Crossing/Davey Rivers - Tasmania

I will be attempting the above rivers from the Port Davey Track to Settlement Point and across to Bond Bay in December. Does anyone have any helpful information (e.g. hazards, rating, approximate times) for this trip? I know it has been done, but quality information is proving hard to come by. I understand that very sharp, packraft unfriendly, rocks may be an issue?

trip should take you bout 5 days to bond bay. We took 7 to get to melaleuca with a couple of pretty easy half days. Like a lot of tassie rivers it is mainly grade 2/3 with sections of grade 4/5 in the gorges which you will probably want to portage. We didn’t encounter any sharp rocks. Shortly after you first meet the crossing it closes over completely for a few kms so you have to deflate the boats and walk, this is a bit of a pain in the arse but only take about an hour. Make sure you top up with fresh water on the last drop of the davey as there is no more guaranteed/easy to access fresh water until blackwater creek near settlement point. It is a great trip, enjoy.
cheers
duke

Many thanks for the excellent info Duke. 5 days is a bit longer then I expected - but I guess the river does meander a bit and there will be some portages. We had orginally thought that we could save some time by running these rivers on our way to Bond Bay (and then walking the coast to Strahan), but perhaps it will take as long as walking to lost world and paddling across the bay. Despite the lack of time saving, it still looks like a great option for our trip! Great photo of the gorge on your site.

I’ve also done a few trips is that area and agree with Duke’s trip timing. The swamp that needs avoiding that he refers to can be easily avoided by cutting across from the Pt Davey Tk to the junction of the Dodd and Crossing R along the northern side of the Crossing R. I also agree with the suggestion about fresh water on the Davey R, on my first trip we did not pick up water and then were forced to paddle for km in order to find some. We then ended up camping below high tide level… There is a campsite just below the last rapid on the Davey R.

Have also done heaps of walking on the west coast north of Pt Davey if you need info, including walking the entire coast several times, along with walking and rafting on the Wanderer, Spero and Rocky Sprent Rivers (the Rocky Sprent R has the best waterfalls in Tas!). I will be out on that coast again for all of Jan and early Feb doing weed management - we have a group eradicating sea spurge between Cape Sorell and Cockle Ck.

Might also be doing a Jane R trip in Feb or March.

Jon

Jon,

Thanks for the tips. Nice work re: the sea spurge, that is a fantastic way to put some “purpose” behind a hike or boat trip. Are you with SPRATS (Spurge Remote Area Teams)?

I recently read about a couple of guys rafting the Franklin and weeding as they went - again, a great way to combine pleasure with purpose!

I am all ears if you have any tips on the coastal trek between Bond Bay and Strahan. I have Chapman’s notes, but any other tips are welcome. We only have 20 days for the trip, but Chapman recommends 28-30. Therefore, if needed, we will shave some time by hiking up the lower rocky point track from lower rocky point to the Wanderer Rriver, and then pack rafting back down to the coast. If we are really short on time, we can always hike to birch’s inlet and paddle to the ferry at Sarah’s island. The distance between Bond Bay and Strahan isn’t far (160km?), but I understand the walking is slow due to substantial bushwhacking, sea caves and rock scrambling.

Happy spurging.

Yes to both of your questions…

I got SPRATS started and have been doing 6 week trips during all of the past 3 summers.

We have just done the first follow-up blackberry weeding on the Andrew and Franklin R (the first trip was during easter this year). Its going very well and we just have to raft it again next Nov… And the Nove after… And after that etc etc…

If you want more info, email me at jonms@bigpond.com.

Jon