‘Recce’, ‘recky’, or ‘wrecky’ ? I guess it could be influenced by your skills and what kind of boat you float (or sink). Self preservation rules. Especially when an aged Raider is in the company of two Marlins. They had more fibreglass to share with the upturned cars, bicycles, motorbikes, shopping trolleys, tricycles and trailers masked by the murky shallows of the Upper Bremer.
This recce was less than 10Km yet took more than three hours. This fine shallow cesspit of a waterway proved to be an unexpected delight shared with herons, kingfishers, rails, ducks, cormorants, fish, dragonflies, all kinds of rubbish, adventurous kids, trains, fascinating storm watercourses, rocky runs, cattle beast, the heat and serious litter including possible poop.
There was no intention to travel any distance. Not after our recent 42Km slog back down the Bremer without time for lunch. All done against a headwind to avoid being locked in for the night. Today was a slow amble. It required a leisurely AM tea while waiting for the tide to obscure yet another rock bar just downstream of the railway bridge.While it looked historic, regular passenger and freight trains signaled currency. The birdlife was curiously nonplussed, a fishing heron simply changed places as Dave paddled by to check out the bat colonies. This section of the Bremer is a like a small scale replica of some of the prettier stretches of the Brisbane River between Burton’s Bridge and Kholo. Flowering callestimons dripping with spiders and red stamens reach out from either bank. Keep a look out for stainless steel cable the sliding gates crossing or blocking the river. While the the later was open, it signaled an area where cattle beast came down to the water. A large tree has fallen across the river which was diminishing in depth. We turned around at the upturned trailer where the next narrow stretch had potential to create a wrecky on a slowing tide, especially given all the rubbish and rocks we encountered already.
The Bremer upstream of Shapcott Park is signed as a canoe trail replete with a well kept riverside park. Just make sure you have a tide of at least 2.7m, get the timing right, take a small, preferably plastic boat (or let someone else go first), plenty of water to drink and even more to wash off the brown scum. Well worth a recce.
