Today, we feature an interview with Kiah Wilderness Tours and we talk to them about the tours they organise and about kayaking in general. This is a very interesting read not only for kayakers, but for everyone who like wilderness and nature.
Could you tell us in a few words about Kiah Wilderness Tours and what you do?
Kiah Wilderness Tours runs small group guided kayak tours on a beautiful estuarine river on the Far South Coast of NSW.
What is the most fulfilling thing about what you do? What is that something about your work that puts a smile on your face or makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?
It’s wonderful to be able to share the beauty of our place with visitors. Seeing their faces when they get on the water is priceless – it’s often accompanied by ‘wow!’. It’s easy to get out of bed early to set up for a tour when this is the reaction you get.
Among other things, you offer family tours. It’s an important thing to get children out into nature. What do children think of the tours? How do they behave?
Kids love our tours- even teenagers love our tours! Every age group reacts differently but all are positive: young kids just love the thrill of being on a ‘boat’, older kids (7-12) love that they are allowed to paddle in their own kayak (they learn so fast!) and teenagers start off looking like they’ve been dragged along with over-enthusiastic parents and then end up racing their dad or trying to beat us in paddling races.
You’ve been doing this for quite a while. What’s something that you never get tired of seeing, hearing, or experiencing while out kayaking?
We never tire of the river or its wildlife and birdlife. It changes constantly with the seasons, but is always clean, quiet and full of the sights and sounds of nature.
Observing wildlife is obviously a very important part of your tours. Are there any conservation issues in the area?
Luckily the river is a recreational fishing haven so no commercial fishing is allowed. Our main environmental issue is feral animals such as deer which damage the riverbanks where the little kingfishers etc. nest.
You’ve probably kayaked in a bunch of different places around Australia, and possibly the world. How does Kiah river compare to some of these other places?
We can honestly say that it rates at the top. It is a clean, sandy bottomed estuarine river so we have a slight tidal flow which keeps it flushed. We can see a diversity of fish species as well as small rays and eels, we see many many different birds along the river including the magnificent sea eagles and kingfishers. It is in a relatively remote area with few access points which minimizes the number of people that are likely to call negative impacts. We are going to Antarctica next year and will kayak there so maybe that might rival our own beautiful river!
Visit Kiah Wilderness Tours’ website: https://kiahwildernesstours.com.au