This trip involved many different activities including: canoeing, white-water rafting, climbing and cycling. Because there were so many different activities you had to be very organised when it came to packing for the trip to ensure you had all the right equipment and it was all in the correct bags, as some of our stuff would be left at Troll Aktiv during our 2 day canoe.

When we arrived by bus we met Len and had some lunch. Len then asked Kyle and I to teach everyone some basic paddle strokes for an hour. This was a surprise and we had to quickly come up with some ideas of what to do; we decided forwards backwards turning and the J-stroke. We also paired up people who had canoed before with less experienced paddlers. When demonstrating and explaining each stroke to everyone it was hard to do so in a way that didn’t seem patronising, especially as some people already had a basic understanding of how to manoeuvre a canoe.

We spent the rest of the day paddling down the flat calm fjord. We were very lucky with the weather being so sunny and warm when the group last week had high winds and even snow! Each canoe pair was given a leg of the journey to navigate. This was very basic navigation just following the landscape although some found it hard to distinguish between the islands and the mainland when they were in the distance. We arrived at the island we would stay at early in the afternoon so had a bite to eat and set our camp up. This didn’t take very long as it was such nice weather most people just slept on their tarp and with no overhead cover while a few of us set hammocks up in the trees. It was really nice to be able to sleep under the stars even if I did wake up with the sun with early in the morning; it was a beautiful sight to see.

This evening we also got back in the canoes and learnt some other strokes such as draw and pry strokes, the bow rudder and we also got to practice paddling solo. In the past I have paddled on moving water so I learnt about the different placement needed for the bow rudder on flat water. You need to place to paddle blade further from the boat on flat water whereas on moving water having it closer to the bow is sufficient due to the force of the water.

The next day was much the same as the day before. We canoed down the fjord to Syrtveit dam where we took the canoes and all our gear out the water. We walked down to Troll Aktiv and had a quick look at the section of river we would be rafting down. The rafting was great fun and everyone was in high spirits afterwards and looking forward to the rest of the trip.

It was nice to have a night of comfort in a cabin at Troll Aktiv but the next day we set off again this time on bikes and only with a small day pack. We cycled to a crag near Kilefjord about 20km from Troll Aktiv. I was feeling unwell this day and I found the cycling a challenge both physically and mentally. By the time we reached the crag I felt exhausted even though it was a relatively short cycle. I did enjoy the climbing here but I found today was my least favourite of the trip as I felt unwell and generally very tired. I had an early night tonight and hoped I would feel better the next day.

Our final day we had to cycle 60km back to Kristiansand. The majority of the route was on dirt tracks that used to be the route of the out railway. It included cycling through some tunnels where it was hard to see where you were going which was all good fun. Again today I found the cycling tough and maybe it is not my forte. At times I found it very hard to keep up with the pace of the group and found myself cycling on my own with the rest of the group disappearing out of sight. This was very disheartening and at times I found it hard to stay positive about the rest of the journey, at times it was a more mentally challenging journey than physically.

I am glad I kept going and completed the trip, it was at times a struggle for me but it is another accomplishment I have made.