EXPLORE THE DERWENT BY PADDLEBOARD
W hy sit when you can stand? I am yet to follow the lead of my colleagues who swear by the health benefits of a stand-up desk.
But as I coast past the magnificent cliffs of New Norfolk on my new vehicle of choice, a stand-up paddleboard, I find myself an instant follower of the “standing is the new sitting” movement. It is easy to see why many paddlers are ditching their kayaks in favour of stand-up boards – it feels so comfortable and intuitive to be paddling upright.
Joining me on this leisurely outing is my mum from South Australia, who thoroughly enjoyed a recent stand-up paddle lesson off Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach – until she made it back to shore and learnt a large shark had been seen nearby.
Although she confesses to be a little wary of what lies beneath the dark depths of the River Derwent, Mum is happy with the lack of man-eating predators here.
Our stand-up paddle (SUP for those in the know) instructor is Cameron Douglas, who set up the Derwent Valley SUP School last year after moving to New Norfolk from Sydney with his wife and young family.
I phone Douglas the day before to make the booking and he happily postpones a trip to the Huon Valley to check out a potential new SUP route to host Mum and I for a midafternoon lesson.
After an onshore run-down on how to get from kneeling to standing position without falling off and how to steer and brake, we set off from the jetty by the New Norfolk Bowls Club.
“Don’t look down,” Douglas repeatedly warns us. No matter how tempting it is to look at our feet to check they are in the correct position, Douglas advises that is the surest way to end up in the water. After a few wobbly moments early on we manage to glide uneventfully past a bunch of kids mucking around on the foreshore.
I have always thought of the Derwent Valley as a largely underappreciated region, but I am still surprised by the stunning beauty of the area from this watery vantage point. I look forward to coming back for a stroll along the Derwent Cliffs Walk from the New Norfolk Caravan Park to Tynwald Park.
At one stage we see a white-bellied sea eagle and further along the cliffs we encounter some young backpackers from Europe who are working up the courage to jump into the river. Douglas eggs them on by saying the local kids do it all the time. “Just make sure you jump far enough out,” he advises. The tourists are not convinced and decide to make their way to lower ground first.
As we meander along, Douglas, who happens to be a Christian pastor, tells us stories of the creatures he has encountered on the river, including platypus and, on one occasion, a wayward seal. He convinced Mum and I to come back in winter, to experience the magic of paddling through the mist that often blankets the river.
We feel smugly certain of our new-found SUP skills and confident we could keep our toes dry during a winter outing. However, this smugness disappears as we approach our landing point. Mum has forgotten Douglas’s tips for using her paddle to brake and, rather than gliding smoothly up to the boat ramp, she collides with the jetty and instantly topples (rather elegantly, I must say) into the river, much to the amusement of a young family frolicking on their boat tied to the jetty.
Mum emerges a little embarrassed and missing her sunglasses, but promptly declares the water beautiful, so I stow my board on shore and join her for a swim. Being a former Adelaidean, I am normally a wimp when it comes to swimming in Tasmania but in this mild section of the river I feel I could stay in all day.
Alas, it is time to head back to Hobart, but not before Douglas shares with us some homemade raspberry and spelt muffins. I do not feel we have exerted ourselves enough to deserve the treat, but Douglas assures us that using a stand-up paddleboard is a deceptively effective form of workout.
“I often hear from people who say they didn’t realise they had worked so hard until they feel their stomach muscles the next day,” he says.
Exercising without realising it? No wonder this whole stand-up thing is catching on.
MAKE A NOTE
The Derwent Valley SUP School operates from The Esplanade, New Norfolk. Phone to book on 0418 729 391 or email info@derwentvalleysup.com Session prices are based on a one-hour class involving basic stand-up paddleboard instruction on land and time on the water. (One person costs $55/h; two people, $100/h; three to eight people, $120/h. Already a SUPper? Douglas take tours along the New Norfolk reach of the Derwent River.