Morpeth's Patricia “Bundy” Charnock spearheads 300km kayak adventure along the Hunter River

Patricia “Bundy” Charnock, found her passion for the water after purchasing a kayak several years ago.

One day, she decided to set out on a solo kayak adventure from Allison Bridge to Clarence Town.

With no helmet and little knowledge of white water, what she thought was going to be a five hour journey turned into 10 hours, finishing up in the dark.

Despite the fear she encountered on her solo journey, the thrill and adrenaline of the adventure drove her to explore further afield.

So Ms Charnock reached out on Facebook to see who would be interested in taking on the Hunter River with her.

Soon 13 women had signed themselves up to be a part of the trip, including Morpeth’s Prue Wolfe, Simone Jamieson, Sarah Mark and Misty Anscombe, Bolwarra’s Yvonne Gruber, Telarah’s Donna Elvins, Thornton’s Patricia Roth-Palmer, Belmont’s Catherine Kelly, Gillian French of Martin’s Creek, Aberdeen’s Cindy Milton and Muswellbrook’s Karen Scott and Robyn McLean.

Sections were planned out for various weekends starting in February 2015.

The itinerary went Jerrys Plains to Singleton, Singleton to Wyndham Estate, Wyndham Estate to Morpeth, Moonan Flat to Belltrees, Belltrees to Glenbawn Dam, Glenbawn Dam to Aberdeen, Aberdeen to Bengalla Pumps, Bengalla Pumps to Bureen, Bureen to Golden Highway, Golden Highway to Lemington Road and Morpeth to Newcastle.

All up it took the women more than a year to complete and involved 26 days of kayaking, but Ms Charnock said it felt awesome to conquer the river.

Describing the river as “a great healing place,” she said the women who took part are all more confident for completing the task.

“It was fantastic,” Ms Charnock said. 

“One lady had never been in a kayak [before the trip]. 

“For many of these women it’s helped them grow in many ways.”

Along the way the women paddled their kayaks through rapids, weirs, waterfalls and deep still water, dragged the boats across sandbars and slippery stony creek beds, and over and under large boulders and fallen trees.

The end of the trip even coincided with a protest in Newcastle harbour, meaning the women had to be escorted by police by boat from the area.

But it wasn’t all just paddling – the ladies managed to engage in some archaeology, campfires, swimming and even some abandoned rope swings and slip and slides.

Through her own research, Ms Charnock said she cannot find anyone who has paddled further on the Hunter River as the group has, including Scott Bevan, who detailed his 2011 adventure from Belltrees to Newcastle in a book entitled “The Hunter”.

The group is now planning a trip from Barrington to Old Bar, near Taree starting this weekend.