Jack organised me, son David and Richard into a Nile trip yesterday. We got in at the Fisherman’s hut (Place where the hut was which is not there anymore) and paddled to the bridge at Deddington. About 3 hours paddling including some playing. Nile river was 1.2 metres at Deddington at start but dropped to about 1:0 metre by the end of the trip. You do need that bit over one metre (Jack did it at 1.4 last time) or the rocks will get annoying.
From Deddington drive and turn right at across bridge in English town vicinity up into the forestry area. Go fair way up the hill past the stone works etc and turn hard right into fishers road. Follow for a long way until about a km before “the causeway”.
There is a number of roads off to the right. Fisher 2 and 5 are signed but the one you want; fisher 3 is not signed any more. They are all close together. Go down fisher 3 for about 300 metres and there is a rough 4wd track going down to the left. Have a 4wd (Thanks Jack) and follow that steep rough track for about 1.5 km. Find a chain, put you boat on your back for about a 800 metres. When you get to the river you can get on and there is about 800 metres of hard grade 3. Nice drops and everything. Made me and David nervous so we crept down the right but regretted it when we saw no holes or wood or anything. It would have been a great run down the centre left. We did the last drop on the left anyway.
Jack and Richard walked another 500 metres or so (These distances are rough estimates) down the bank to the site of the fisherman’s hut and got in there. From there it is about 2 or 3 km of nice grade 2 or very easy grade 3 water dodging rocks. There is one drop in the middle you have to go right on with small holes. No problems as long as you are not too relaxed and following each other too close and run into each other like happened to me on a previous trip.
Then you get to farm land. Levels out to pure grade 2. Vegetation on bank is mostly intact native and lovely. No willows. Excellent wave in the middle somewhere. One tree to portage but easy to exit river so no real risk.
The only risks for grade 2 paddlers is a couple of places the water sweeps around the outside of a bends into tree roots. This trip would be fine for people graduating from under 3 trips but needs a leader to pick out and warn people who are inexperienced about such corners.
We had a great adventure. Nice to do something different than the North Esk. I probably haven’t done it more than once before because the North esk is probably on at the same time; as it was yesterday.
I thought I should write this up because maybe trips like this are leaving the clubs collective memory.
Cheers
Jonathan Knox
