Island trip 28-05 till 01-06

Our last organised trip for the semester was with the Norwegian class to a place called Ostre Randoya, about 11 kilometres outside of Kristiansand. In this week both our class and the Norwegian class would participate in various outdoor activities, ranging from shallow water biology to sea kayaking. All students (both international and Norwegian) were split up into four equal sized groups for doing the different activities during the week.

Day 1

On the first day we drove down to Kongshavn were would be picked up by the ferry to go to the island. We met the Norwegian class at the harbour, dropped off our bags and hopped onto the boat. After arrival we got sorted into two former “military barracks” on the Eastern side of the Randoya island. This island was not open to the public until 2007 since it was merely used as military base in earlier days. After having unpacked our bags and organised our equipment it was time for the first activity of the day. For our group (consisting of: Jo(hanna), Johanna, Kaja, Kaja, Andes, Sam, Abby, Aussie Tom and Aaron) the first activity was working with motorboats. We went off to meet Kjetyl who would then give us a briefing on what was expected from us considering steering/working with the motorboats. I was in a boat with Kaja, Kaja and Jo. Kaja had some previous experience in steering a motorboat so that came in quite handy as she would teach us how to use the motorboat (i.e. filling up oil and petrol, and controlling the steer). Once we went onto open water I started to poor down and we all got soaked to the bone within five minutes time. Despite of that, it was a good experience to work with the motorboats and learn how to manoeuvre them. After having been in the motorboats our group headed back to the barrack where we would spent the rest of the night chatting and playing games with everyone.

Day 2

The next morning we woke up considerable early (as the sun rises around 3:30 PM), made breakfast and got ready for the next activity. This time it would be Svein teaching us all about the basic techniques behind classic rowing. We again split up in three different groups, this time I were in a boat with Jo, Johanna and Aussie Tom. Johanna and me started off, following the instructions that Svein gave us earlier. After a few minutes I noticed how incredibly difficult it is to synchronise both your oars and keep the same pace as the person in the stern. Hence both of us struggled a lot with keeping the boat in a straight line. Also, the more I started thinking about the technique, the worse the rowing would be. At a certain moment I decided to just try to go with the flow, and after some time Johanna and me managed to keep the rowing quite consistent. After the lunch break me and Jo were in charge of the Basic Kayaking techniques course. We gathered down at the jetty to collect our spraydecks, lifejackets and paddles. Me and Jo quickly briefed the group on how to correctly hold the paddle, gave each of them a lifejacket and spraydeck and walked down to the beach. Before getting into the kayaks we explained the group how to easily get into the kayak without tipping over, how to put on the spraydeck, and hold the paddle accordingly. As soon as everyone was on the water we started with an introduction on forwards paddling, and all the different aspects of manoeuvring your kayak. The first one being the sitting position, and the multiple contact points you have to have when you sit in your kayak. Once you got that right you have to start thinking about how to plant the blade of your paddle in the water: hold your paddle vertically, and strike the blade from just past your feet near the front of the kayak. A second point of attention is the so called “catch-power-recover” movement, where you place your blade in the water and thus “catch” your stroke, give “power” to it by pushing it backwards, and then pull your blade backwards to “recover”. Then we briefly touched upon core rotation, and how important it is for a good stroke technique. Putting your feet on either side of the kayak will additionally help you to steer your kayak and exert power accordingly. We then let the group practice the various techniques of forwards paddling, and gave them some time to get used to it. After approx. an hour we moved on to introducing turning techniques, as the group was well on their way practicing forwards paddling. I noticed that being in charge of teaching a group something they are not familiar with is quite enjoyable. I shows that you can actually transfer your knowledge to a group of people, and make them understand terms/techniques in practice. We left the water around 3:30 PM, and watched Jo, Aaron and Aussie Tom trying to do the Eskimo roll. Everyone succeeded in the end, which was great to watch. We then went back to the barracks, made dinner and prepared for our evening activity. We were meant to go on a tour through the bunkers on the island dating from the Second World War, as the other group did the night before. Kjetyl took us around the island, and gave us a tour on the history of Randoya. We later went into the actual bunker, and saw the former headquarters of the German soldiers. It was impressive to see how much of it remained intact, and how it had been so well maintained over the years. We spent some time in the headquarters, listening to Kjetyl and looking around. After the tour we made our way back to the barracks, and went to bed.

Day 3

The third day our group planned out a kayak trip around the island. We started at 10:00 AM, and paddled to Stokken bay, through Skippergada starting at Ostre Randoya. After having had a small break we paddled further through Vrengen, to Tommersto Brygge and then back through Heroya’s passage. After that, the six of us had to cross a large amount of open water (Rakmannskjaer), which was quite challenging because of severe wind and waves. Yet after all it proved to be good practice, and it was quite fun. We then went back to the bay at Stokken, and paddled to the Needle’s Eye. What happened next is something I will not easily forget. We all paddled in to the bay, and then this deer appeared out of nowhere. It was graciously coming down to the water, keeping his eyes on us but not showing any form of fear. We watched the deer for a full five minutes, and did not say a word to each other. After this peaceful moment, we all gathered around and paddles back to the jetty. We walked back up, and had lunch in the sun (the weather had significantly improved compared to the previous days). After lunchtime we met Svein (the other Svein) for a course on shallow water biology. We gathered down at the jetty and walked down to collect equipment from the garage. Svein gave us some instructions on what equipment to use for what purpose, and then guided us down to the beach. We spent the afternoon strolling through shallow waters, looking for crabs, seaweed and other marine life. After two hours of collecting all kinds of objects/sea life we gathered together and identified our different finds. It was interesting to actually get some additional knowledge to the things that we found in the water, as none of us was really familiar with that. We found different species of seaweed, crabs and starfish. Other treasures included a seagull egg, an oddly shaped rock and some tiny shrimps. We learned a lot during these two hours, and all were quite content with what we found. Svein then walked us to a rock further south of the beach, where he showed us a spot where “wild kale” was growing. He let us taste the kale, and we then discovered that it was surprisingly tasty. Around 4:00 PM we came back to the garage, stored all the equipment back and walked back up. After dinner Marijn, Sam, Sam, Jo and me decided to go fishing on the southern part of the island. We casted our lines, and within five minutes Marijn already had his first catch.  After that Sam and Aussie Sam caught two fish as well. Then I decided to give it a try, and after casting a few times I got hold of a fish. I reeled the line in, and happily discovered I caught a decently sized cod. My first fish in Norway! That made the day, and after having watched the sunset the five of us made our way back to the barracks.

Day 4

We woke up and prepared for our last activity, which would be deep water biology. We went down to the jetty again to meet with Svein and the rest of the group, picked up wetsuits at the garage on our way, and walked down to the most southern tip of Ostre Randoya. Here Svein told us to put on our wetsuits, flippers and goggles so that we could start snorkeling right away. It was a lovely day and surprisingly warm. As soon as we got in the water we were surrounded by jellyfish (which I was trying to avoid since I was wearing a short-sleeve wetsuit), loads of seaweed and other marine life such as fish, starfish and hermit crabs. We snorkeled around the bay for about an hour, and collected things as we went. After that Svein told us to get out of the water so that we could take some time to identify all the different sea life that we found. Which was (like the shallow water biology) very interesting to do, and equally educative. It helped me realise how such a significant part of Norway’s nature the coastline actually is. Kaja told me that children mostly now a lot about the coast and sea life as they grow up, which I consider a great thing. After having had the deep water biology session we all went back to pack our bags for our overnight trip on the island. Before we left Kjetyl taught us all sorts of things about fishing nets and how to set them out in open water. As we were expected to set out nets on our way to the island, this session turned out to be extremely helpful. After being briefed on the process we went back to the barracks to collect our bags, then walked down and got into the rowing boats. We went out in three boats and two of us set out the nets as we rowed to the island. Important for setting out nets is to do it in line with the current (i.e. in the swimming direction of the fish) so that the fish are more easily trapped. You lower the net over the edge of the boat, let the brick glide in (dragging down the net) and the boy float on the surface. Then, you grab hold of the net and set it out properly by straightening it. The end of the net is likewise indicated with a brick and a boy, so that both beginning and end are easily distinguished. After setting out the net we rowed all the way to the island, dragged our boats onto the shore and walked over the rocks to find a spot where we could ‘survive’. We found a nice patch of an all most ‘polished’ looking rock, in all sorts of naturally streamlined shapes. I figured that would be perfect for laying, and even sleeping on. We then spent the entire afternoon swimming, fishing and enjoying the weather. It would have been different if it would have rained, but the sun luckily made the survival highly enjoyable. Sam, Aaron and Abby caught some fish and together with the potatoes and carrots we made a delicious meal. After dinner we went for a little explore around the island, and then we all settled into our sleeping arrangements. I used a bondyage as a pillow in one of the ‘naturally shaped’ rock flumes, lay on my jumper for extra comfort and used my towel as a blanket. Around midnight I managed to fall asleep but woke of multiple times during the night because of the midges, brightness and a sore shoulder. Yet every time that I would wake up, the view was so stunning that I would forget about the mosquitos and hence enjoyed the fact that we were to stay on such a beautiful spot.

Day 5

Around six in the morning we packed up and went back to the boats. We then collected the nets, and found out that we only caught two plaice (recognised by its red spots). Slightly disappointed yet hopeful we went on shore, took a shower and gathered back at the jetty around eight. Kjetyl showed us how to gut and fillet a fish, so that it can be prepared and eaten. Half of the group then stayed with Kjetyl to gut the second plaice, me and the others went to the kitchen to prepare the soup that we would eat with the fish (as part of a typical Norwegian fish-based meal). Around 11 the group came together and we then all enjoyed the fish and our homemade soup. It was quite satisfying to eat the fish, as we caught it ourselves, and it had a great taste too. We then all packed up, cleaned the barracks and communal kitchen, and gathered back down to load everything onto the ferry. A selected group of people paddled back, so that it would be easier to transport the kayaks. As this would be my last time in a kayak, I enjoyed every single minute of it. We arrived back at Kongshavn around two, collected our bags and drove back to Kristiansand.

Learning Outcomes

What I liked the most about this last organised trip was the opportunity for us to learn about a variety of things. How to use a motorboat, what paddle strokes are most used in kayaking and what Norway’ marine life looks like. The combination of all these different activities proved to be perfect for what you could call an ‘island trip’. Other than that, it was great to spent one last week with the Norwegians as they are a great bunch of people. We learn a lot from each other every time we work together; both from our international perspective as well as that they provide us with facts about Norwegian culture. In relation to the different activities, ‘surviving’ on the island was a great experience and showed me that not much is needed in order to spent a night somewhere remote. Of course it would have been different if it were a real crisis situation, yet it was still a fun experience. As a last note: All the different trips we have been on taught me so much. Not only in relation to technique and skills, but also concerning personal development and increased competence. This programme has made me more confident about my own abilities, and has shown the importance of working together in a strong group, and why it is so important to cherish that. Thank you for everything, thank you Norway and especially thank you to all the amazing people that made this semester worthwhile. We are family.