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Normally, sea kayaking is my thing and I love nothing more than being out on the kayak fishing or adventuring. This Saturday, however, things went slightly differently to a normal kayaking trip. As we drove towards a sheltered South Coast spot, we passed the River Kennel, which comes from the beautiful Kennel Vale. The river was at a really high state of tide and rather than having a grassy flood plain on either side, the water filled the whole valley.<\/p>\n
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We had the sudden urge not to get into the salty sea but to do something a little bit different and paddle down the river. Sharpishly, we did a sneaky U-turn in a pub car park and headed back to the river. I ditched the car in a lay-by which sat right by the river and we unloaded the two Fatyak Kaafus<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We quickly changed into out wetsuits as we were in a lay-by and did look a little weird! With everything ready, we slid the Fatyaks into the river and off we went. I had actually forgot the seats; this was the first time this has ever happened and I was expecting the trip to have been ruined by the discomfort. I was pleasantly surprised and found that, even without the seats and with a lack of back support, Kaafus are still pretty comfy. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kayaking down a river or creek makes a really lovely change from sea kayaking. Rather than coast and caves to explore, you have river banks and overhanging trees. We had a great time paddling under huge oaks which leant out over the water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The water in the river was very flat and calm; in places it was almost completely reflective. If you looked into the water where the river had risen up over it’s banks you could see the grass and vegetation that wouldn’t normally be submerged. I kept staring in expecting to see a newt, fish, frog or at least a tadpole swimming about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Out from the river bank, we could see Black-Headed Gulls flying about in groups as well a few solitary Little Egrets. This was a nice change as it’s normally Shags, Cormorants, Gulls and (every now and then when we’re lucky) Gannets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n