Mike, the aforementioned principal, had expressed an interest in going kayaking at the dam, which worked out well since Ash was keen to show off this new free-camping (that is, not legal camping) spot. We borrowed a two-person kayak and Mike was more than happy to paddle the whole way while I sat and drank in the serenity.I think the dam is actually owned by BHP. They use it to store the water that has been pumped out of the mine, and recycle it back for town use. Despite the constant pumping though, the water levels was still ridiculously low. The whole place itself is quite errie: leafless, dead trunks poke out from the motionless water, birds of prey circling above, cormorants and those other long-necked things (I’m obviously no ornithologist) cast silhouettes against the blue sky, biological waste from the grazing and feral cattle in the surrounding areas defiling the otherwise clean water… mmmm.
There were so many different bird species there. I even saw a nest of hatchlings, but wasn’t able to get a clear shot.I didn’t bother paddling as Mike seemed keen to let out some pent-up energy on something. So I took photos instead. If I can get the video clip up, you’ll see that we were actually going at a fairly decent speed. One of those places that makes you think of that ‘Deliverance’ movie. Even though I’ve never seen it, and don’t actually have any intention of seeing it, that’s what I picture the river scene to be like if it was shot here.
Even though all three of us could have happily paddled on for some time, we had to turn around and head back to the car before the mosquitoes came out because the OHS report issued by BHP had detailed that 9 of the 11 sentinel chickens at the dam had tested positive for Ross River Virus. Which makes me wonder why we’d want to go camping there.But guess what? No rash!
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