Paddle Huonville to Franklin circuiting Egg Islands via the canal

From the Huonville slip you can drop your craft into the Huon River and paddle downstream to Cradoc where there is another jetty and slipway. From there you can enter the dog legged canal and pop out at Franklin and then paddle up the western side of Egg Islands.

The canal is Australia’s oldest operational navigation canal.  It was built with convict labour in 1838 for the transport of people and goods between the towns south of the Huon River as there was no bridge at Huonville until 1876.

Egg Islands, being North Egg and South Egg, span 443 hectares and are now predominately their own Conservation Area jointly managed by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and Parks and Wildlife.  The islands see the largest remnant forest of the endangered black gum (eucalyptus ovata) in south east Tasmania that provides a feral cat free haven for threatened species such as the swift parrot, grey goshawk, Australasian bittern, masked owl and the wedge-tailed eagle.

Distance: 15km return

Suggested Time: 3-4 hours

Difficulty: Try to plan with the tidal movements as paddling against the tide can be hard work, but with the tide an opportunity to drift, take your camera out and bird watch.

Facilities: At Franklin and Huonville there are public toilets, bbq, playground, and cafes.

Getting there:
This loop can be started from three different locations:

1. Huonville Esplanade slipway beside the Huon Jet Boats, Channel Highway, Huonville
2. Cradoc slipway from Ferry Road, Cradoc, off the Channel Highway between Huonville and Cygnet
3. Huon Rowing Sheds, Hayes Road (the road to the north of the Franklin oval), off Huon Highway, Franklin

Plan ahead
Be prepared for the activity, always wear a life jacket, check the alerts, and make sure you are comfortable with the distance.

For more information, visit the following websites:

Paddle Craft

TasALERT – for fire, floods and other emergencies

Bureau of Meteorology

Leave No Trace is an internationally accepted way of minimising your impacts on the places we visit. Respect wildlife, be considerate of others, dispose of your waste properly.

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