Distance: 7 kilometres return
Duration: 2 hours return
Best time to launch: 1 hour before high tide at Evans River – Evans Head Bridge .
Start/finish: Clarrie Kirkland Reserve, McDonald Place, Evans Head – GPS: 29°07’06.4″S 153°26’01.6″E.
Clarrie Kirkland Reserve has a kiosk, picnic facilities, public toilets, and a soft sandy Evans River beach from which to launch. It’s perfect for social gatherings and family days out.
Parking: Formal car park at the end of McDonald Place. Limited to 6 hours.
Toilets: Near the kiosk in Clarrie Kirkland Reserve.
Route:
Launch from the beach in Clarrie Kirkland Reserve and paddle to the right. Stingrays and flathead love the sandy riverbed and can often be seen in the shallows. Go under the bridge and to the left of the two islands. The entrance to Bundjalung Creek is on the left bank, 2 kilometres from the start. It is not uncommon for osprey to take up high vantage points in this area. Bundjalung Creek takes you inside Bundjalung National Park and it is possible to follow its winding path for around 1.5 kilometers before your progress is halted by an historic wooden river crossing. Along the way, the mangroves which inhabited the shoreline near the river make way for marvelous melaleucas and their distinctive peeling paperbark trunks and branches.
Safety note: Please do not paddle on the ocean side of Clarrie Kirkland Reserve unless you are very experienced. Conditions in that area can be dangerous.