With the Gregory River Canoe Marathon on Sunday, there has been an onslaught of paddlers heading to the Gregory to claim their favourite camping spots.
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On Labour day weekend each year thousands of people from across Australia travel to the banks of the Gregory River to enjoy a weekend of canoeing, swimming, camping, fishing and partying.
The North West Canoe Club are expecting paddler numbers to hit 100.
Paddlers from as far as Victoria and New South Wales are making the long trek this year, as well as the regulars from the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Atherton tablelands.
Online registrations have been going well and registrations will also be taken on the day.
One canoe club member taking on the longer distance this year is Mike Salmon.
Salmon began paddling 18 months ago after moving to Mount Isa from Brisbane, and finds it very therapeutic.
Last year I was absolutely exhausted when I finished. It’s an easy race if you just go for the easy paddle, but I’m too competitive so I went crazy.
- Mike Salmon, North West Canoe Club.
“I refer to it as therapy and I have to be out of the office at 5pm on a Tuesday to get to the lake.
“It’s just a lot of good fun to be honest, I don’t take it too seriously, I’m not that good at it,” he said.
He competed in the short recreational course in 2016 but is tackling the full Gregory River Marathon this year, for a challenge.
“I was exhausted when I finished. It’s an easy race if you go for the easy paddle, but I’m too competitive so I went crazy,” he said.
Although Salmon fears he hasn’t quite trained enough for the 38km race, he’s looking forward to the challenge.
“Alison told me I’m not allowed to do that race again, I have to go for the full one – so that’s what I’m doing” he laughed.
“It’s going to be four hours of hard work, but it’ll be great fun” he said.
The club has spent the week searching for ‘Canadians’ and sit-on-top plastic kayaks for beginners.
Event organiser Alison Whitehead hasn’t been too busy to help paddlers train, and is also looking forward to the race this weekend.
“With the cooler nights finally arriving and the sun still shining brightly, it’s bound to be an awesome long weekend,” she said.