Day 1:

This week the group was split into two groups of 11. We arrived at Byglandsfjord by bus at around 10am where we met with Len and the rest of the group. Here we prepared the canoes and our packs ready for the first day trip. For the first hour we worked on the technique of the paddles and basic skills such as going forwards and making efficient turns as some of us had never paddled before. This was lead by Luke and Sven, the more experienced of the group. During the technique practice i was in a canoe with Jolinda and were having difficulty to turn the canoe properly, this was the first time for both of us so maybe this was the reason. Once we felt confident to paddle, we took a short break for lunch and then set off on our tour. We made sure to fasten our packs to the canoe incase of capsizing. 

After 10 minutes of the paddling Luke and i swapped places, so i could paddle with Sven and we would both have more power. Throughout the day i paddled at the front and Sven was steering at the back. The weather started good and i got more confident paddling through the day as the water was calm. We made a few stops on some islands for breaks on the way. After midday the weather got really windy and we were caught in a storm, after stopping to put on waterproofs we had to paddle with a lot of effort to get to the next island for wind shelter. The water was very rough and the temperature was now really cold.

When we finally arrived at the beach area 4pm, we decided this is where we would set up camp as the weather was so bad we thought it wasn’t a good idea to go to the island we were aiming for. This meant that we would paddle further tomorrow but that we could start to dry off tonight. Jochen, Osvaldas and I used the tarp that i brought and other things we could find to make a shelter. We started by making a basic one which we could sit and put out bags under just to get out of the weather for a while. After some time everyone started gathering fire wood and we used the canoes and paddles to complete a shelter good enough for us to sleep under.  Sven and Will who also had a tarp decided that they would set up their camp parallel to us on the other side of the fire, this was perfect so that we could each block the wind from either side to each other. Most of us set our clothes around the fire to dry and changed into something armer ready for the evening, had dinner and slept quite early.

Day 2:

In the morning after breakfast we took down camp and got ready to move out on the canoes again, we left the area at around 9am. We paddled in the same groups for a few hours and we had 12km to go today. Making a few stops on island again we were able to stop for a longer lunch break as the weather was better today. At around 1pm we were approaching moving water on the Fjord for some of us the first time. Here Len gave us some instruction about how to approach the ‘Eddi’s’ (when water comes from two opposite directions and we travel over the middle) here we had to keep paddling while putting in quick turns to avoid been pushed somewhere. We spent 1 – 2 hours on moving water practising these quick turns and here i was lucky that i was with Sven as he was able to give me good instructions and allowed me time to practise.  We arrived at our next destination Evje at 4.30pm, removed and loaded the canoes ready to head to TrollAktiv where we would stay in cabins for the night. In the evening we had chance to go white water rafting! Even though me and Will fell out of the raft it was so fun!

Day 3:

This morning after packing our stuff we spent time hiring bikes and fixing our seats etc ready for our cycle to the climbing area. We left at around 10am and the cycle was about 11km. We stopped in Evje centre at a bakery for lunch and a little break before taking a steady cycle to the area.  When we arrived, our overnight gear had been dropped off for us so we collected this and set up our shelters. The group was split into two large groups and we just needed a tarp for shelter as the weather was good today and there wasn’t so much wind. After this we had an hour to chill and enjoy a bit of sun before climbing.

During the climbing session there were several different route’s we could try at different difficulty levels, we had chance to do this at our own leisure which was good. Len then showed us how we could tie someone else in and abseil from the crags, this was really useful as i have never had chance to do this before. We were also shown how to tie ourselves in or safely rescue someone from the crag in case of emergency.  As the weather was good we were able to sit out by the fire in the evening and have dinner together which was really nice. I slept really well and even though it rained in the night we stayed dry and warm which meant we could have a lot of energy for the cycling the next day.

Day 4:

We decided to wake up earlier on this day so that we could get off as quick as possible and get the cycling started. Today we would cycle 60+km back to Kristiansand. We left our over night gear at the area where Len and someone else would collect it in the car later that evening so we only had small day packs. We cycled half on road half off road which was nice to get chance to do both. At the beginning of the day the group was quite split and we were quite spread out. On one of the stops we spoke about how the group wasn’t working so well and that we should try to stay together more, this would make it more enjoyable for those at the back as they didn’t have to rush and we could just take the time together as a group. The cycle was pretty tough but for the first two thirds of the way the route was pretty flat and we took regular short breaks. When cycling it was easier to stay behind or in-between one or two people, this allowed them to drag the bike behind a little meaning you use 30% less energy this was good for those of us who were tired.

During the last 20km there was a bit more of an up hill terrain which became quite difficult and i was getting really tired, but again we took short breaks at regular intervals and i was able to manage. We arrived at Vennesla, 15km away from Kristiansand at 1.30, as it was still early on in the day we decided to stop here for a coffee and a little break in the sun. This was nice and now we had the energy to complete the final 15km. We completed the rest of the course with little breaks in about 30 minutes and arrived back in Kristiansand.

Learning outcomes:

For me this was my favourite trip so far. As the group was split into 2, it meant it was easier to have a good group dynamic with just 11 people and were able to stay together most of the time. Although i worked really hard this week i learnt a lot, and it was my first time canoeing. As we had very different weather conditions it was a good leaning curve to see how the attitudes and motivation of the group changed and how the leader altered the techniques of the tasks to make them enjoyable still. I think that everyone had a really good week and the group came closer together than at the beginning.