Sea Kayaking Saturday

On Saturday we headed out to the Atlantic Ocean on a sea kayaking adventure. Puffins, eagles, sea caves and more made for a very cool Something Saturday!

Kayaking selfie.

There are numerous sea kayaking tours on offer around Newfoundland, but we opted for the tour offered by The Outfitters down in Bay Bulls, just 40 minutes outside of town. We had heard good things, and we weren’t disappointed.

The tour started at 9am: quite early for a Saturday, but it was nice to be out and about in such fine sunny weather. Once we arrived at the kayaking place our guide suited us up and took us down to the water’s edge to hop in our double kayak.

Down by the shore, getting ready to hop in the kayak.

Setting out into the bay was awesome. The weather was nice and calm, and the sea was amazingly calm. After getting used to the steering and getting into the rhythm we started making our way out of the bay, right out onto the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the way, we made a couple of detours. We explored inside a huge sea cave, being careful not to get washed up onto the rocks as the huge ocean swells came in. We also kayaked around some sea stacks, and happened upon a bald eagle who was nesting near by.

Inside a sea cave.

Sea stack.

We eventually made it out of the bay onto the ocean, and were very happy that the weather was so sunny and calm. On more typical Newfoundland days, there would have been waves reaching 20 feet or more up the cliffs, but we were able to kayak right up to and in between the sea stacks that lined the coast, only occasionally having to paddle hard to avoid getting washed onto the rocks. It was really spectacular: red cliffs rising up on one side, and open ocean on the other (Europe only a 42 day kayak trip away!). We also spotted a fair few jellyfish floating near the surface, and one puffin, who quickly dove out of sight never to be seen again.

Out on the open ocean.

Navigating between sea stacks.

The journey back to shore was a little tougher than the way out. We now had to contend with a wind that seemed intent on pushing us back out to sea, or at least soaking us with a few waves (luckily for Luke, Elizabeth took the brunt of most of these waves since she was sat in the front of the kayak).

After a few rest stops in sheltered coves along the way, we finally made it back to shore. Having worked up an appetite out on the sea we grabbed a quick fish ‘n’ chips before heading back to town. We had been meaning to go sea kayaking for a while, and were not at all disappointed. It was a really amazing experience that we’d recommended to everyone. One of the top things to do in Newfoundland!

(SLIDESHOW)

Curious what we were doing this time last year? Well, we were taking advantage of St. John's Doors Open Days! It's a weekend when buildings that are normally closed to the public or require an entrance fee welcome visitors to drop in for free. Last year on Doors Open Days we visited the Supreme Court of Newfoundland as well as the local Masonic Temple.

And two years ago? Well, we did the same thing! Almost. We also participated in the Doors Open Days festivities, but we went all out exploring the Anglican Cathedral, Central Fire Station, James J. O'Mara Pharmacy Museum, and the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum. Another epic day.