sweet – I’ve had a soft spot for puffer fish ever since I first saw them in an aquarium at Bristol Zoo when I was little. 

Not so easy to see in the photo,  but it was super-cute in real life

Yet more wildlife that I hadn’t seen in Townsville, a water dragon. 

These lizards seem to be all over the place in Brisbane, some of them can get fairly bold and even hang around in coffee shops. I think they are brilliant, they might be my new favourite lizard…

A water dragon in a coffee shop…

Soon we are back at the Riverlife pontoon. I moor up to go in and ask for any tips about where else to kayak in Brisbane, forgetting how I am dressed. The guy on the desk takes one look at me and says “Wow! That is a … unique hat” he is fascinated by it and can’t take his eyes off it! I am equal parts chuffed about the attention my hat is getting, and embarrassed about the attention I am getting…

Hire gear returned, I climb back down the ladder to the pontoon and back into my kayak. I have never gotten into a kayak from a pontoon before, but I surprise myself by managing a pretty good job of it. You can learn something new every day, and I will be less worried about doing that in the future now :)

I have a peaceful paddle back down to my earlier launch site, where I wait for Adam to catch up so that he can help me carry my boat back up to the car.

An iced coffee in the café overlooking the river from the cliffs above rounds off a good afternoon, and I look forward to more adventurous kayak trips in the future!