Secrets of the Coorong

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Wednesday 9th February – today we were going on an adventure cruise on ‘The Spirit of the Coorong’. We would be cruising through the Coorong (a long narrow neck or narrow lagoon) which is a National Park and an area of international significance as many bird species migrate to the region every year. We were at Goolwa Wharf at 9.30 and were surprised to see lots of other people there already. As we went on board we were unsure whether we should brave the elements outside on the top deck or not but we did and luckily there were a couple of good seats left up there. It was a bright day with some cloud but there was a very brisk wind that we thought might just get uncomfortable.

We did a bit of a loop within the harbour to start while the main guide ‘Brendan’ gave us some background information on Goolwa and a bit about the building of the controversial bridge to Hindmarsh Island. The bridge replaced a ferry service and enabled the development of a new marina and housing on the island and was completed in 2001. The controversy in part was due to the local Aborigines, the Ngarrindjeri, objecting to the site of the bridge and marina as the site was sacred because of what they described as ‘Secret Women’s Business’. There was also objection because the Government had agreed to help fund the bridge when it seemed that it was being built mainly to enable private development. Eventually the bridge was built and now the Ngarrindjeri people have on the whole come to terms with it.
Apparently the cruise couldn’t operate fully during 2008 and 2009 because Goolwa suffered from one of the worst droughts in Australian history and the river which had sustained the town throughout its history was reduced to nothing much more than a narrow channel and mudflats. During drought conditions, New South Wales and Victoria would siphon off much of the river water upstream leaving South Australia with next to nothing. The crisis prompted ongoing discussions with state and federal governments with the aim of releasing more water from upstream to ensure the survival of the river. In 2009 a temporary levy (called the Clayton Regulator) was constructed between Clayton and the north east side of Hindmarsh Island. The Regulator was put in place to protect the Goolwa Channel and its tributaries from the danger of acid sulfate soils. The low water levels were exposing the river bed and scientific evidence warned of the devastating impact of acidification of the Lower Lakes region. The Regulator immediately increased the water levels between Clayton and the Goolwa Barrage.

In 2010 increased rainfall and water from upstream allowed for the Regulator at Clayton to be substantially removed and the rainfall has replenished much of the river and lower lakes. In late 2010 some gates on the Goolwa Barrage were opened for the first time in many years to allow fresh water to flow to the Murray Mouth. Continued rainfalls combined with flooding upstream in NSW and Victoria has led to massive flows down the River Murray and by January 2011 all the gates on the Goolwa Barrage were open.

As we went along we passed the historic 102 year old paddle steamer ‘Oscar W’ and then the Cockle Train (named because of the abundance of cockles in the area) came into view. We had fancied doing the train journey from Goolwa to Victor Harbour but as they only go on Wednesdays and Sundays we will have to save that for another time.

Goolwa is famous for its wooden boats and some are still built or refurbished here. In a couple of week’s time the bi-annual ‘Wooden Boat Festival’ will be taking place bringing in many enthusiasts of the vintage crafts. Brendan pointed out a little boat moored in with other wooden boats and told us it had been used in the famous Aussie film ‘Storm Boy’. Most of the filming had been done in and around this part of the Coorong. It was especially nice to visit this area as our daughter, Sarah, loves this story and visited here with her husband Darryl on their travels around Aus.

We made our way towards the Goolwa Barrage and were heading for the lock that we had walked to across the barrage a couple of nights ago. Today there was a large group of schoolchildren and some teachers gathered to watch us pass through. The difference in levels between the Goolwa side and the ocean side was just a few inches but enough to make the passage very uncomfortable without the lock procedure. Soon we were on our way again towards The Murray Mouth – the outlet into the southern Indian Ocean. The Murray Mouth is a bit of a phenomenon in its own right in that its location is changeable! The channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. The river flow and the rough ocean seas erode the sand dunes to create a new channel leaving the old one to silt and disappear. Brendan advised us that the current mouth was some two hundred meters from the position of just a few years ago and will continue to move again during the next few years.

Since October 2002, two dredging machines have operated at the Murray Mouth, moving sand from the channel to maintain a minimal flow from the sea and into the Coorong's lagoon system. Without the 24-hour dredging, the mouth would have silted up and closed, cutting the supply of seawater into the Coorong which would then warm up, stagnate and die. In mid-2006 the dredging was scaled back as a result of the improved conditions at the mouth and with the current conditions dredging has stopped altogether for the foreseeable future.

We went along past the defunct dredging equipment and then moored at Godfrey’s Landing on the Young Husband Peninsula. We set off walking across the peninsula guided by the younger crew member. During the walk he had collected four or five samples of ‘bush tucker’ and he explained what they were and passed them around for us to look at. The Ngarrindjeri people successfully lived on the peninsula for thousands of years living on the berries, fish, cockles, emus and kangaroos. Included in the samples was some wild rosemary which he said was good for keeping away mossies – I wish I had known that at the start of the walk as I would have looked for some myself as I had got bitten a few times by then! When we reached the Southern Ocean beach some of the group went cockling in the sea – you just stand in the water, shuffle your feet about and the cockles appear! I wandered along the edge of the water watching others cockling and getting pretty wet and then I was given a few to take back. We wandered back across the dunes to the boat where Brendan had been cooking cockles for us to sample and they tasted pretty good.

Back on the boat, as we cruised further into the Coorong, we were given a delicious salad lunch presented in a similar style to airplane meals but much, much better! Eventually we reached our second landing point and walked up the dunes and along the ridge for quite a distance. Brendan led us to an area strewn with shells and bones which he referred to as The Middens. He explained that when the Ngarrindjeri people lived here in primitive shelters they lived largely on seafood and the shells were an accumulation of years of discarded cockles and the like. When there was a death they cremated them and their bones were left amongst the shells. He also mentioned the fact, which we already knew, that the church at Raukkan was on the $50 note. But in addition, he told us that the famous Ngarrindjeri artist David Unaipon was also on the note which we hadn’t realized because we couldn’t make out the name. Brendan told us that David’s father was born on the peninsula but was forcibly moved into a reserve. It was sobering stuff, hearing about what had happened to these people.

We walked back along the ridge from where we looked down towards an area with some vegetation. To get to it we simply strode down over the edge of the dune - a very steep slope – we were often knee deep in sand but, on looking back, there was no evidence that we had ever been there! We found a spot at the bottom of the slope where we were surprised to learn that, at a certain level just beneath the surface, fresh water could be found across the whole peninsula. Brendan explained the phenomenon which creates this then proceeded to demonstrate by digging a hole in the sand about 18 inches deep. After just a few seconds water appeared. He had obviously come prepared because, after he had carefully scooped the sand out of the hole, he produced a glass from his pocket which he filled with clear water and drank! Then we all tried some – it was amazingly good! He filled the hole in and then we strolled back to the boat for our journey back to Goolwa. We were given a welcome cup of tea and a piece of cake and sat back and relaxed. A playful seal entertained us for a few minutes and there were plenty of pelicans, terns, cape barren geese, curlews and shell ducks to spot on the way back.

By the time we got back to the caravan it was about 4.30 and time for another cup of tea. Later on we found a lookout at Goolwa Beach and went back to Port Elliot for a last look. We picked up a couple of take-aways and took them to our favourite spot and then chatted to a couple who were hoping to ‘free’ camp there. It wasn’t a recognized camping area but they had their excuses ready if they were challenged!

We keep saying it but it had been another very special day and one to remember. We have rather fallen in love with this area and felt sorry to be leaving it.

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Photos

The little boat used in the film 'Storm Boy'
The boat is soon to be fully restored

Cape Barron Geese
We'd only ever seen these before at Slimbridge back home in the UK and there they came with a 'danger, these geese will attack' tag but they all seemed docile enough here!

When the owners die these chalets will be demolished
The chalets can't be passed on down the family

Getting off the boat at Godfrey's Landing
to walk to the ocean side of the peninsula