Sea Kayak

Airlie Beach, Queensland - For my last day in Airlie Beach I decided to frolic once again with the fish and the sea turtles. This time, the idea was to skim the surface in a sea kayak, cruising over the reef, but stopping here and there to snorkel and swim. 

Unfortunately the weather did not really cooperate. Once again, the wind was really strong, meaning the waves were big, the water was choppy and the turtles were sleeping. So there was no snorkelling or swimming – just hard paddling in choppy waters. And straight into a headwind, for starters.

That was hard work! The waves were tossing us all over the place, splashing up into the kayak, pushing us precariously into the rocky islands if we got too close. Much of our route went across open water, which meant a flat-out fight against the wind. Exciting but exhausting!  

We paddled 2.5km out to a little island – unnamed and officially not an island but just a rock, according to our guide. Still, it was big enough to climb around and explore, with a cool lookout over the bay. 

 After a picnic, we paddled back to the harbor. By now the sun was shining and wind was at our backs, so the return trip was more of the serene experience I was looking for. Still no turtles, though.