Monday, February 23, 2009

Paddling at Sunset

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Almost every night, in the hour before sunset, my beloved and I cruise the river-ways on our stand-up paddle boards. A couple of evenings ago it was particularly calm, there was no breeze at all, the river was glass and the air balmy. Our paddle takes about an hour and we time it to arrive back home just after sun down.

So come with me now- we are going to stand on Laird, - let me turn him around first and make sure the fin is clear of the sand before we hop on. I have my waterproof camera around my neck, some insect repellent on my bare skin, and of course a paddle.

I don't want to spoil the peaceful quiet for you...so I'm not going to give you a running commentary ... all you need to do is watch and just listen to the plop and drag of my paddle as we ripple along .. .and enjoy the ride.

You can ask me any questions at the end that might come to mind.




This is what it looks like as we start to move off out across the river from home...

























































































As we make our last turn under the bridge and back into our river the bats are beginning to stream across the sky to their feeding grounds. All of the specks in the sky of this photo are bats on the move. That pelican is sitting on top of the street light on the bridge. I wonder how long he stays once the lights have been turned on for the night.

Now we take our final turn up into the Weyba River and glide, in the fast fading light, under the gums housing the cormorants and the twiggy nests of the Brahminy kites... to home.



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31 comments:

  1. Thankyou for that beautiful and peaceful voyage.

    Tell me about you waterproof camera - when I was away on the boat at Christmas I found the wild and woolly weather shots didn't get taken because I was worried about ruining the camera in the salt spray - so I would be interested in your waterproof setup.

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  2. G'morning Delwyn ..you are not afraid of sharks..you have just taken me back to the time i lived in noosa- i remember one occasion-do not know if it is the same river-lights underneath the surface of the water-people were having a night dive!-till today i don't understand how they had the courage to do so-are you at any risk when you take this lovely looking paddle?

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  3. Hi Alden. The underwater camera is actually my son's. But you can buy a water proof casing for your camera. You will have to compare the price of the casing with buying a new camera that comes water proof.

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  4. Hi Mona. I have seen small hammer head sharks in the river but not bigger sharks however but they are are there. Dogs playing in the water have been taken at the picnic area at the end of Hastings St!
    I am more concerned about the stingrays - I see many of them - some with huge wing spans, perhaps a metre across, any many baby ones. I also walked near an odd looking slug shaped creature the other day and think it may have been a stone fish which are rather toxic. But no I don't worry. I haven't fallen off since the day I first tried stand up paddling. The wakes from big boats are the trickiest part. You have to tackle them head on.My husband fell this day - his board is smaller and much less buoyant than Laird and he has trouble if I stop... whereas I can almost come to a standstill on Laird.

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  5. I was thinking what a lovely way to get exercise until I read your answer to Mona. Yikes! And I haven't read Care of the Soul, but I have read Dark Night of the Soul. Thomas Moore speaks to me.

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  6. Very nice. About sharks: my favorite place to sail and to paddle is famous or perhaps infamous as a "breeding ground" for Great White Sharks. They've definitely been seen in Tomales Bay, but like you, I don't let that stop me. In fact I'm kind of glad they're around because it keeps the people traffic down. When people ask me about it I say, "Great Whites don't feed on plastic kayaks or fiberglass sailboats except in the movies."

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  7. Dan: But they can take great big chunks out of them!!

    But I never think about those things - I am too absorbed in the paddling and looking...

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  8. Meri: TM's the RofEL talks about imbuing all of our everyday activities with soulfulness.

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  9. Thank you for a wonderful trip down the river. I particularly liked the reflections of roots and trees in the still water. What a great collection. Better than a video.

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  10. What a lovely trip along the river.
    I have never seen or heard of such a thing as stand up paddling. Is this a common thing in Aus?
    This was not at all what I pictured when you said "paddling". How do you manage to keep your balance on that thing for so long? And take pictures? And no life jacket!

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  11. What a lovely evening! Thank you so much for taking us along. Your photos are SO beautiful! :)

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  12. Dancing through from julochka's place, she is my little bloggy friend. You have a lovely place here in blogatopia.

    How fortunate you are to be able to have that time of peace every night. Right now the water here is frozen and it is -10 this a.m. So thank you for the reminder of warmer temps will look like (eventually)
    Jules

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  13. Delwyn: At first, I'm like 'is that a surf board?' And then I decided to go with you on your little cruise and I was so relaxed and it was so pretty and then I saw your man in front of us and was kinda shocked that he was standing, but then I went with it again and I had the most wonderful time.

    Thank you for taking me with you. You have a peaceful and loving blog.

    xoxoxo

    Renee

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  14. Superb blog - lovely, beautiful and "moodful" pictures.

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  15. Thank you for taking us on this beautiful tour of the river. In Washington DC it's cold and harsh today, but the angle of the sun is unmistakable. The warm weather will return. I'm so looking forward to learning how to stand up paddle.

    Thank you!

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  16. Good morning B&B
    I used a different camera to take these photos - one with a continuous function which was great as I wasn't able to really stop still. I ended up with 200 photos and then selected enough to feel like you were streaming along.
    thanks for your comments.

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  17. Hi there Violet. Stand up paddling has just caught on here over the past year or so. I have seen them paddling in Kauai for a few years. My board is a flat water board - its fatter and longer -12 ft, and very buoyant so that I can step onto it. My husband's is made for the ocean and to ride through the surf and is smaller and takes more concentration- that's why he fell this day, he blamed me for all the stops I was making! Also he has more difficulty getting through boat wakes, which are a bit hairy. Once you get the hang of the balance you feel pretty stable...and don't worry I can swim...

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  18. Mary, thanks for the stamp of approval from someone who knows a lot about photos.

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  19. Welcome to you Jules, glad you came down so far...I have never felt real cold...can only imagine it, altho NZ (where I grew up) winters did get down below freezing point. Please come again. D

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  20. Renee..you are so brave to have jumped on so unawares... and then you didn't panic..I had it all under control..we had a beautiful cruise, thanks for the company...
    Thanks for coming to Noosa, see you soon...

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  21. Hello Dave, I'm glad you caught the mood. That time of day is full of feeling and a mellow languor...

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  22. Reya, you are most welcome to try on Laird...I'm sure you will have fun...

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  23. amazingly beautiful! i've never heard of a stand-up paddleboard before...is it hard to balance?

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  24. Julochka - once you get the idea its easy on the big board, unless you cross a large wake sideways!!!!

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  25. I am so tempted to just hop on the next plane and come for a few days - how gorgeous! how fun! what a life you have...(and how ironic that the daughters say 'get a life' -hah! one day they will understand...)

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  26. Val, did it look familiar - especially down the front stretch where you lived for a time...

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  27. oh, yes - I can practically smell the ocean & feel the breeze. too bad the little wooden kit home is no longer there, that was a great spot to be, huntsman spiders & all

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  28. Val, some new mansion now occupies that space...maybe spiders too...

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  29. oh what a life... i love your blog name too, you stopped by my blog, aka onceinablue moon, of course i couldn't let a hazy moon slip away~

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  30. Oh this is wonderful! Walk on water! :O)
    And are there no krocs? Or other biting creatures?:O) Lovely photos and post Delwyn,happy days!

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