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Lake
Heron - a perfect day out!
The cold wind
whistling
past the
group of kayakers
outside
the
yesteryear
Mt Somers
store,
bore no resemblance to
the
clear, crisp and sunny day which awaited
us inland at
Lake Heron.
The Lake awaited
us in her pristine
splendour and some chose the
icebreaking
route
into the
water and
others
slid in via the running creek entrance
nearby.
The fun began with
ice breaking escapades near our entry
point with
the
thrill of
paddling up and onto the
ice experienced by many - and then
sitting
waiting
for it
to break
beneath
our weight.
The crested
grebe showed
itself
early in the
day and Kerry-Jayne
was available for commentaries
on the
bird life which was abundant.
As we progressed
up the lake the
flocks of black swans flew off to quieter
spots and
I felt
guilty
about
disturbing them
from their
Sunday peace and tranquillity
(even though
that
state
of being is an everyday event
for them!).
Thick ice abounded around
the edges of
the lake
as we moved around the
shore line and playing in and around the
tussocks
was great
fun. John K-A
landed at
intervals
to take photos
of the antics
- lets hope we get
to see
the photos
sometime
soon.
The frozen area stopped
us getting
right
to
the
top of the lake
near Lake heron Station
homestead
so we chose to
launch on the
shore below Sugarloaf
hill - and even that
spot
needed some ice breaking effort
to land, all good fun and more practice
for muscles in winter
mode! A version of curling evolved at
lunch time
with stones
skidding
out onto
the ice,
a pastime
enjoyed by the
big kids in the
group and there
were quite
a few!
I revelled in the
views up into
the
Cameron
Valley and beyond into
the main
Divide
- the majesty
of these peaks always gives me a buzz and combined with
the crisp
clear day, it
doesn't
get much
better!!
A cheeky little
breeze blew up to
remind us we were in an alpine area and we began the paddle back towards
our vehicles, sidling around the
lake edge to
enjoy the
geology and plant
life.
The return
trip
allowed me time
for practising
paddle strokes
and getting
along with
my rudder and then
more playtime
in the
ice patches
around the willows before we finished up for
the day.
Thanks to
Greg Hay
for organising the
gathering
in your region - I'm so pleased
I took
the time
to go and experience the tranquility
of Lake Heron in winter.
Cheers
Nicola | 
