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Bald Hill Rapids About 3.5km below Emu Falls. You will know these rapids are coming up by the imposing presence of the bare, rounded rocky summit, on river left. The excitement starts below the long pool which is at the base of the hill.

This is a long stretch of river which will keep you concentrating for just over 500 metres with a fast race, a pool, then some manouvring in current to line up for a drop, more manouvring, another pool and a short rocky rapid. Some of the pics below have been taken at an unpaddleable river level. They show the rocks underneath and explain why the river behaves a certain way. Others were taken at 10.6m at Toodyay's Dept of Water gauge (about 0.55m, Long Pool post in the ti-trees), a low, but paddleable level. Many of the pics have an alternate view - click to obtain. Pics and notes by Robyn Khorshid

Bald Hill Rapids Layout

This fast stretch of water is about 150m long. Soon after the entry there is a rock, river left (see here) which has a pour-over and hole behind it at certain river levels.  Watch out for other rocks on your ride down, how many depends on water level. The unpaddleable level pic (click on pic) shows the location of the main danger rock , the pour-over with hole. But you see it in advance and it's easy to avoid.

Red arrows indicate the main flow at higher water levels as well. The current picks up speed here, especially after the small drop. The pyramid-shaped rock in the distance is at the top of the big drop. You may wish to go left or right.

Pool is at top of pic. Keep your boat towards river left.

This is the sting in the tail of this stretch of river, but only if you're not in control of your boat! - River right route is turbulent due to the many rocks underneath and only available at medium and above water levels. - River left of the Pyramid Rock is a smoother ride, as there is a small chute arrangement of the rocks underneath, but the current rushes the unwary paddler to the Magnet Rocks, particularly medium water and above. The cushion of water on the Magnet Rocks will capsize you easily. If taking this route be ready to cut across the current quickly towards the centre of the river, once down the drop. (Why: As there is a slight bend in the river here, most of the current is sweeping to the outside of the bend due to centrifugal force. You can see it even at the lowest river levels. Hence it will sweep you river left and the left bank or Magnet Rocks, unless you move over quickly. You are safe from this if you are taking the river right route.) Click on the pic to see all the rocks of this rapid exposed.

Click on pic to see why the river right route is turbulent and the river left route less so.

The beach on river right is ideally placed for rescue! Now it's about 140m paddle to the next rapid, around the corner at the end of this pool. I've called it "Get-Right" Rapid, for obvious reasons, as you will see. Click on pic for close up. Looking upstream at 40m of this rapid. Enter right, or centre if there's not enough water, but "get right" to avoid the most rocks, in particular, the pourover rock which is in the centre. At low water there is a cushion of water which may hide this rock. See pic. At medium water there is a pourover with hole on the downstream side, so avoid it then, too. To the right of this rock there are small rocks which you may make the going difficult at low water levels. It becomes turbulent at medium water levels, due to these rocks and the drop. However there is a small chute which you might get to, just to the right of pourover rock. See pic. Here is a panoramic view of the whole rapid from the river left side of river. For a bigger and clearer panorama go here or here (1.4MB). The larger version has amazing detail if you enlarge it fully. You will need to scroll across on most computer screens. There is considerable foreshortening in all of these pics. (It makes the furthest rocks appear closer together than they are.)

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