THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER is a monthly, bulletin of matters of interest to The Sydney. Built Walkers Inc, Box 4476 GPO Sydney 2001. To advertise in this magazine, please contact the • Business Manager. Editor: George Mawer 42-LinC6trigoad Georges Hall-208 Telephone 707 Business Manager: Joy Hynes 36 Lewis Sifeet;Dee Why 2099 Telephone -9821615:.(H); 888-3144 (B) Production Manager: Fran Holland, Editorial Teani: George Mawer, Barbara puce, JanM2erts,Maurice Smith Printers: Kenn Clacher:lorn Wenirian, Barrie Murdoch,Margaret Niven & Les Powell THE ,BUSH WALKERS INCORPORATED was 'rounded in 1927. Club, tneetingvare held everyyednesday evening at 8 pm _,:at'7,1,1 <1 AGM meetingnotes continued: It seems it outlines government delays without end. The amount of Coolana income which remains uninvested at the end of each accounting year is ;to be documented, probably in the_ annual report. Confederation report mentioned a letter from Fairfield Bushwalkers which proposes the abolition of the Confederation Search and Rescue section: Sydney Water Corporation is reported for be dumping sewage sludge in the Newnes forest area. Confederation are objecting strongly due to the contaminants found in Sydney sludge and the fact that this area drains . into adjacent so , far unpolluted areas. -A letter to NPWS has evoked a reply indicating that the service is pen:nitting horse riding up Kanangra Creek as far as Whalania Creek. Confederation Will write seeking details of the service's policy on horses in National Parks. Work on reconstruction of tracks in the Royal has begun. • , The motion to rename, club office positions from those, of secretary was discussed, at some length and eventually. deferred to the half yearly general meeting in September. General business, saw passage of a motion that the incoming committee .plan for the club's 70 Th: anniversary celebrations. Mention-was made of the efforts of Anne, Frank and Patrick in obtaining and -installing the new gate at Coolana. There was also a motion of thanks to the outgoing committee, carried by acclamation: After that it was a matter of the announcements and, the meeting closed at 2153. Barry Wallace Note: My cancelled walk. .(which was from Mount Banks) was cancelled due to there being about a metre of fast flowing water through the small canyon that is a major feature of the walk, and that the higher (scenic) places were shrouded in low cloud. A little more rain wouldn't have hurt them. Now that I come 'to think about it, it doesn't seem to rain like it used to. Or is it just that the wet weather gear is so much better?. Would someone like to write and tell us their story about "A Wet. Weekend at Thanks, George Mawer. RAFTING THE FRANKLIN by David Lewis (First printed in the magazine February 1985) Rafting the Franklin is reputed to be a dangerous activity but as an issue, the Franklin has taken a far greater toll amongst politicians - many of whom have probably never ventured within a hundred kilometres of its rushing waters. After only a short time in the political arena, the Franklin claimed two governments, as the issue changed first the Tasmanian State Government, and then played a significant part in changing 'the Federal Government. The movement which formed to preserve this unique wild river swelled beyond anyone's imagination. Their cause won the strong support of vast' numbers of Australians -most of whom gave their support in the knowledge that they would never directly experience the Franldin's rugged beauty. Anyone who has been to south-west Tasmania will know that the region is characterised by contrasts and erratic weather. If anything is definite, it's rain; those who venture into the south-west can be sure that 'at. some time in their trip it must rain. The Roaring Forties: bring to- Tasmania's central highland a climate of .frequent rain; snow and sudden storms at all times of'the year. Draining from the lakes of the central highlands the Franklin River begins its 125 kilometre journey south towards its confluence with the Gordon River. Over its course, the Franklin passes through the world's largest remaining temperate rain forest and through one of its most spectacular ravines. There are no rivers like the Franklin left in AUStralia. Indeed, there are very few like it in the world. There are no towns or houses by its banks; there are no farms with domestic animals grazing nearby; no drains empty into it and, apart from the Lyell Highway, which crosses its upper reaches, no roads or railway lines run anywhere near it. Yet the rafter can hardly begrudge the existence of the highway crossing, as it is from here that access can be gained to the river. The journey down the Franklin commences where the Lyell Highway crosses the Collingwood River, the Collingwood being a substantial tributary of the Franklin. It was here that our party of seven set about packing, water-proofing and shock-proofing three weeks of equipment and supplies. A trip. of this kind takes many months of organisation and preparation as all manner of contingencies must be accommodated. It is a trade-off, however, as the more you take, the more . you reduce the buoyancy and manoeuvrability of the inflatable rubber raft on which you rely to get you to the other end of the river. This is my second journey down the Franklin (and my, fourth trip into south-west Tasmania in as many years) but, nevertheless, preparations on this occasion proved to be just as demanding as before. Each member of the group made a paddle from aluminium tubing and marine ply covered with a thin protective layer of fibreglass. Three weeks of dehydrated foods had to be individually packed and water-proofed by copious layers of plastic bags. Recipes for trips of this type depend upon the imagination with which one can combine various dried vegetables with rice, lentils or pasta. The alternative is pre-packaged freeze-dried meals which have much the same impact on the digestive system as would a stick of gelignite. Meals are supplemented mainly by nuts, cheese, dried fruits, biscuits and chocolate. Once food, clothing, raft repair kit, people repair kit and numerous other miscellaneous pieces of equipment have been assembled, the task is then to compress them, and their numerous layers of plastic coating, into a water-proof home brew barrel and a rucksack. All is then secured to the raft and covered by a spray sheet. If there are any leaks you can be sure that theriver will find them. The rafter then applies his own. protective coating; a wet suit, a buoyancy vest and a canoeing helmet. The trip takes 14 days to complete but this can vary considerably according to weather. conditions. The slightest rain can flood the river's narrow ravines and leave parties stranded for many days. Water levels must be monitored religiously. Upon setting out, the rafter immediately disappears into a wilderness of green and misty valleys, canopied by the dense rainforest which crowds the Franklin's banks. There are rapids from the first stroke of the paddle and these give but a small taste of what is to come. For the uninitiated, the Collingwood provides a good introduction to the art of riding rapids as the river becomes progressively more challenging. A rafter soon becomes adept at dodging ,mid-stream boulders and logs. (Sometimes it seems there are as many logs in the river as beside it.) However, the river is a great equaliser and all rafters meet the challenge with mixed success; the last fatality on the Franklin was the drowning of a professional guide and yet the majority of people who have travelled the river have had no previous rafting experience. After three days on the river, our, party: reached the Irenabyss (which means "chasm of peace".) Here sheer cliffs rise up hundreds of metres above the river to frame a narrow piece of sky. cont' page 14 1> .continued from page 13 At this point, the Franklin is about five metres wide. Water moves slowly through this _narrow channel (except after, rain when precisely the opposite occurs.) The foam from the rapids upstream swirls calmly on its surface. The rafter is left with the impression that the ravine must be deep as it is high. It is hard to comprehend just how much water is flowing: past with each passing second. For 10 or 15 metres above the water level the cliffs show no sign of vegetation, having been regularly scoured by floods. In the course of our first three days on the Franklin, the.. :cliffs that flanked us had grown. - or, more correctly, we had dropped. The roar of rapids provided a ,constant reminder that the river was :dropping into an ever deepening series- of ravines - each one: more spectacular than the last:- as it carved its way through Tasmania's western ranges. By and large, our party had been successful in making its way through the rapids: So far, we had had only one puncture among the seven rafts; unfortunately, its position, near the join in an air tank, made it difficult to plug completely and so periodically this, raft:lief:4ed some pumping. Each rapid, where, the path, is difficult or obscured, mutt be scoute&before a decision is made as to how it would.: be best liegotiated. This process invariably involves mud) rock climbing and scrambling through thick vegetation before a suitable vantage point can be reached. Then the deliberations begin as each member of the party attempts; --tp predict. where the . river will take him and the potential pitfalls that such a course might present. Early in the trip, this process takes some time as the Franklin: gives most rafters considerable cause for hesitation. But, of necessity, everyone soon learns how to assess a. rapid. Usually, one of themore reckless of the party announces that he will "give it a go!' and the others reserve judgement until they see how he fares. The alternative to shooting a rapid is portaging. This often necessitates unpacking all gear form the raft; deflating it and humping the same over some fairly demanding obstacles before joining the river again. Often, safety necessitates portaging, but this is never an attractive option; it is:certainly easier having a raft carry you than you haVing :to carry it. In high water some rapids can take up to a day to portage. From the Irenabyss, the river Opens out slightly and the rapids appear less:daunting as the rafter has become more adept at manoeuvring his bobbing yellow craft: This is grand river rafting country. There are no major portages to dampen the exhilaration generated as you glide through the rushing waters. The 25 kilometres: to the Great Ravine it easily covered in two days. The Grand Ravine_ is ..,the; spectacular of the Franklin's gorges. It is impossible for any photograph to do it justice. Over the centuries, the river has cut a passage through the rock that is now 700 metres deep. From water level, the cliffs appear to soar to infinity and make the .sky seem insignificant. The ravine is punctuated by four huge rapids. They are aptly named: the Churn, the Coruscades, Thunderrush and the Cauldron. All demand full or partial portage. They drop like four giant steps and divide the ravine into five long reaches - each of a grandeur that would compete with that of New Zealand's Milford Sound. The Great Ravine is .10 kilometres long and takes two to three days to negotiate in good weather. After rain, progress is impossible. The Great Ravine is followed by two more long gorges before the laSt major rapid, Newlands Cascadet, is reached. Newlands Cascades is a rapid that sends every rafter's adrenalin pumping. The river narrows into a 300 metre chute of foaming water containing six drops, each of about two metres. Skilful paddling will see a rafter through in about 30 seconds. It is quite a sensation.- After Newlands Cascades, the Franklin opens out. The low banks are crowded with foliage. The river widens and slows down as it moves more sedately amongst towering beech and blackwoods and the more stunted huon pines that surround it. The banks are lined with forests of huge tree ferns. Thirty-metre limestone cliffs,' while less grandiose that what has gone before, nevertheless possess a haunting charm. Here we relax and drift with the current. There was an eerie feeling - as though we had left something behind. It was the silence. For ten days we had been accompanied by the inescapable roaring of rapids. Now at last the river was tranquil. The lower reaches of the Franldin are characterised by their serenity. A party will spend two or three days here befbre reaching the Gordon and there will board the Denison Star - a tourist launch which will carry them over the last leg of the journey through Macquarie Harbour to Strahan, a fishing village on Tasmania's west coast. In the afterglow, the words of Wilderness Society patron Yehudi Menuhin are worth reflecting upon:- "We will not be judged in the future by our Gross National Product, we will not be judged even by our excursions to the moon, we will,be judged by whether we have left this word habitable. The most wonderful things in the world have been achieved without the hand of man." n..