The Boatshed At Woronora

What a difference a day makes

Monday was the ANZAC Day public holiday; the Boatshed was reasonably busy, the cafe was full, the sun was shining and kids were swimming in the river and creek – ok, they were wading ‘cos the tide was low

Tuesday morning and brrrr! People walking dogs had coats and scarves on, the mist was broiling 0ff the water and I went looking for clothes not seen since we moved in. It was a dreary day. The cloud barely lifted and although I had to shuck the new-found sweater fairly quickly there was a definite temptation to don it again late afternoon.

It reminded me of the opposite scenario when I was working in Montreal for a while. After several months of sub-zero temperatures and snow-packed pavements, the winter disappeared almost overnight and the female population expecially  emerged like a butterfly from the crysallis, with dazzling colour and bare skin as though they couldn’t wait to soak up every bit of sunshine. Faced with the same temerature at the end of summer, no doubt they would be reaching just as quickly for the hats and scarves since the temperature range is so wide up there.

However, here we are blessed with a relatively small temperature range and for a large part of the day the paddling conditions are almost perfect. Not cold, not too hot, no hoons in tinnies or on wakeboards, just ease back in your seat and watch nature go by.

The Boatshed At Woronora is still open 7 days a week, 8:30 to 6 for canoe, kayak  and motor boat hire. Why not enjoy a hot coffee on the balcony afterwards or better still, take one with you early in the morning and watch the river wake up with the sun.

Where the bloody hell are you? (with apologies to Tourism Australia)

What a fantastic week it has been weather-wise. Ideal paddling conditions, warm and dry  with small tides and no wind; almost perfect conditions but they must be perfect for something else as well because the bit of river I informally monitor has been almost empty compared with previous weeks.

I know the school term has started (my wife and a daughter are teachers so we tend to notice) and the Easter holiday period is almost over but with another long weekend coming up I would have expected a few more people, both hirers and owner-kayakers, to be making the most of the opportunity. Most schools who used the Boatshed last term have elected not to canoe this term; I realise students have to choose a sport for the entire term and most will be thinking it will be a tad cooler in 10 week’s time, but, boy, what are they missing in the meantime?

A wet boat in any weather

I used to sail a laser dinghy in the UK, with the frostbite series kicking off on Boxing Day. To come to Australia and discover that people still have a hibernation instinct in Winter was unexpected, to say the least. We arrived in September 1986 and rented on the Woronora for a while, and I can still recall the surprised voices of the neighbours saying “who’s swimming in the river at this time of year? Oh, it’s those mad Poms!”

So all you Northern hemisphere people either here or planning to be here between now and next September, basking in the relative warmth of an Australian “cold season”, come on down to The Boatshed At Woronora and “Make Spray while the Sun Shines”.

Welcome

Hi, and welcome to The Boatshed At Woronora website and blog.

Click on a window above to access other pages, or use the site map to the left. On these pages you will find information about the Boatshed itself, the local area, what you can do here and how much it all costs.

The business has been known variously as All Star Boats, the Star Boatshed and more recently The Woronora River Canoe Centre. Since our aim is to broaden the business into more than just a canoe hire shop, we have adopted a simpler name which reflects the way locals refer to it. If you are in the Woronora area or neighbouring suburbs, the building is simply “The Boatshed”. If you are further afield, you might separate this boatshed from, say, the one at Como or at Audley by refering to it as “The Boatshed at Woronora”. So that’s who we are.

A newsletter was published for the immediate residents and for visitors to the Boatshed, and this can be found on the Newsletters page. A new edition is due out shortly. Meanwhile check out the details of our canoe hire, kayak hire, motorboat hire, overnight accommodation and the cafe.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to write a comment here, send an email to info@ or call +61 2 9545 2584. We’re open 7 days a week, 8:30am – 6pm, Sydney time.

We look forward to seeing you down here, for an hour or a week.

Jon