The Amazing Trip

Lillian, James, and I

Yesterday, I got back from a two day camping adventure after heaps of fun.  The great time payed off and I did not even have the strength to write.  I had fun playing on the water and dodging through waves, I loved hanging with kids my age again, and camping was a blast! 

The instructions and the pool sessions helped my boating, but this trip was the perfect way to use my skills and have fun blasting through the waves and the rapids.  First off, I have learned my roll and can use it in fair sized waves.  I have learned how to surf the waves and stay afloat while I am doing it.  Surfing in a kayak means keeping your boat in the exact right position such that it stays on the wave and becomes part of the wave.  I found myself feeling the surge of excitement and joy of riding the wave and handing the control of my kayak to the spirt of the river.  I learned that the best way to stay afloat, while punching through big waves and holes, is to lean forward, keep the boat pointing straight, and paddle hard.  I found myself obsessed with the feeling of waves crashing over my head and boat.  My brief kayak experience before this course had been fun, but the New Zealand Kayak School got me more hooked than ever.  I am excited to do more of this fun, ecstatic sport. 

If you have endured only your parents (with a couple exceptions) for seven months, you know that it feels nice to have two days with other humans who actually like having fun!  Through every rapid James, Lillian and I picked a pop song to sing through the waves, holding each other’s boats and going backwards through rapids like one big raft.  We skipped rocks and had throwing competitions.  Almost every time, James smoked us with the longest distance.  We constantly made jokes where the three of us cracked into pieces and almost fell out of our boats, and Matt (our instructor) just sat with a funny face and no idea what or who we were talking about.  The three of us all together had a blast. 

Camping may have been the best part of the trip.  We set up camp by a small rapid that filled our minds with its captivating and peaceful splashes.  We made a fire and roasted sausages and, as J.R.R. Tolkien would say, had many merrymakings.  Matt also cooked us some mashed potatoes.  James and I climbed trees and all of us played cards in our cozy sleeping bags.  We slept under the stars and, gazing up at the moon, gently fell into a light, perfect sleep.  We woke up to a breakfast of oatmeal and I, after the month of never ending oatmeal in Surmang, was forced to follow the golden rule: “If you put enough sugar in it, it does not taste like oatmeal anymore.”

My trip was amazing.  I discovered the true fun and joy of kayaking.  I loved having such good friends, and the camp was amazing!  I must say the trip would not have been as good for me without my true friends James and Lillian.  They encouraged me when my rolls did not come up well, and helped me give it another go.  Also, our instructor Matt understood our kayaking weaknesses and he turned them into strong solid skills.  What an awesome trip!

Photos from the current day (not the camping trip):







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