Monday were up by 7 to gather any final items and to make our last preparations. James kindly volunteered to watch the rest of our stuff that we wouldn't be able to pack in and out. So we loaded up the van with the rest of our stuff and waved goodbye to James. He has no trouble making friends or finding places to sleep so we weren't worried.
Our kayak rental hook up was just across the street from our cabin. The look on our guide's face was priceless as he realized all 11 of us girls were going on this trip and only a select few we're actually excited about the all day excursion (not that we all didn't want to be there it's just that not all of the girls are as ambitious as Erika when it comes to the great outdoors). His name was Iaho (I-ho) but we renamed him Thor since he carried such a striking resemblance with his tan skin and blond pony tail. Thor wasn't actually going to kayak with us. His main job was to prepare us and teach us a few safety maneuvers and send us on our way. We spent the next hour with him learning how to steer and paddle. We also learned and practiced what to do in case our kayak flipped over on open water (meaning with no shore close by).
After suiting up in our orange windbreakers, life jackets, and black kayak skirts (it protects your legs from getting wet and keeps you secure in the kayak) we were ready. The weather was a bit overcast and windy but it promised to clear up later in the day, which it did. We walked across the street to the beach while a giant tractor pulled our trailer full of kayaks to our launch.
So our first challenge of the day: launching the kayaks with both people fully secure. Sounds easy right? Try adding mini waves to the mix (yes it is hard even though the word mini wave doesn't make it seem so). Jannette (Erika's cousin) and I did a pretty good job. We only both got wet from the waves but we didn't tip over :).
Ok so confession time... There are few things in this world that I am afraid of but the ocean is one of them. It's more like a love hate relationship because I love the beach and body surfing in the waves but I hate the undertow and the amount of dangerous sea life living in the water. It's a combination of watching shark week one time too many as well as not knowing what could be swimming under, around, or next to you.
There I said it and with that confession we'll move on to the rest of our adventure. The water was pretty calm and beautiful. The overcast sky made it appear really grey. An interesting part of kayaking is that you are right along the water. So every time the wind would pick up it would splash salt water up on us. That didn't happen too frequently but enough to keep me wet. I was nervous starting out but once I got the hang of paddling that took my mind off the fact that we were in the ocean and I quite enjoyed taking in the scenery around me.
We paddled for about an hour around the coastline and between two decent sized islands before breaking for lunch. The beach that we stopped on looked like it came right out of a magazine. The water was such a beautiful clear blue color and the sand a carmel yellow. It was incredible! The sun finally broke through the clouds and that just added to the overall beauty.
We continued paddling in and out of little inlets along the bay for the next two hours. We didn't see any wild life except for a few bird along the water. Although it would have been really cool I was kind of glad just because you realize how small and insignificant you really are when you're on the ocean and having a whale or even a seal appear nearby well it would have been exciting and a bit nerve racking at the same time.
Anyway after those two hours we stopped at another beach. Some of the girls were ready to be done and decided to hike the rest of the way into our camp site. The rest of us decided we wanted to keep going so we hopped in and continued our journey. Now when Thor was briefing us about our trip he specifically took care to inform us about this next section. On the map it was coded with a bright red circle and exclamation points. He said that its known as the mad mans mile and that it is doable but to be very wary of the weather and water conditions since it can get dangerous pretty quickly. Taking that into consideration I decided to take the challenge and press onward with those who wanted to keep going despite my fear of the water. I thought maybe this trip could help me conquer that fear.
It wasn't too bad at the start. But as we rounded the coast and left the protection of the bay I realized that maybe this adventure was a bit over my head. To make things even more exciting we had switched partners since Jannette wanted to hike instead of continue on. That put me in the position of kayak steerer. The key to smooth kayak operation is to hit the waves head on at a perpendicular angle. If you stay parallel to the waves you are more likely to tip over because the rocking motion makes you less stable. Sure it seems simple enough and it was until we rounded that corner. The wind picked up and the waves began hitting us from all directions. These were no longer mini waves but instead turned into swells that were two to three feet high. The kayak would go up and come straight down. Remember I'm trying to steer here so that we don't tip plus paddling against the current and waves as well as not freak out because by this point I was very much outside of my comfort zone. Oh and did I mention the nice sharp rocky coastline to our left? Yeah I didn't want to hit that either. A few times the waves actually came over our kayak. I could tell that my partner Andrea was just as nervous so I started shouting (you had to shout to hear each other over the wind and waves) random questions at her to keep her mind off of the fact that our arms hurt, that we were paddling through big waves in a little plastic kayak, and that our only coast was full if sharp rocks. After paddling for an hour we hit another bay. This wasn't our final destination but we decided it would be since the water was so rough and because we were exhausted. The hardest part was pulling into the bay because we had to turn the kayak inland and put our backs to the waves. Meaning we didn't know when one would hit us. I cannot tell you how happy I was to step on dry ground :).
We pulled the kayaks up and informed one of the water taxis (a boat that shuttles people around the park) that we had 4 kayaks ready for pick up. We met the rest of our group at our site. Thankfully they had decided to hike because they were able to secure enough beds for us at or cabin. We were spending the night in a giant community hut with a kitchen and two giant bunk beds with 8 mattresses across top and bottom. We ended up sharing our beds with a nice German couple. Basically everyone just slept in their sleeping bag on a "mattress" right next to each other. Welcome to communal living :).
Before bed we had a feast of roman noodles and canned chicken. That night we enjoyed some nice warm milo and timtams on the beach. We had the chance to watch the sunset and see the stars. Even with the bright half moon we still could see the Milky Way. It was incredible!!
Today was definitely a crazy adventure. If we ever get a chance to see a video of our life I really want to rewatch the sea kayak craziness. I'll probably sea kayak again but I'll be sure to stick to the calm waters.
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