Somewhere up a Lazy River - SUP Touring TNQ style

Apr 18

Better pay attention Brett cause Charlie is about to go for a swing……..And you’re about to go for a plunge!!!!

As I watched my daughter fling herself off the Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Board onto a rope swing I gave myself a pat on the back. Brett (our guide) didn’t have much chance, the paddle board they were sharing shot backwards and he was soon jettisoned off into the water. The rest of us whooped with delight – up until then he had looked way too comfortable gliding up the river on the board with my daughter riding shotgun.

**Brett giving us a quick lesson before heading off on our SUP adventure**

That’s not to say he didn’t ‘try’ to teach us HOW to master the art of SUP touring. Occasionally we would stop in the bend of the river and learn a new ‘sweep’ or ‘stroke’ of the paddle that would help us on our journey, BUT lets face it – none of us would gain the same look, or swagger about us, that a lifetime of growing up around boards will do (apparently Brett used to surf when he was a little tacker).

Surrounded by this much greenery it’s easy to relax on your SUP board

Heading upstream on the SUP board wasn’t that difficult at all

The canopy of the rainforest seemed to dwarf us

Thankfully, the river was calm and the amount of greenery surrounding has a wonderful effect of soothing any nerves that you may have. Although the vision I had of us gently cruising down the river to a pick up point was quickly dashed at the start.Heading up river straight away got my alarm bells ringing BIG time! Wouldn’t this be too hard? Was I going to have to put up with whinging kids ALL the way?? Or possibly more prominent in my mind was the image of ME going backwards rather than forwards along the river.

**Rainforest trees dominated our SUP cruise along Mossman River**

But, like every adventure you soon learn that there are bonuses to doing the ‘hard’ stuff straight up.

Your SUP experience lasts a whole lot longer.
It really isn’t that hard to paddle against the flow.
You gain some essential paddling skills whilst making your way upriver - skills that will come in handy on the way back down.

**The landscape on the river was forever changing**

And some of you may remember that this is NOT my first time paddling on a SUP board (Click HERE to read about SUP Palm Cove). I have to admit though, there are quite a few bonuses to SUP touring on a tropical river.

There was NO wind to battle with.
Waves were a non-entity (and there were hardly any rapids on the river we explored).
It actually felt like we were getting somewhere!

Every few minutes on the river it seemed like you rounded another corner, which bought new sights and surprises, plus plenty of shade to protect you from the harsh Northern Queensland sun. It really did feel like you were discovering new ground with every stroke of your paddle.

SUP-Mossman-Fallen Trees @adventuremumma.jpg

SUP-Mossman-fallen logs @adventuremumma.jpg

But it wasn’t all about the cruising. There were a few obstacles to contend with – like the odd fallen tree that blocked the river – but this just seemed to add to the adventure. And of course it kept my 2 kids (a 10 and an 8-year old) easily entertained with all the ‘extra’ stuff we were doing on the boards.

As for my daughter Charlie, she certainly tested all of Brett’s skills. Launching herself without warning onto rope swings was only part of the story. As Brett cruised past a fallen log or near the bank, she would often just step off, altering the board’s centre of gravity completely (fairly critical when you’re trying to stand upright on a floating board).

Charlie worked out quickly that Brett was the ‘coolest’ SUP boarder

Headstands were amongst the things mastered by Charlie on the SUP board

More antics on the SUP board

And did I mention that there was the odd headstand attempted for good measure.Later I asked Charlie if she was OK about having to ‘share’ on the day. According to her she was on the best board because Brett was doing all the ‘trick’ moves. Amazing isn’t it how kids are naturally attracted to the ‘coolest’ person in a group.

**Tropical Fruits on offer during our SUP break**

And at just the right point (before the kids melted down with a hunger attack) we put our paddles down and Brett pulled out a bag of tropical fruit for what felt like a well-earned break.

“Do you have any apples?” asked my son Josh as a cornucopia of tropical fruits were presented on an outstretched paddle. It’s surprising what a little bit of hunger will do though! Apparently my son LOVES rambutans and can’t work out why we’ve never offered them to him in the past (Hmmmmm).

Next I know he’s sucking on limes and trying a…….wait for it……ROCKMELON!! I made a mental note at that point to take only a selection of ‘green’ vegetables on our next hike together.

**We all VOTED that this was our favourite part of the tour**

SO what was our favourite part?

Going downstream of course! But not because it took less effort (compare the 40-50 minutes journey upstream to what took us only 10-15 minutes on return) – it was because we all managed to lay quietly (even the kids) on our paddleboards for a time and let the river take us downstream - lost in the moment we watched the rainforest canopy glide by as we cruised on below……….It was……….Heaven.

Heaven is a SUP board on a tropical river

The view of the rainforest canopy above was sublime

**Plenty of opportunities to hop off for a swim**

Good Things to Know

Includes paddle guide, board hire, tropical fruit tasting and free photos.
The tour takes 2.5 - 3 hours.
There are plenty of opportunities to stop for a swim in the river, or a play on the rope swings.
Transfers from Port Douglas can be arranged.
Tips on paddle technique are given throughout the tour.
Windswell offers other SUP tours, lessons and even gear for sale if you’re keen.
Crocodiles do occur in water around Tropical North Queensland – they have a preference for saltwater and murky water. Where the SUP tour takes place is many kilometres up-river from the nearest croc sightings and in shallow, clear freshwater – not a favoured habitat of saltwater crocodiles. If you are concerned about crocodiles in our waterways click HERE to read a great article.

Watch our short video here:

I'd love to hear your thoughts on SUP touring through a tropical rainforest. Would you be keen to give it a go?

We received a complimentary tour BUT all views, opinions and photos in this article are my own.

If you would like more info on this family friendly Pt Douglas Activity Click HERE - Mossman Rainforest Magic - Stand Up Paddle.