any interest in doing this followed by some Tassie west coast waves, let us know and we will see what we can put together.
Standing up for tranquility ALICE CLARIDGE | March 03, 2013 12.01am
PICTURE PERFECT: Esther Daniel paddles down the Franklin River. Picture: SHARYN JONES
A GROUP of thrill-seekers has celebrated 30 years since the Franklin Dam proposal was stopped by paddling down the river standing up.
It is believed to be the first time anyone has taken to the river standing on a paddleboard.
Tasmania adventurer and director of Asia-based Griffon Expeditions, Chris Jones, has been guiding rafting tourist groups down the Franklin for the past 10 years.
"I have been down about 30 times in a raft," Mr Jones said.
"This time, with a group of like-minded friends, we had this idea to do it standing on paddleboards.
"We wanted to acknowledge the legacy and try something new and different."
The group of four used inflatable boards which meant they didn't need to worry about damage from the river's rocks.
Mr Jones said many people doubted they would be able to complete the journey.
"It's always fun to push boundaries a bit and do something that has not been done before. It's good to prove to people who doubted us that new things can still be done."
The group travelled by four-wheel-drive to a spot just below Mt McCall before being taken by a seaplane to Surge On Falls on the Gordon River.
"We didn't have to contend with the Great Ravine, which is pretty gnarly," Mr Jones said.
"We encountered rapids that were class one to class five.
"And we were able to negotiate rapids up to a class four on the paddleboards.
"At the end of the journey, we flew back to Hobart and were back at Mures enjoying fish and chips just an hour after we finished paddling the river.
"It was a great end to the trip."
Mr Jones said he believed there was a great deal of scope for other rivers in Tasmania to become tourism hotspots for paddleboard trips.
* Mr Jones was joined on the trek by his wife Sharyn Jones, who is an employee of the Sunday Tasmanian.
good luck down there with that!!!
