The boat left Kongshavb Brygge at 10 am on Monday morning to leave for Randøya. We took the boat around 15 minutes until we arrived at our destination. However as we got off the boat, myself and Michael were told we had to for back for a second trip to collect the kayaks with Len After 2 minutes on the water it was apparent that the boat was not maintained well and the engine cut several times. Luckily there was another boat travelling along the river in the same direction so we were able to get towed by this boat to our destination and then call back to camp to get them to send another boat. When it arrived we loaded the kayaks into the boat (although it was a tight) and then travelled by to Randøya. After we unpacked we had a 2 hour break until the first activity and as i had woke up several times the previous night i decided to have a nap to recover. We then gathered by the communal building at 1:30 pm for a short briefing on the weeks activities, then at 2pm my groups first activity was in the large engine boat. To begin with we were sat in the boat by the port for the first hour, talking about sea maps and how to use them correctly. Then as we made our way down the river and out into the sea, we were taught how to fish using handle held fishing equipment which resulted in one of the Norwegian girls to catch the only fish of the session. After this, we made our way back and since we had only one activity that day, we decided in our free time on the night to go out fishing on our own in the canoes that were provided to us. After around 10 minutes of fishing, I caught my very first fish which turned out to be a cod fish which I was very pleased with. We took it back and cooked it on the BBQ and shared it out between everyone. We then decided to head in for an early night as we had a busy day ahead of us

Tuesday morning came, and we had rowing for the first activity. For me this was the first time I’d been rowing before. After a while I was able to keep the boat going in a straight line. Halfway round we stopped off to practise tying different knots to keep the boat from floating away whilst we were on the shore line. We then rowed out slightly into the open sea to experience the water when it was a bit less stable, however these rowing boats were very hard to capsize so we were never in any real danger of falling in unless someone did something stupid. In the afternoon we took part in kayaking for the second time in as many weeks. As before on the previous trips, it was enjoyable up to a certain point, until my hips starting hurting, then it turned into quite a painful task to stay within in the kayak. We went north up the river, taking turns at using the sea maps and leading legs around the local area.  After we got back, groups 1 and 4 had a little tour of the island and a bit of a history lesson, which included trips into the bunkers used in the Second World War, which lasted around 1 and half hours. When we returned we went and cooked dinner together then made our way back to our dorms and just hung out until we were tired enough to fall asleep. The third day I woke full of energy and raring to go. After breakfast we made our way down to the kayaks to get started on the days activities. Kayaking was todays morning session, however after getting in and taking a few strokes in the kayak, it was apparent that my hips were still very sore and I would not be able to continue, so I told Len that they were hurting too much and I turned around and made my way to the communal area and just sat there and did some university work until the others returned. After lunch it was time for shallow water biology, which involved taking nets out and catching what we could and then bringing it back for the group to examine. I managed to find 2 mussels, 1 oyster and a crab. I also learnt different types of seaweed like Sea Lettuce, Tooth Wreck and Bladder Wreck. After this we took all the equipment back and went for dinner, afterwards we cooked what we had caught that day. As mussels are my favourite dish, I was very interested to taste them to see the difference between catching them fresh and at a restaurant.

Thursday morning arrived and it was they day of the over knighting on the island. Although I will admit I was slightly nervous, I felt more confident than I had done on Monday. The first activity of the day was deep water biology which involved scuba diving which is something I have never experienced before. It was not something that I fully enjoyed though as I felt rather uncomfortable in the wet suit it felt very strange with the flippers on. We ended up spending around 45 minutes in the water, swimming around and collecting different types of marine life including one star fish that I decided to name Patrick! I was slightly nervous diving under as I was wearing an 8kg weight which was designed to take me under, it was just getting back up that was the thing that made me nervous. Afterwards we took the equipment back to the store room and then I proceeded to take a nap for lunch as I knew that I would not be getting much sleep that night as I struggled to sleep outside even with a sleeping bag and mat. After waking up and having a quick bite to eat, we went for our final activity before going to the island. This was us being shown how to prepare the fishing nets to put out in the water over night. As the weather was warm and calm we left for the island earlier than the other groups. We decided to head straight for the island and drop off all our equipment first. Then we left the girls on the island to set up camp and myself and the other boys headed up to the nearest island that had trees on so we could collect wood for the fire we would be making that night. When we had returned the girls had found a suitable place to make a fire and have a campsite. We then ventured out back into the sea to set out the fishing nets and then began fishing using the hand held equipment that was provided to us, ending up in 3 fishes getting caught. This would be the basis for our dinner. When we headed back to camp it was around 8pm and the temperature was starting to drop so I decided to get the fire going and then head out to the other side of the island because I wanted to watch the sun set. On returning to camp the rest my camp mates were playing card games however as I was very tired at this point and hungry I went to the sea edge and started to collect snails, I found around 10 and boiled them for 3 minutes over the fire and ate them and they turned out to not taste as bad as I thought they would.  My bed that night was literally just a bush, I was too tired to make a proper bed so I found the nearest bush and laid in it. After getting around 5 hours sleep I got up at 5 and waited for some of the others to get up. At 7 we all decided to leave and collect the nets that we had left over night, unfortunately my net had no fish in but the other 2 groups had collected some so we brought them back and then started the final activity. This was gutting the fish and cleaning the nets. Although it wasn’t the most pleasant experience watching it, it was a learning experience for me to see it happen. Once the fish had been gutted we took them to the kitchen and made fish soup which I didn’t end up trying because I wasn´t hungry. We then went to our dorms to clean and pack our stuff and then we headed back to Kristiansand for the final time on this course.