Packrafting the Shoalhaven River – Oallen Ford to Ningee Nimble Creek

On Saturday the 24th of February 2024, Gabby and I were visiting family in Nerriga in country NSW and thought we’d take the opportunity to packraft a section of the Shoalhaven river. With only limited time, we selected a short section from Oallen Ford to Ningee Nimble Creek:

• Grade: 2

• Level: 0.95m (at Hillview)

• Distance: 5.5km

• Time: 1.5 hrs

Put In

Our put in was at Oallen Ford, just below the bridge over the river. There are multiple access point to the river here and our lift to the start pulled off on the southwest side of the bridge. From here we walked under the bridge and put in underneath it on the southeastern side.

The River

From our start point the river flowed well, with heavily vegetated banks that limited opportunities to exit, but the river itself was clear.

Following that initial section, the river was a mixture of flowing flat water and easy grade 1-2 rapids.

Take Out

Our take out point was Ningee Nimble Creek. We’d been tracking our progress down river with a GPS, however there is a house visible on river right just above the creek (the first building we’d seen on this section of river). After spotting this, there was one last rapid to negotiate, which was probably the most difficult of the trip, although it looked more daunting in person than it does in the photo.

After this rapid, it is initially possible to paddle up Ningee Nimble Creek. The distance from where the creek enters the Shoalhaven to the Oallen Road, where we’d left the car, is very short — only a few hundred metres. We paddled and portaged most of this and only had to walk the last little bit to the bridge.

More Information

This section of the river doesn’t have it’s own write-up in the major guides, but is described as an optional first section in the Wikiriver guide for the Shoalhaven section Powerlines - Ningee Nimble Creek to Peggies Gully. See also the NSW Waterways Guide for the Shoalhaven from Oallen Ford To Tallowa Dam.

Kate Grarock has also made a YouTube video of paddling this section.