Mckillops Bridge To Buchan River Junction

Mckillops Bridge To Buchan River Junction

Posted by
NSW Canoe Guide's picture

Published by: The Paddle NSW Inc. PO Box 6971 Silverwater NSW 2128 First published as a book "Canoeing Guide to New South Wales" in 1990 by NSW Canoe Association Incorporated Original Copyright NSW Canoe Association Incorporated 1990 Copyright PaddleNSW Inc. PO Box 6971 Silverwater NSW 2128 Email: admin@paddleNSW.org.au The information on this page and the printed book "Canoeing Guide to New South Wales" is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this page may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Paddle NSW Inc. All correspondence concerning the content of this guide should be addressed to the Paddle NSW Inc. ISBN O 646 00264 3 The "Canoeing Guide to New South Wales" was printed in Hong Kong by: United League Printing (Hong Kong) Ltd. , Film Separations by: D & S Brandish Print Consultants Typography by: Deblaere Typesetting Pty Ltd., Dee Why, NSW 2099

The Canoeing Guide to NSW Rivers
SHARE URL:
Stay
home
2m Flood
level
0.7m Min
level
1.3m Good
level
1.8m High
level
Latest water level:
0.70 m
Level update time:
06-May-2024 10:05
WATERWAY:
Snowy River
ENTRY POINT:
EXIT POINT:
AVERAGE GRADE:
Grade II
HIGHEST GRADE:
Grade III
TRIP DURATION:
3 days or 16-18 hours' paddling time.
TRIP LENGTH:
70 km
Gradient:
0
Hot Tip:
Maps:
Shuttle Length:
The return car shuttle between McKillops Bridge and Buchan River Junction is about 200km and can take more than 4 hours. Ensure that petrol supplies are adequate; there is petrol at Buchan'.
Portage?:
No
Description:

An Update and summary of the trip from a whitewater paddlers perspective.
The snowy is a long trip and has flat water sections , Great scenery  a  few big rapids  .  Need three days food plus one for emergency. Don’t do this section if you are after big water- It is the scenery and wilderness that makes this section.Put in point is Mckilops bridge and is a  8 hr trip from Sydney  with bad roads from JindabyneCar shuffle was around 4hrs and you should have enough cars at end ( Buffalow ?)  to transport all back in one go . One car has to do extra hour down to Mckilops bridge to get the shuffle car  ( the worst section of road)RiverWater was warm with brown tinge . We tried to get drinking water from side creeksFirst day was lots of wave trains and river moved well . All grade 2 rapids2nd day was the gorge with  about 4-5 good rapids that we looked at before paddling  -  all were  portable,  but grade 3 paddlers would be able to do 3rd day is flat water and about 25km to paddlePlenty of camping on sandy beaches Water LevelCurrent level is 0.7m   (20 march 2016)River guide has levels but I think 1m is minimum (0.8 you could get through, BUT flat water predominates) Levels were off the Mackillop’s bridge gaugeAt 1.8 it is getting big ( the gorge rapids), but you could portageWouldn’t do over 2.5m,This reporter "loved the paddle) Excert from NSW Canoe Guide. The Guide tends to overstate the Grade of the rapid.
There are four gorges in this most scenic section of the Snowy. The mountains which form a backdrop to the river give a vivid sense of isolation. The many sandy beaches make for excellent camping. While there is quite a lot of flatwater paddling in this trip, this provides plenty of time for photography, enjoying the scenery, contemplation, swimming (in summer) and having a breather between exciting rapids. The first gorge is approximately 3 hours' downstream of McKillops Bridge. There are two grade 2-3 rapids in the 3km long gorge which will take nearly an hour to paddle through. Large rounded granite boulders in the river and on the banks signal the end of this gorge, after which there are some good campsites. Tulloch Ard Gorge, the most famous of the Snowy River gorges is reached after another 2-3 hours' paddling time. This gorge has the biggest and most spectacular rapids of the trip. A bouldery grade 3 rapid, which occurs after the walls of the gorge close in noticeably, marks the beginning of Tulloch Ard. Soon after the "A-frame" is encountered. Two adjacent, large boulders in the middle of the river form an A-shaped crevice between them, which would be deadly if swept into. There is a narrow chute on the far left of the boulders where it is possible to paddle around the left boulder. Veer quickly to the right after exiting as there are rocks immediately downstream. At high river levels, the "A-frame" boulders are underwater. A short distance downstream is a two-stage grade 4 rapid. The first stage is a drop of about 2m followed by a short stretch of fast water, then a slightly smaller drop into a powerful shoot. The last big rapid in this gorge is a grade 3-4 series of drops and stoppers. This rapid is rocky at low water levels and boisterous at high levels. It is advisable to inspect all rapids in Tulloch Ard before attempting them. The two big rapids can be portaged if necessary, the first on the left bank and the second on the right. After Tulloch Ard the river widens and many campsites appear. The third gorge is 3 hours' paddling time below Tulloch Ard, just upstream of "New Guinea". This rocky gorge has two rapids of grade 3 standard which should be inspected. An abrupt limestone cliff with blackboys growing along the ridges, where the river sweeps to the left, marks the area known as "New Guinea". There are few rapids of any note below this point. Jacksons Crossing on the right bank is just downstream. The fourth and last gorge has no rapids but steep cliffs rising 30m straight from the river. Buchan River Junction is approximately 2-3 hours' paddling time from this gorge, mostly through cleared grazing land with steep hills in the background.

Media
No media found for Mckillops Bridge To Buchan River Junction. Please contribute.
6398 Mckillops Bridge Buchan River Junction