Friday, March 19, 2010

And now the video from below...

Seven's Creek from Sean Bozkewycz on Vimeo.

Sam Tregenza and Sean Boz hit up some unlikely summer creeking in Victoria, Australia.

A quick edit of a bony day out on granite slides and shelfy drops surrounded by gum trees and cockatoos.

The music in this edit is a special song by Nandor and Module called 'One Inity.' Listen close to the lyrics, it is an inspirational call for hope and the end of the aggressive denial in which we collectively engage in regard to our planet's future.

You can download the track free for yourself at: http://www.nandor.net.nz/virtual/media/audiogallery.php

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Sevens Creeking in March

Returning to Victoria after the 2010 Kimberley expedition, fate put me within striking distance of Seven's Creek while the rains of the weekend's storms were still draining off the granite highlands near Euroa...

Sam boofing one of the last little drops

Sam Tregenza and I put on the creek around 10am on the low side of good (0.79) and were greeted with scrapy class two interspersed with entertaining drops and slides. It was a strange environment to be on a creek - I've done no creeking in Vic. Green pasture and gum trees bordered the creek as we paddled across meandering flatlands in reeds and blackberries to the crass chorus of sulphur crested cockatoos.


Sam on an early slide which marks the entry into the first gorge

Sam and a crew of 6 others had run the creek the day prior getting prime levels - 0.92 on arrival. I wouldn't go in there much lower than our level, but it was stull great fun and a good day out. A good introduction for new creekers or tentative paddlers.

Boz on a nice sliding slot rapid below Eagle Falls - a portage today

There was a fair bit of portaging to be had around sieves and some manky falls, but nothing too exertive or requiring ropes. Eagle falls (above) has been run on the right side, a slide down into a shelfy twenty footer with a tight landing to avoid rock, and the left line is ugly. Might go at a different level but most of the water falls directly into the wall off a thirty footer...

Emphysema Falls, no longer unrun.

Somewhere nearing the end of the run lurks Emphysema falls, a bony cascading fall that looks just as violent as it was. I saw a line that looked good and fired it up, bouncing my way down the first descent and managing to avoid whiplash.


Boz muffing a sweet little boof early on

I remembered the final rapids at Goorum Falls from a little video from a while back called Granite Rush. The main attraction is a tight lined twelve footer that was sadly too low for us. Sam fired it up the day before but with less water the line really wasn't viable. All the water dropped right into a pocket against the right wall, ugly.

Sam nails his boof midway down a long sliding rapid - Fish Ladder

An enjoyable day out creeking in Victoria - highly recommended although I'd suggest not bothering much lower than 0.78... pretty bony. Plenty of wood in some sections so be very careful bombing around corners - this creek is very much in flood when it's running at a paddleable level.