Learning the art of Packrafting on the Mersey River, Tasmania

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Paddle Tasmania promoted a course on packrafting and it piqued my interest. I already had experience whitewater kayaking, but packrafts are different and warranted some upskilling. 

I’ve recently purchased a pack raft , now a single word “packraft” for many.  It is a small one person inflatable raft weighing roughly 3 1/2 kilograms which can be rolled up to a size equivalent to a large sleeping bag and placed in the bottom of your sleeping bag. My raft is an Australian branded  Classic Spraydeck model by PacKraft (made in China by Audac/Frontier). 

I bought it with view to enhance my cycling and walking trips with explorations on the water.  My craft is long enough to place the bike on without me striking it with the paddle, plenty of space under to store my pack  and it proved  to be quite stable with me and all that load.
Bike Rafting
I was informed that another interstate course attendee – Chris was coming down from Canberra.  We contacted each other and saved costs hiring a car to get to the venue which is about an hour and half from Launceston. 

We were told to dress up warmly as it could be cold and snow was expected on the central plateau. Well, the  predictions weere correct -  it was very cold and wet when we arrived in the middle of the night on the banks of the Mersey river.
I elected to sleep in the car rather than pitch tent in the middle of the night in the teeming rain, my newfound travel buddy Chris pitched his.  Another person was sleeping in his bivvy bag (not a good idea). Whenever you go to Tassie, it will test out your outdoors gear ! 

The weather and location brought back memories of my early treks to the
All of which had nature testing me with its might, but all of which provided me with some of the best adventuring experiences of my life.  We are here to raft, so water is a good thing, and as it turns out the rain eventually abated and it warmed up on Sunday.  

As the forecast was bleak, we were offered accommodation at the school instruction centre – hot showers and a bed, who are we to refuse ?
View from the banks of the Mersey river
Our instructors were Mark Oates and Dan Hall, both of whom were personable, skilled and willing to pass on their wealth of knowledge. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

First we were introduced to the different types of rafts and our equipment checked. We all managed to bring the right gear per our briefing notes – pfd, helmet and so on, and some had hired rafts.

I was particularly interested in the innovations such as zipper and bags inside the tubes, deck bag and thigh braces. Probably if I was to go down the path of wild water rafting these plus the self bailing floors would be on my next raft (oh dear – I'm already talking about more gear !)
After the briefing and lunch  it was time to hit the water to go through the communication signals and paddle strokes. The timing was good as the water levels are controlled by Hydro Tasmania, where there is a special arrangement between Paddle Tasmania and Hydro that a water release can be arranged: it was a bit hit and miss there for a little while as Hydro was reluctant to release the water even with the rain, wishing to capitalise on peak power requirements no doubt.  
Despite having paddled kayaks a few years, there was still a lot to learn and of to unlearn (the bad habits).  On the flat water, we covered stopping, back and forward sweep turns, low brace, draw strokes, bow rudder and so on along with team work and communication. 
Then down the river to do some white-water techniques of ferry gliding and catching eddies.
It was a full on afternoon and we were all weary, working on our paddling technique catching as many eddies as possible.
Then going for the inevitable swim. Great fun !
A hot shower and food was welcomed at the end of the day. Seven of us attended the weekend, an eclectic mix of occupations we all had: from Antarctic researcher, biologist to public servant to software developer:  all with a common interest – the outdoors and the adventure it provides. One thing I love about sport is that it brings together a great mix of individuals.
In the morning I woke early, so I went for a walk on the Arm river experience walk, which is a circuit track of about 2km going along the Arm river to some water falls. (no I’m not grumpy it’s just a grumpy photo !)
Anyway, I was telling Mark about how pretty this river was and wondered if it was navigable with the rafts. Well, before I knew it there was a change of plan. Love these impromptu decisions.  This river is the epitome of packrafting adventure, taking us through a lovely forested valley, narrow and fast flowing, scampering over rocks and trees – wow. We all just fell in love with this day.  I got a bit hot and suffered with hay fever sinus nausea so had to call it quits after lunch so couldn’t do the last hour on the Mersey, but what a packed fun weekend.
To wrap it up: I gained a lot from this course and will at some stage when time provides the other courses on offer – rescue, leadership and advanced skills. Huge amount of fun in one of the most scenic areas nature can provide.  The raft handled the rapids quite well, especially when I took the spray deck off and sat closer to the centre: with no pack or bike, sitting and the back is not a good idea, I ended up in the drink on rapid or two when the water rolled over the back.  The pack, wetsuit and paddle fitted well in my backpack and carrying weight was 17kg all up for the plane – mind you there wasn’t much room for food and other supplies (I’ll have to work on that one !).
On our briefing notes it was suggested that we view some videos on Youtube: quite sobering, and brings to home the benefits of proper instruction and travelling with others on these adventures.
1. Lost boats and gear on epic first descent: https://vimeo.com/158109085
2. Packrafter rescuer ends up swimming and losing own paddle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ejm4CNY4X4
3. Swimmer stuck in hole: Rescuer's perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl-LjPG7ltc   Victim's perspepctive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDDgOnDuDAE&t=266s
4. Lost paddle, challenging water for the group and subsequent rescue by helicopter: http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=15879&hilit=packraft+rescue
5. The danger of flush drowning on continuous whitewater 'That Time Mike Almost Drowned' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gAtAFYkjVmw
6. Bystander saves entrapped paddlers life: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/2017/08/15/daring-rescue-on-six-mile-creek-caught-on-video/
I am glad I made the decision to attend. Tassie was a great place to do a course and this was a great course with master instructors.  It was just what I needed to fill in the safety, handling and other aspects of rafting that were absent from my knowledge.
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