Tuesday 3 August 2021; 36km paddling
Today was our first full day on the Barwon River. There was no desire by either of us for an early start, so a breakfast of coffee, bacon and eggs, and packing the canoe meant a slow start to the day. Sometime close to 10:00 we were finally on the river and getting into the swing of paddling, in spite of the hangovers.
The Barwon was flowing at about 4-5kmh, so without too much effort we were travelling at 7-8kmh. The river was in minor flood and had enormous sediment load, looking much like a very large and fast flowing Yarra River, the Melbourne, Victoria river renowned for being “too thick to drink, too thin to plough”. Other less pleasing aspects were a floating dead tortoise, dead pig and dead pelican. The dominant feature was of course the enormous river red gums lining both banks and the contorted shapes of the exposed roots from previous floods. Ducks and pelicans regularly swam and flew in front of us: the pelicans looking particularly militaristic; whether standing regimentally on the banks, swimming fleet-like in front of us, or flying above us in squadron formation. Yellow-billed Spoonbills and Whistling Kites were common. Numerous goats were standing on the river banks, and were regular observers of us during the days to come. Less common during the trip were the wild pigs, but today saw a family of pigs running along the top of the bank and a large pig on the waterline. We passed the occasional fishing shacks and homesteads, but no actual people.
Yellow-billed Spoonbill 
Whistling Kite 
Whistling Kite(?)
We made 35km, which was what we had planned prior to starting, but would have had no way of achieving if the river hadn’t been running so fast. Camping by the river, sitting beside a roaring fire, under a brilliant sky full of stars, some shooting, just like I remember from central Australia, after a mixed grill charred over the hot coals, was as good as it gets.
Ted is a retired professional fisherman, shooter, Senator and conservative government Federal Minister. I’m a scientist, socialist and environmentalist, so it was not hard to find points of difference in the banter in the canoe during the day and around the fire at night. Would either of us be able to move from our lifetime generated and tightly held opinions? Having separate tents allowed each of us to recharge ready for the next day’s arguments.
Day 2 by the river 
“Hand in the fire”
Afternoon of Day 2 paddling 38-56km 
Morning of Day 2 paddling 19-38km