Saturday, 17 September 2016

Hitting the Water

Having discovered Enoggera Dam and its kayaking opportunities, I was keen to make time to get out there for a paddle as soon as possible. In a brilliant spot of luck, Adam found himself a reasonably-priced sit-on-top kayak from Gumtree one evening while I was finishing up an assignment, and he collected it the following morning. Then we just had to wait for an appropriate weekend...

That part of the plan took a while, as a few times in a row either one of us was too busy, or the weather was too bad. Finally we got our chance though, and loaded up the kayaks on the roof of my car to head to the dam.



Adam's bargain kayak had come with all the accessories (although we did replace the seat with a Father's Day bargain from Anaconda. Gotta love a sale!) and the extra goodies included a little trolley. This was excellent, as there is a bit of a walk down a little trail to get to the water's edge and the kayak launch area.



I helped Adam launch (he is still a beginner kayaker) and then joined him for a paddle around the lake. We stuck to the sheltered parts, as Adam's kayak is a bit less tubby and stable than the kayaks he has tried before. This was deliberate, as it will make his kayak faster and more maneuverable as he improves his kayak skills, allowing us to take on more demanding kayak trips when he is ready.



After an hour or so on the water we decided it was time for a coffee back at the cafe, where we chatted about making kayak practice a regular thing so that future trips can be planned...