Exploring Mississippi Creek

Great paint job bottom all antifoulled

18 March 2022 Nauti Time 012

Up early as we want to be at the yard when the mechanic arrives and watch the process so in future we will feel comfortable to do ourselves. A thorough assessment reveals nothing wrong with the bearings ,shaft or drive which is a huge relief. The only thing required is new anodes and my wonderful husband being a great boy scout is prepared having a spare set on board which saved us a couple of hundred dollars and a few hours for them to drive back to Paynesville to pick some up. So the oil is changed new anodes on and a bottom paint job scheduled for the afternoon all very quick and slightly less painful on the pocket than it could have been. Unfortunately we have to stay on the hard until Monday as there is not the staff on Saturdays to refloat! All is good though and we can continue our adventure with greater peace of mind.

We take ourselves off for a lovely cycle along the banks of the northern arm and through the backstreets of Lakes Entrance. A fun afternoon peddling around. Definitely worth retrieving the bikes! I even found some large bags that will hopefully make it easier to get them out of the hull next time.

19 March 2022 Nauti time 013

Had a sleepy start to the day. Headed back to the boat and did some tidying. I remade the beds ( the engines are under the beds so you need to remove all bedding and mattresses to-get access) Rick has decided to make the most of being in the yard and use the time to build a stand for an outside stove/ wok cooker next to the barbecue as he wants to cook curries and smelly stuff outside rather than have lingering smell inside. He can use his grinder and every thing here in the yard which is much cleaner and safer than on a dock somewhere down the track. The only downfall is the very steep steps to get on and off the boat. He did say he wanted to get fitter!!

I headed back to the hotel for some self pamper time doing my nails and getting camera gear sorted and I have my nose into a very good series ‘ A court of thorns and roses by Sarah. J . Maas’ I’m almost finished book 3 of 5 so I think my afternoon is accounted for.

Lunch tied up to log in middle of Mississippi creek

20 March 2022 Nauti time 014

Adventure day. We have decided to take Little Puss and head up the Northern arm into Mississippi Creek as high as we can go. We have made ourselves a lovely picnic lunch complete with, herb wraps of chicken cheese and hummus, thermoses of tea and coffee, bickies, chippies and juice. We hope to find a nice beach or landing area somewhere along the way!

Lovely dock on Mississippi Creek unfortunately private property so didn’t linger too long

Wow what a lovely trip. The lower reaches of the creek are a bit like a slalom course as the channel weaves its way from one bank to the other with some very shallow bits between which made it quite fun. The banks here are lined with beautiful large acreage estates or housing blocks of large homes overlooking scenic water views. Some housing styles were quite eclectic with turrets, arches and domes. Further up the river the housing gave way to a tree lined shore and there was a gorgeous private dock that we did stop at briefly thinking there may have been a nice picnic area however it was all very overgrown. There was a winery called wyangar winery that could be accessed from a small jetty where apparently the food is fabulous but we had our own gourmet treats with us so we decided to forgo the steep climb to the winery and continue upstream. We were unsuccessful in finding a nice beach but our lunch spot was even better as we tied up to a log in the middle of the creek surrounded by beautiful trees and the running water and there we sat having a delicious luncheon. It was so peaceful with the only sound the trickling water and birdsong.

We ventured as high as we could eventually thwarted by a large tree that had fallen across the creek so we headed home. It was like when you take horses out on a trail ride. As soon as you point their nose toward home it takes no time to get there! We were soon unloading back in Cunninghame arm. Replete and resplendent after a wonderful adventure.