Day 1 of 30 ~ Aussie solo canoe camping ~ section-paddling the Murray River

[@RVAHikerGirl]

Wow what an extraordinary adventure! Man that stew cooking for 2 hours, that takes patience for sure. It looked so yummy!

[@AmyOutdoors]

It was a great COVID19 project! That stew was awesome too, patience paid off!

[@JenniferLupine]

Nice to learn about the Murray River and see you go through the Lock! Beautiful weather and views of the cliffs. I enjoyed hearing the birds and seeing the trees and plants along the river! Fun trip! 👌👍👍👍

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Jennifer! I just saw you mentioned on Kate Grarock's channel as one of the valentines day international collaborators. I'll have to check out your adventures soon too!

[@JenniferLupine]

@@AmyOutdoors It was a fun project - and great to meet new KZbin friends!

[@CDPOutdoors]

G'day Amy Just watched parts 1,2,3, & 4 Loved them all All the best Clive

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Clive, I hope you enjoy the rest too :)

[@SanityBreaks]

What a fantastic channel you have created Amy. I spent one night camping on that stretch of the Murray a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Cheers mate, really appreciate it! It's still one if my favourite stretches of river... even after having paddled and camped the whole thing!

[@shemmac4700]

What a awesome adventure! I can’t believe the guy at the lock called the cops 😳

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks mate! Haha, the lockie was just doing his job... and calling the cops was a lot better than waiting around for a couple of hours for them to come out and interview me in person! At the time I went through the lock, the states had all JUST shut their border to each other, and you had to go through a police check-point to enter South Australia, so one way or another I knew I was going to have to talk to the police. I just didn't think through the fact that the lock was operating as a border-control point before I left that day. Thankfully the cop I spoke to was ok with everything after he'd looked up my address/licence number, etc, no drama really... just an unexpected interruption to my trip... which actually, turned out to be miniscule compared to what I had to deal with for my full thru=paddle of the Murray!

[@TrekkingWest]

Yeeeeeeessssss! Not what you'd originally planned, I know. But it will still be an incredible experience. I'm glued.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Haha... Yes, it's turning out to be quite a different experience from my previous random overnighters in a row. Glad you're on for the ride, thanks Josh!

[@colincoker204]

Great video Your comintry on your progress is great. Will definitely be watching your other videos.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Awesome! Thanks so much Colin 👍

[@chrisfrost9527]

Hey Amy so great to see that you got out on the river during a difficult time to live your dream, I will never forget the wonderful hospitality (and red wine) you showed Anitra, Patty and myself. I am looking forward to watching the rest of the series! I am having big time nostalgia 😊

[@AmyOutdoors]

Hey Chris, great to hear from you! Well done completing your paddle back when border control checks were a 100-years-ago-occurrence too! I heard many great tales of your time with the ladies when Anitra joined me for the Robinvale to Mildura leg this year. I will get my thru-paddle series up on KZbin soon 🤞

[@RooDavis]

Great old town boat setup Amy. Looks comfy and ideal for a long river journey. Admire your adventurous spirit and what a lifetime goal

[@AmyOutdoors]

👍 cheers Andrew! Its a very comfy setup, for sure. Thanks for following along... lots more to come!

[@Thelifeofwiley]

Awesome video, will definitely be following you trip, sorry about the locs. Beautiful scenery

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Wiley! I hope you keep enjoying them 👍 Plenty more beautiful scenery to come too!

[@CanoehoundAdventures]

Enjoyed Episode 1... looking forward to number 2... onward...

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Dennis! I hope you enjoy ep 2 👍

[@WaterborneCamper]

Wow, great job! Solo tripping is a lot of fun, if you have the confidence to do it. I've never had to deal with those locks on any of my trips, they seem like a pain in the bum!

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks WC! I love solo tripping now, took a while to get confident at it though. Haha, the locks aren't so bad, just had a bit of a bad first experience.

[@KUEHLKUEST]

First off...great editing!!! The river looks fantastic (gotta look that up never heard of it) and my kind of paddle....nice views and wide. Superb campsite too...we will be over for some beef stew👍👍👍

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thank you so much guys! 🙏 Yes, look it up... 2400km long in total and only 2 portages! The SA section is portage-free because of the lock system.

[@KUEHLKUEST]

Amy Outdoors Are you on Instagram?

[@AmyOutdoors]

No... KZbin and Facebook only

[@ThePursuitofPassion]

Yes! A modified version, but still quite the journey considering the situation. Cool. Looking forward to following. Had no idea the Murray River was so long!

[@AmyOutdoors]

Yes indeed... still a great journey! Glad you'll be following along, thanks as always for your support tPP!

[@TheCampingCanuck]

Really enjoyed this. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Cheers from Canada

[@AmyOutdoors]

Gday from Oz 👋. I'm very happy to hear that TCC! I hope you enjoy the rest too. Thanks for joining the journey 👍

[@chrisroberts5299]

Awesome Amy - relieved to see that you're not having to Bear Grylls it with the food yet!

[@AmyOutdoors]

🤣🤣🤣 nah all good so far!

[@KateGrarock]

Yay for adventures. Loving your videos. Keep on paddling such an epic river

[@AmyOutdoors]

Absolutely, yay for adventures 👍 Thanks so much Kate!

[@annettefiegert4937]

Fantastic Amy, great photography and country. 👍

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Annette 👍

[@jacqueline7118]

Wonderful first day! Beautiful scenery, good food and being on the water. I used to love long days on the water but as I did more trips realized that I enjoyed the campsite and camp life equal to paddling! lol I do day paddles and hike a lot alone but I haven't yet camped solo. I am working my way towards it, hopefully I will get there. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the rest of your days! :) :)

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thank you so much Jacqueline! I agree... shorter days paddling and a relaxing afternoon or morning at camp is now my preferred way too! Of course, that often doesn't work out for me because I still feel guilty that I'm 'wasting' paddling time, especially in the arvo. I'm working on changing that!! When it comes to camping on your own for the first time... I slept in my back yard a few times, and then in my front yard to get used to nightime noises and the fact I was on my own and was potentially vulnerable (I live on about an acre though, so we've got a big front yard!). I then made a snap decision one day to just go and do it, so I planned a short hike that I knew was not a technical route that I could get picked up from if things weren't working out, and jumped in my car to drive there before I could change my mind, lol. I think having my phone to talk to helped a lot to be honest... that was my first ever video on this channel 🙃. Doing everything yourself also takes a lot of attention, and I was pretty pooped by the end of the day so I slept well too. Once you've done it once it does get easier, but I'm still very careful about where I choose to camp... I try to make sure the spot I pick only has river access (no tracks nearby for late-night hoons to visit) and preferably out of view of others too... though the further I get down the river the less possible both those options are! You'll solo camp if you really want to, and you'll go great... but don't feel you have to camp solo - it's not for everyone! I hope you enjoy the rest of the series 😊

[@turtlepurple9304]

Hey amy hope covid has not stopped your trip . Been doing lots of paddleing myself . Good luck . Looking forward to your next post.

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day Turtle. It hasn't stopped it, but it has interrupted it a few times. Still going at the moment, and won't be finished until later in August now... if nothing else gets in the way 🤞

[@turtlepurple9304]

@@AmyOutdoors best of luck amy . I paddled 16km in pouring rain yesterday and was glad for no wind just rain.

[@AmyOutdoors]

@@turtlepurple9304 ooo, that's still a challenge, well done 👍 Plenty of birds to see building nests at the moment too!

[@turtlepurple9304]

@@AmyOutdoors you should let us know your finish date so we can come and welcome you back on your last streach to home

[@AmyOutdoors]

@@turtlepurple9304 I will, for sure... just not exactly sure when that'll be yet 😆

[@BrothersCampin]

Very cool!! What a beautiful river! Awesome experience paddling through the locks!!! Looked like a great campsite, and the stew looked amazing, too!

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks for joining the journey guys! Yeah, the locks are a much better option than a portage!! And that stew was yummo!

[@BrothersCampin]

Amy Outdoors it’s our pleasure! 😁👍🏻

[@AdventureDeNorthVlogs]

Wonderful my friend you done a great job, the place is absolutely stunning

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Mate, that's very kind of you to say! It is a stunning spot for a paddle 👍

[@AdventureDeNorthVlogs]

@@AmyOutdoors my pleasure mate, yes this spot is absolutely amazing I wish to be there one day

[@inthewoodswithbigfoot3941]

Great stuff Amy! Your cinematography is great and editing is spot on. I am backing up and watching from the first and it looks like a fun trip.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thank you so much for your kind words and for going back through the whole trip! The trip's been great fun so far!

[@BearCreekWoodworking]

I just found you Amy because of your comment about double blade paddles on Jon's channel... Backcountry Angling Ontario. Your channel looks very interesting to me. So here I am!

[@AmyOutdoors]

Welcome Bear Creek Woodworking 👋 Thanks for coming on over and commenting... I hope you enjoy watching my past and future trips 😊

[@schultzoutdoors8799]

Just started watching this series. Very cool and ambitious adventure you have chosen! Looking forward to watching the rest. P.S. I used to have an Old Town Next myself. Great boat and very comfortable, as long as you don't have to portage it!:-)

[@AmyOutdoors]

Awesome, thank you! Agreed - the OT Next is great for what I'm using it for but not lovely portage. It is super comfy for a trip like this where the only carrying you have to do is to and from the car at the start and end of a section.

[@NasTimeAdventures]

Looking forward to the next one.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Welcome on the journey mate!

[@KartsHuseonica]

You're incredible 👍👏

[@AmyOutdoors]

Aww, shucks... thanks Karts 🙏

[@reneethompson2997]

Hi Amy, when you're around Lock 2 let me know. My girls and I would love to hear about your adventures and we can guarantee a nice place to camp

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks for the offer Renee... it would have been great to catch up with you and the girls! Unfortunately I'm already past you... I left Morgan this morning.

[@turtlepurple9304]

Amy im currently awaiting my new canoe delivery to do exactly what your doing in this video. Love the Murray. Good video.

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day! That's awesome. Which canoe did you decide on for your journey?

[@turtlepurple9304]

I am awaiting a mad river canoe Adventure 14. I am upgrading from a sit on top kayak. Originaly brought to paddle the local coast and maybe fish from . Im looking at doing multi night trips down the Murray and other rivers to shoot our loverly bird life . With a nikon camera . I love camping and photography and a bigger canoe means i can combine the two.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Very nice! Yes, you'll love how much extra storage a canoe will give you, and they're great for sneaking up on birds... my sit on top is much noisier moving through the water than my canoe, and heaps more comfortable for longer stretches. Haha, I'm glad you clarified shooting birds with a camera! I hope it gets to you on time... mine got delayed by a few weeks when I ordered it online.

[@walkingman7136]

Have a good time.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks!

[@keraptisblackrazor2658]

'Very small general store', lol, very diplomatic. Don't know why they bother.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Haha, true!

[@LatitudesWildernessFilms]

Hey Amy! I thought I would check out your channel, and it's awesome! This series paddling down the river looks amazing, such amazing scenery and such an epic journey before you. I look forward to coming along! Also, your thumbnails for all your videos look amazing, well done! I need tips from you haha...Cheers Amy!

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day Pete, thanks for joing the journey and thanks for all the praise too mate, you're making me blush!

[@RosserRuns]

I just found and subbed. I look forward to supporting your content..

[@AmyOutdoors]

Cheers mate! Hope you enjoy what coming up!

[@HuntingwithStu]

Hi Amy, I have wanted to paddle the Murray River for a long time. I have done the Massive Murray Paddle but keen to do the whole lot one day. Any suggestions ref time of year etc?

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day Stu. I cannot recommend paddling the full Murray highly enough! If you do it in the way you want to do it, then you should have a ball. I chose Autumn/winter mostly because of the things that are missing from the river at that time of year; mozzies, flies, snakes, wake boats, jet skis, hundreds of other campers, and wind. That said, there's also less flow in those seasons. And I love cold weather, so the frosty, foggy mornings didn't bother me at all. I cannot stand baking on the river in summer, so I generally don't paddle much at all when it's above 25C. But there's a lot more flow in Spring and Summer, and the river is warm enough to swim in at the end of the day. Down the SA-end of the Murray, where there are long straights and the river is very wide, wind plays a huge part in how much you enjoy yourself... and Spring is the worst season for big head winds down this end. I might do a video on this topic as a quick video in between getting my MRX videos out, as I'm asked it a lot... as well as the gear I took, lol! Good luck with your planning.

[@hikerinaustralia]

Perfect weather and a tail wind... Nice! Good to see you back out on the water. What camera are you using? Quality is looking really good... loved the slow mo shots of the fire.

[@AmyOutdoors]

it's been great to great back out, that's for sure! I could not have hoped for better weather - winter in the Riverland has lots of days like this, but they're generally during the week, so I miss out on the best of them... but not this time 👍. Thanks for the lovely comments on the video quality too! Would you believe I'm only using my phone? It's a Samsung Note 10+... amazing stability really, given how much my 'tripod' (aka a quick-grip clamp) wobbles around when I paddle. The slo-mo video and the photos it takes are brilliant, and I'm pretty happy with the video footage most of the time too - it's a little washed out, but editing can generally fix that. I shoot, edit and post it all on my phone, lol. Maybe one day I'll upgrade to a fancy set up like you guys have ;-)

[@hikerinaustralia]

@@AmyOutdoors wow! shoot, edit and post on your phone. Impressive.

[@AmyOutdoors]

Haha, thanks.

[@FreedomOnFoot]

Great to see you’re able to do the SA portion this year, Amy. Great weather for it and that beef stew looked delicious! How long will you take to do the full Murray River paddle next year?

[@AmyOutdoors]

I could not have asked for a better day to start on! I originally planned to allow myself 16 weeks to do the full thru-paddle... most folks do it in a touring/sea kayak in 10-11 weeks during spring or summer (daylight savings), but in my significantly less streamlined canoe paddling during the shorter days of Autumn and Winter, as well as videoing along the way, I'm thinking I might even give myself another week or two to really enjoy the experience next year - pushing to make the km's each day just adds a self-imposed stress and that's not what that journey is supposed to be about. Of course, I can't help but want to do decent km's each day... but I'm working on giving myself permission to call it a day earlier ;-)

[@FreedomOnFoot]

Sounds like it will be an amazing adventure. A great trip to look forward to, both for you and us viewers!

[@AmyOutdoors]

Yep, only another 10 months to wait. 🤞 here's hoping there are no more worldwide disruptions next year. Thanks for coming on the ride Chris!

[@JakeMarcin]

Really beautiful, those cliffs along the river are stunning Hell of a nice paddle and a good practice paddle and gear test for your big adventure next year! How long did the actual loc passage take with all the extra measures?

[@AmyOutdoors]

Definitely a gorgeous place to paddle! I should say up front that it's my fault it took so long at this specific lock during a state-border lockdown! I just hadn't thought through the fact that this was the obvious spot to do a border-crossing check and that I should have called the lockmaster a day or two earlier to ask what I needed to do. The actual lockage only takes 15 minutes to drop the water (less if you tell the lockmaster you're happy for him to drop it fast and can deal with the turbulance, more if the lockmaster is up for a chat ;-)), but it takes about 5 minutes either side for the gates to open and close. On this occasion, at this specific lock it took me an extra 45 minutes of explaining my situation and assuring the lockmaster that I had not crossed any borders and was operating within the rules, and then repeating all that to the policeman on the phone, as well as having my credentials checked. There was another paddler coming up behind me that had arranged for the police to meet him at the lock, and when i met him a couple of days later he said he got through the Q&A in about 15 minutes. So it pays to be prepared! I thought I was all set with my gear choices, but I've already made quite a few swaps and removed quite a few of the luxuries... though I have swapped one light/small piece of gear for a more comfortable option. It's a great way to refine things easily without having to post stuff home and buy it on the way!

[@l214laus]

Pretty ideal time to be paddling the river as I'd think there'd normally be quite a few speed boats and jet skis around?

[@AmyOutdoors]

Spot on! That's one of the many reasons canoe tripping at this time of the year is my preferred option.

[@lesg5260]

So glad to have found your channel, absolutely love it! Looking forward to watching your future adventures. Amy, what canoe did you use for the Murray trip?

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day Zac, thanks so much for the lovely feedback and for joining the journey! My canoe is an Old Town Next. Cheers 👍

[@lesg5260]

@@AmyOutdoors thanks so much a quick reply, Amy!

[@davemotrailhorseriding]

nice

[@AmyOutdoors]

Thanks Dave

[@davemotrailhorseriding]

@@AmyOutdoors Love watching this sort of stuff, thanks for sharing. Nice camera work.

[@rodericksmith8218]

I'm binge watching all of the videos of grand Murray adventures, as I have taken my shallow-draft cruiser from the top of Lake Hume to the mouth: about 2300 km. I meet lots of adventurous kayakers, but I am not one. I loved the lighting and sharpness of this video, and the useful commentary. KZbin goes to a world audience, so lots of viewers will be learning about our river scenery and sun from this. I've not only taken my boat through this episode's water, I have been through on preserved paddlesteamers Ruby and Marion, on very-rare voyages for special events. The lengthy section from Wentworth to Customs House is long and lonely; turn your clock back 100 years. I have now started a project which will stretch over many months: putting up my photos (I don't take video), keyed to a starting image at www.flickr.com/photos/13175590@N00/50782135762 In 2 weeks I have posted from Tom Groggin to Lake Hume, Albury/Wodonga, Howlong, Corowa/Wahgunyah & Bringenbrong.

[@AmyOutdoors]

G'day Roderick, Thanks for watching my Murray adventures, and for your kind words! It's really lovely to hear when folks appreciate what I've put together. I certainly love sharing the way I see our gorgeous Murray with others... at a paddlers pace (and in the slower, quieter cruisers) you get to experience everything the river has to offer, and you see so much more wildlife up close too! I'm really looking forward to doing the Wentworth to Customs house stretch this year... I much prefer the wild sections of river than the populated ones... you can imagine you're on the river 100 years ago, for sure! It must have been magic to do that stretch of river in those old paddlesteamers! The Marion is well known in these parts, and she's a lovely old craft that's lovingly maintained by her volunteers. I haven't come across the Ruby yet, though I will hopefully cross paths with her as I make my way down the Murray's length later this year. Your photos on Flikr so far show that you had a good time on the river, thank you for sharing them. I'll keep checking back in on them every now and again to see the new uploads :)