Ka Ka Kayaking!

This weekend Will and I went on our very first kayaking trip! We went to Ruakaka beach which looks like this....

Rough, I know. But we had to make due with the scenery we were given :) For those of you who remember Will and my first anniversary trip to Grand Marais, you might remember me telling you the story of how we almost got divorced in Canada while trying to canoe back (across the lake) to Minnesota. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done physically in a very long time. We had to fight against a strong wind and current in a boat that was not easy to maneuver. So at that time I said I hated canoeing and never ever ever want to do it again.

Actual footage from the fateful canoe trip. You can't see my facial expression, which is a good thing!

Well....Kayaking is a totally different story! First of all we each got individual kayaks so we didn't have to work as a team (is it bad that is a pro?). Secondly, the vessel is so much more sensitive and controllable. Several times I was able to maneuver between a narrow space with precision and perfect timing. Thirdly, the paddles are double sided, so you don't have to switch back and forth, it's just one fluid motion. It was so peaceful and you feel a lot more connected with the water than you do on a canoe or bigger boat. The entire trip (2.5 hours) I continuously said "I love this", "this is so awesome", "can we get kayaks?" We will definitely be kayaking many times while here and purchasing kayaks when we get back home to explore rivers/lakes of Minnesota. But don't worry about our marriage, we'll get single kayaks :)

Sadly we don't have any pictures from the actual kayak trip as we didn't want our camera to get wet/damaged if we happened to fall in. But you can take our word for it, we looked like total pros (on a calm river at a leisurely pace with a small group).

Here are some pictures from the rest of our day at the beach relaxing...and getting sunburned. That's right, we'll be as red as Santi Claus come Christmas!

Picking up shells

Ruakaka Beach

Tally walking along the ice-cold water!

Will applying sun screen to the part of his body that haven't seen sunlight in over a year (his chest). If you look closely you can see his sweet handlebar mustache from Movember

The Whangarei Heads