The Gordon River by Packraft

[@Cheeseworldsteve]

A very nice record of a fantastic trip, some of that gorge country looks simply amazing, you can keep the scrub bashing though!! Thanks for sharing your trip with us :-)

[@czechingouttasmania]

What an adventure! Amazing

[@jmac9711]

Beautiful. Soulful. Inspiring.

[@MarkOates]

Thoroughly enjoyed your video and seeing that section of the Gordon. Music was great too. Great to see a packraft on Rhona. Looking forward to seeing more.

[@Itsgonnagetreal7556]

John thanks for sharing the adventure. In addition, thanks for the HMG pack review, pretty much helped make my decision on a packrafting pack.

[@johnmclaine4206]

Thanks Alexander, Darren, Crooked and Mark for your kind comments. Mark, if you'd like to spend half an hour or so seeing some of our previous packrafting trips, jump onto my friend Matt's account, search on KZbin for "Irenabyss".Try "The Six Rivers Trip", "The Expiring Kayaker", "The Provis Hills" and "The Princess Range". I will try to post some of our other older stuff in months to come. I have a nice little movie of our Vanishing Falls trip which i will try to find. Cheers, John

[@johnmclaine4206]

Thanks Warren, both boats in this video are Yukon Yaks, approximately 2007 models.

[@jonwhetlor7239]

Hi guys Super video , thanks Im curious to know where you started and finished please? How close to the Gordon river can the car get ? Thanks alot

[@johnmclaine4206]

Via the Florentine Valley roads. I'm happy to help with information and advice, but this route has an extremely high degree of danger and physical difficulty, and should only be tackled by the strongest of parties in the best possible conditions. If you'd like more information, contact me through the FB Packrafting in Tasmania group and we'll take it from there. Regards, John

[@Bonked1]

Nice trip & tunes.

[@girishshirodkar1324]

Hi John great video. I am based in Christchurch New Zealand and packrafting scene around here is awesome. I have heard a lot about beutiful tasmania and keen to explore it next year, what grade is this river is

[@johnmclaine4206]

G'day Girish, it's grade 3 in low water, with some 4 and 4+ in medium to higher levels.

[@wjdzwar]

awesome video and trip. What model of the alpaca raft is that? It seemed a little small?

[@tyroneblyth8229]

Hi John. Really enjoyed the video. Happened to notice your hyperlight mountain equipment pack. I've been considering purchasing one and wondered how it stands up to Tassie scrub?

[@johnmclaine4206]

G'day Tyrone, glad you enjoyed the video. I love the HMG pack, and took the rare step of giving them a review of it for Tas conditions. It's on their website:www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/review/product/list/id/57/category/23/My review is the one by JMac. Cheers, John

[@tyroneblyth8229]

John McLaine Hi John - only just picked up this response. Great review!

[@michaelrunk8593]

Hey is it axkwars to carry your rafts your back like that? How heavy does it feel after carry it on your back like that for while.

[@johnmclaine4206]

It's a bit awkward; you need a fairly strong core. It's strenuous putting it on your back, but not so bad once it's on. The newer boats have internal storage which allows for better boat handling, but we portage them differently, with the rucsac and equipment inside the air tubes.

[@lonckelph]

Hi just a few questions. 1) Is this packraft part (part a and b) on the Gordon somewhere between the lattitude of Gordon Vale to Boyes Basin ? Possible in 1 day? (just the rafting part) I plan to be around this place around mid-August this year. 2) Did you find it dangerous at times or it's just about being normally careful ?

[@johnmclaine4206]

G'day Louis-Philippe, because you are travelling in winter, water levels will be a bit of a gamble. The upper part, from around Gell River down to the start of the Gorge could be reasonable for you, even if there's been rainfall in the catchment. Be very wary of sweepers and strainers if the water is up! You might need to continue on foot along the river bank. From the Gorge down to Boyes Basin is very very serious paddling at even a low winter flow. I very much doubt if water will be low enough to tackle it solo at that time of year. Highly unlikely. It is typically very big and technical. Grade 4+/5 in winter. Walking through the saddle between the Denison Range and the Stepped Hills is likely to be a far safer option to reach the lake, allowing you to gain the benefit of the packraft across Lakes Gordon and Pedder. Or you could follow the old Timb's Track out to the Strathgordon Road. Hope this helps, please let me know if you'd like to bounce around other route questions and ideas. Good luck with your planning. Cheers, John

[@lonckelph]

Thanks. Mmm. That's my plan in fact: www.louis-philippe-loncke.com/2018/02/11-years-ago-i-came-out-alive-out-of.html Reaching this point would be around day 20-25 from my estimation (I start in Penguin) I had to search the new words " sweepers and strainers". I've been actually caught twice in "this" on a day kayaking on the Rio Marañon. My kayak paddle level is 2-3. What I see in your video looks 2-3 to me and nothing seems hard/dangerous except the moment where we see the current pushing you between 2 large boulders. I guess these situation+trees are the big dangers for the 15km of the gorge. I was actually trying to find somebody to join me on this section, so we could also film this part. It's a very iconic and interesting part for an adventure documentary. A ranger of PARKS told me the same as going over the denison range or so and join the lake. But of course I'd like to packraft the gorge, this is a highlight of the expedition. Safety first. So it feels I've to prepare, perhaps find a partner or 2 and we would decide when we are there depending on the level of water.

[@johnmclaine4206]

Louise-Philippe, yes, that's a fair summation. This movie was filmed during a dry low-volume summer, hence grade 2/3. During winters it will be 3/4+ with touches of 5. There are people who could confidently paddle the gorge in winter flow, but it is beyond my current willingness to commit to such objective risk. I have two suggestions for you: 1) assuming you will remain in Europe until closer to the journey, sign up during European spring to a quality whitewater skills course in one of the plentiful kayaking businesses in the rivers of the Alps. Kayaking skills will transfer well to packrafting. I would not recommend seeking partners or considering the Gorge at winter flow unless you can build up your paddling level to grade 4 before you arrive. 2) If you can increase your grade of paddling, you could put a request for partners to two relevant FB groups; Packrafting in Tasmania and Creeking Tasmania. Creeking Tasmania has many members of very high whitewater skill, although their focus is hard shell kayaks. Cheers, John

[@johnmclaine4206]

Several people have commented about enjoying my son's music on this video, which he wrote and produced when he was just a kid of 14 or 15. Five years later; he's writing and producing music professionally now, and if viewers are interested, they can find it here: smarturl.it/sumner

[@hxcmikenja]

So what happened to that sweet kayak?

[@johnmclaine4206]

It is a very challenging location from which to retrieve the damaged boat. We secured it above the high water line and GPS coordinates were relayed via a paddling forum to its owner. I believe the kayak is still there, unfortunately.

[@jeandind4652]

John McLaine Hi John. Thanks for the vid. We're planning on kayaking the Gordon Gorge this December. Can I ask how far down the gorge the kayak is? If it's not too far from the lake, might try and get it out and back to its owner. Cheers.

[@solacebyfoot6494]

I'd love to have the names of the music tracks you used in this video. Any chance?

[@solacebyfoot6494]

Cancel that request... Just made it to the credits. :p

[@johnmclaine4206]

G'day Solace, if you enjoyed my son's music on this video, he's making music professionally now, which perhaps you might enjoy. Available on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes: smarturl.it/sumner

[@greyim11]

very cool