Late last year Clarence City Council celebrated a first in Tasmania and officially launched a kayak trail for residents and visitors to explore the city by water.
The Clarence Kayak Trail provides information to help kayakers plan their trip and make the best decision about where to go.
Divided into nine coastal sections to explore, each trail includes information about the estimated distance and skill level required, what to see along the way, launch points, hazards and warnings, and facilities to access off the trail.
Mayor of Clarence, Doug Chipman, believed the Clarence Kayak Trail was an innovative product to help guide kayakers of all levels to enjoy the coastline.
“The Clarence Kayak Trail is unique to Tasmania and we’re not aware of anything quite like it on mainland Australia.
“With 191 kilometres of diverse coastline, the development of a kayak trail was the obvious choice to enhance the diverse range of recreational activities we offer and showcase a different way to see our city.
“Kayaking is a popular activity on the Derwent and around the coast. In Clarence we have estuaries, salt marshes, tidal flats, rocky headlands, urban, coastal and protected areas for
people to explore.
“Not only do we have more than 300km of tracks for walkers, cyclists, mountain bikers and horse riders, but we also have a trail for kayakers to paddle and explore our beautiful waterways and take in the views of the city, Mt Wellington, Bruny Island and the Tasman Peninsula.”
The kayak trail was created following extensive consultation with kayak groups who identified the routes and the levels of difficulty required.
Project consultant and avid kayaker, John Hepper, said the Clarence Kayak Trail provides useful safety information to guide kayakers and is a wonderful step for a local council to take to encourage water based exploration and recreation.
“The trail is an invitation to access, explore and enjoy the river environs. Importantly it also provides advice about choosing the coastline based on the paddling conditions, level of skill and provides a paddler’s checklist and safety information to consider before embarking on the journey.”
The Clarence Kayak Trail is printed on waterproof/tear proof paper for a small fee and can also be downloaded for free from ccc.tas.gov.au/kayaktrail.
