2 weeks ago, in the cold wind and rain (a reoccuring theme here in NL this time of year), me and Trent left Junction Pond in Whitbourne, en route to Colinet, St. Mary's Bay* via several ponds, Hodge River and Rocky River. The trip was 28kms and took about 8 hrs.
In Newfoundland, places are often named after something prominent or disguishing about the area. Take for example Rose Blanche, which was actually Roche Blanche, french for "white rocks" that can be seen all through the area. Sometimes, the name doesn't mean anything at all, its just a name. Take "Rocky River" for example, the name is quite decieving, there isn't much of a river. Just kidding. There is a river, but it can be pretty dry in places, and we ended up dragging our boats over certain areas, but overall it wasn't too bad. I invented a new kayaking technique, called "the flail". You use this when the water is a few inches deep and your boat is scraping bottom and you need just that extra push to get you over the shallow part and back into deeper water. What you do is simply flail about like a madman, and beat your paddle off the river bed, and you should move forward. :-)
It was a good trip, just really crappy weather, 6 degrees C temps, pouring rain and wind. Not a good day to be on the sea, but good enough to be on a river.
We saw a few Canada Geese, a few ducks and one moose.
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian
In Newfoundland, places are often named after something prominent or disguishing about the area. Take for example Rose Blanche, which was actually Roche Blanche, french for "white rocks" that can be seen all through the area. Sometimes, the name doesn't mean anything at all, its just a name. Take "Rocky River" for example, the name is quite decieving, there isn't much of a river. Just kidding. There is a river, but it can be pretty dry in places, and we ended up dragging our boats over certain areas, but overall it wasn't too bad. I invented a new kayaking technique, called "the flail". You use this when the water is a few inches deep and your boat is scraping bottom and you need just that extra push to get you over the shallow part and back into deeper water. What you do is simply flail about like a madman, and beat your paddle off the river bed, and you should move forward. :-)
It was a good trip, just really crappy weather, 6 degrees C temps, pouring rain and wind. Not a good day to be on the sea, but good enough to be on a river.
We saw a few Canada Geese, a few ducks and one moose.
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian
*edit - location corrected to St. Mary's Bay. I previously stated it was in Placentia Bay. I regret the error.
Leaving Junction Pond, near the town council building in Whitbourne
I am paddling Trents bathtub of a recreation kayak. A little different than my Seaknife, but ideal for what we are doing today.
The first small river between two ponds
The start of the Hodge River in Markland
We found this basketball floating down the river and decided to have a quick game of water polo
Lunch Break
This is what happens when you are not paying attention. There I was, just doddling along on the river, and out of nowhere this rock jumps up and swamps me! The nerve! I got tipped on my side, my spray deck imploded and the water came gushing in. Good thing the water was only 2 feet deep.
4 comments:
Love the pictures! Did the salmon ladder complex near the end come as a surprise?
Colinet is a great place to visit, but it's actually in St. Mary's Bay, not Placentia Bay. ;)
Hi Michael, thanks for the comments. We saw the salmon ladder when we dropped the shuttle car off. Thought about trying to run it, but decided against it :-)
And yes, I stand corrected, it is in St Mary's Bay. I will edit my post to correct this geographic error. Thanks for letting me know.
We are building a cabin out in that area and we have kayaked about an hour down the river starting in Whitbourne and it is pretty calm. We wanted to kayak down to Colinet but just need to know if the river is pretty calm all the way down. I am doing it with my kids so I'm nervous doing it not knowing what it's like. Are there any rough spots?
Hi Jill,
There aren't really any rough spots that I can remember, my only concern would be if there was enough water on the rocky river to actually paddle down it, as it can be quite shallow in the summer.
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