Domestic dispute 1:

Need to know details of the wife's argument......

OK, I'll jump in.

Over a seven month period, I would be leaving them at home.
Plenty of other activities to entertain you guys without the hassle of lugging them around.

Less frustration in setting up and breaking camp and more opportunity to spend time, chilling out!

How about a bit of middle ground and getting a couple of inflatable kayaks
Much less hassle to be dragging around can still get out on the water if you want

Depends :)

Kayaking is a LOT of fun around the coast up there, especially as you get north of say TOC and the weather gets warmer.
If you're a bit of a fisher, they allow you to get to some nice spots too.

Only you know if your roof racks are clear enough to take them, and if the wind resistance is worth a bit extra fuel.

I think it's your regular kayaks, rather than inflatables, as why buy more stuff, and time to inflate is wasted time (you just wouldn't bother using them as much as you would dragging them off the roof).

So which of you is pro and which against ?

If you like paddling in Tassie, you'll kick yourself when you see some of the beaches and coves up north, and don't have the boats.

Katrina,

What's the consequences for Peter if he wins the dispute? :-)

If you've got 7 months to spare, then I'd take the kayaks. There's plenty of waterholes, and some dams (Lake Moondarra & Lake Julius near Mt Isa & Chinaman Dam @ Cloncurry) out west, as well as Fairbairn?? Dam @ Emerald.Thomson River @ Longreach, as well as numerous 'holes on Barcoo River.

Plenty of other dams along the east coast as well. Don't know whether I'd be too keen to go paddling anywhere north of Cairns though :-)

Do see a lot of travellers heading north, to Darwin etc, with kayaks on roof bars. They must be planning to use them somewhere?

Sounds like it will be a magic holiday.............once the domestic is over.

Bob

Since you're not attempting a goal such as a complete circumnavigation, then presumably during that 7 months you have the luxury of a little time to spend enjoying your leisure pastimes when you find suitable spots. You've got to get away from the vehicle and the road to really "feel" your freedom, so if you have the means to kayak, then the decision is easy - take them! And how lovely that you both can do this together. You'll have the trip of a lifetime I'm sure.

There will undoubtedly be times when you regret not having them K&P but there's one aspect not covered so far in the discussion. It might be a relatively small risk but if you don't take them at least you won't have the constant worry about getting them flogged in the northern lands of the light-fingered.

Could always hire one as you want one.
The cost of hire could be less then the extra cost of fuel from wind resistance, plus the locals at the hire joint, could point you into the right direction. Away from the local croc

G'day Peter & Katrina,
Come down to Dover and launch your kayaks from our back yard, travel upstream into the forest until you reach a rock shelf and stop for a break and soak up the solitude of a truly beautiful place.
Then return downstream past " The Narrows " into Esperance Bay, paddle around Faith, Hope and Charity islands and if you are that way inclined drop a line in and catch a meal. Then leave the kayaks at our place so we can have a lend while you travel around that big island up north !

Regards and enjoy your trip.

Mark

I agree with SDG, hire them when convenient. So much less hassle and worry.

Cheers Gary

A number of years ago we also went touring to different parts of Oz for 7 months. We took our canoe with us and used it many, many times and loved the adventures we had in it. We bush camp where ever we can and that often means camping by a river/dam/lake or coast, so plenty of opportunities. When we did the Mitchell falls we left the canoe at Drysdale station.

The trouble with hiring them is that you have to be somewhere that is populated. Our best adventures are usually on the smaller tree lined rivers away other people.

Cheers Cheryl

I Agree with Michelle on this one. We share a similar sense of Adventure.

7 months allow you to do some amazing things with a Kayak handy.

Why ...You could spend 2 weeks just exploring the Noosa River from Teewah Creek at Coops Corner down. Or up and down again. Trust me there are things and places there (both on the river system and within a pleasant walking distance) for you to discover that even very few locals know about.

Very few people have truly experienced the Noosa Everglades reflections at that special but short time of day when the colour of the reflections in the water match the reflections above the water - for that you have to be there at dawn or dusk and preferably not mid summer. Sure the reflections are amazing any time the water is still but when you glide through them in a Kayak and you cannot distinguish reflections from reality it becomes quite mesmerising and actually seems so unreal you dont want it to end.


Mind you I had 25 odd years to ply that area in rain hail moonshine and cyclonic conditions. You cant beat a moonlight paddle from Lake Cootharaba to Harrys Hut and beyond, paddles bumping fish - fish jumping around the kayaks...Similarly Kayaking some of Northern NSW's sand lakes is equally inspiring. Lake Arragan for some reason can be ripple free even when a strong wind blows. A moonlight paddle on Lake McKenzie (Fraser Is) where the white sand below you is illuminated like a fluro light and trust me you will have the place to yourselves because visitors these days (unlike the hardy fishermen of the last generation) do not venture from the safety of their camps at night for fear of all sorts of perils which seem only to have sprung up in the last 20 years none of which common sense and simple nouse cannot abate.

Kayaking the outgoing tide through mangroves in Bowen, visiting beach huts on the sand bars at the mouth of the Elliot River. (As for the Crocs - just ask the locals) Running the rapids in the Nymboydia River, or the tranquility of a billabong in Western Qld. Lethebrook just south of Proserpine is a pretty distraction on the way south. Baroon Pocket Dam has some beautiful inlets and in winter you may be treated to the Ghost falls in which mist overflows the valley in a surreal mass of falling damp air. Cruising down the upper Maclay River or visiting the upper reaches of the Bellengen will show you how majestic the Northen Tablelands once were... A great way to see million dollar mansions from the canals on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts Heck you could even drop into the Darling River for a few hundred ks with all the rain we might get this year.

I can see why those who have never experienced this type of magical experience would have you leave your Kayaks in the shed.

hope this helps...