Canoe believe it?!

March 22, 2015

We wanted to make the most of a beautiful, sunny, calm,  32 degree Autumn day. After Skyping and blogging in the morning, we slopped on sunscreen, slipped on our sunnies, slapped our hats and headed for an afternoon on the water.

During the summer break our friends, Grant and Ruth, introduced us to Port Noarlunga South. Remembering this lovely spot, we drove down from the Hills to where the Onkaparinga River meets the ocean. This time we ventured onto the water by hiring a 2- person kayak, which felt much like a canoe, for an hour on the river.

Canoe believe it?! Carolyn actually enjoyed being out on the water! She tried to regain her canoeing skills while Sean seemed to be a natural (despite having his paddle upside down for the first 20 minutes!). By mid-way, Carolyn left Sean to handle most of the paddling, for two reasons. First, she was tired and was developing a blister on her right thumb. Second, her paddling technique left both her and Sean fairly wet! Luckily, the sun shone the whole time and the light breeze helped to dry out the wet bottoms.

We cruised past black swans, cormorants, pelicans and ducks. We watched shoreline fishermen and women trying to catch a few. We only got stuck twice on sandbanks in the river, said friendly “hellos” to other kayakers and generally enjoyed the time on the water.

While paddling back to our starting point, the current was with us and we managed to get our paddling rhythm sorted out. We received compliments from a passing kayaker who was very impressed by how coordinated we looked and asked how long we had been practicing. We giggled and thought to ourselves – just under an hour and we are looking like professionals! Wow, not bad for our first time!

Fishermen at the Onkaparinga River Mouth, Port Noarlunga, SA, March 22, 2015

Preparing our vessel, Port Noarlunga South, SA, March 22, 2015

Launching our Kayak/Canoe, Port Noarlunga South, SA, March 22, 2015

All smiles as the adventure begins!, Port Noarlunga South, SA, March 22, 2015

Black Swans, Port Noarlunga South, SA, March 22, 2015

A beautiful afternoon on the Onkaparinga River, Port Noarlunga South, SA, March 22, 2015

Feet up on the river, Port Noarlunga South, March 22, 2015