Rondane river rapids.
Last night thunderstorm didn't amount to much, so there was no problem for us all to get a good sleep. We had a leisurely start and sorted out the van, we chatted to a very friendly German couple who had just arrived and were looking for some walking idea's, we told them what we knew and they seemed happy. They were away to buy a map also, it makes such a difference. We didn't have a definite plan, but I had run it by Joyce that we could try a canoe trip down the Atna River, she had chosen to sleep on it. I had asked the girl in the information centre at Straumbu and she had said the river is very easy and that canoe's could be hired from therefor 300NOK, and also for an extra 100NOK you could be shuttled to the start of the route, 10km away. Seemed not too bad to me.
So, after sleeping on it Joyce decided it would be a good thing to do, and the weather forecast was good and the sun was shining.....all systems go then and we tried to call up to book but there was no answer on the phone, we tried every 15 minutes and it wasn't until 09:30am I got an answer, and fortunately for us we managed to reserve the last available canoe.
Eventually we got out the campsite and headed the few km's back to Straumbu and got parked up, went inside and I spoke to the lady, she remembered us from yesterday and soon had us searching through a big box of buoyancy aids trying to find the right sizes for us all. Kit organised we cleared her out of sausages in wraps and then she gave us all a lift the 10 or so km's up the road to the start point where she readied our canoe and
gave us a few basic hints, pointed us in the direction of the river and then she was gone. We got sorted and humphed our heavy aluminium canoe the short distance, and down a steep banking and into the river, it was awkward to manoeuvre into the water, but with a little assistance from others we were soon all aboard. Joyce up front, Callum behind so he couldn't pester Logan, Logan 3rd in line and myself at the back and in charge of steering. We pushed out into the river and were off And it really does take a little while to get used to steering a canoe, its actually easy but trying to quickly choose the right thing to do when she's going the wrong way or doing the wrong thing was tricky to start with and once (and once only) we found ourself doing a complete 180 degree turn around and facing the wrong way up the river, lol. We got it corrected and then got into the swing of things.
We paddled down for about 5k thinking that was the half way point and found a nice sandy beach to get out on and have lunch, the sun was beating down and it was roasting, but the pesky flie's were out in force once off the water and this time they were biting, not so many but they were very persistent so after food was scoffed we were back in our formation and paddling down stream once more. It was great fun and the boys enjoyed it too, they had a paddle each and Callum helped us down while Logan was more happy just to sit back and watch the world go by, there are beavers on this river but we never saw any. Some of the bends in the river had really deep clear water in them, you were certainly not going to be able to touch the bottom if you fell in, and some bits were really shallow and we grounded a couple of times but managed to re float without having to resort to getting out the boat.
It was a lovely idyllic way to spend a sunny day on your holidays and something none of us have done before, Joyce later said it is one of the highlight's of the trip for her which is good, it was for me too. A great day out. My Strava recorded 12km in total, so a bit longer than expected and by the end of it the shoulders certainly felt like they had done a wee shift. There was some amusement at the end where there was a wee rapid if you went too far, we had managed to get landed and out the boat no bother, however another couple who we had passed on the way down didn't fare quite aswell, they went a wee bit too far and then turned too sharply to the shore, and also seemed to lean over all at the wrong moment, very quickly the boat was engulfed in water and they were all on their sides, all their kit that they had managed to keep dry was now soaked and the canoe was half full so it took a bit of effort to empty it and get it onto the shore. Just shows how quick it can all go wrong.
Back in the van, we decided to just head back to the campsite. The boys would have the trampoline again and we could all get a shower. It was lovely night and we again managed out tea outside in the sun, followed by ice creams for weary paddlers. Later in the evening a wee hill at the back of us developed a nice little lenticular cloud above it and this heralded a change in the weather for the next day, we had timed our day on the river to perfection. All good and another great day doing something new.
So, after sleeping on it Joyce decided it would be a good thing to do, and the weather forecast was good and the sun was shining.....all systems go then and we tried to call up to book but there was no answer on the phone, we tried every 15 minutes and it wasn't until 09:30am I got an answer, and fortunately for us we managed to reserve the last available canoe.
Eventually we got out the campsite and headed the few km's back to Straumbu and got parked up, went inside and I spoke to the lady, she remembered us from yesterday and soon had us searching through a big box of buoyancy aids trying to find the right sizes for us all. Kit organised we cleared her out of sausages in wraps and then she gave us all a lift the 10 or so km's up the road to the start point where she readied our canoe and
We paddled down for about 5k thinking that was the half way point and found a nice sandy beach to get out on and have lunch, the sun was beating down and it was roasting, but the pesky flie's were out in force once off the water and this time they were biting, not so many but they were very persistent so after food was scoffed we were back in our formation and paddling down stream once more. It was great fun and the boys enjoyed it too, they had a paddle each and Callum helped us down while Logan was more happy just to sit back and watch the world go by, there are beavers on this river but we never saw any. Some of the bends in the river had really deep clear water in them, you were certainly not going to be able to touch the bottom if you fell in, and some bits were really shallow and we grounded a couple of times but managed to re float without having to resort to getting out the boat.
It was a lovely idyllic way to spend a sunny day on your holidays and something none of us have done before, Joyce later said it is one of the highlight's of the trip for her which is good, it was for me too. A great day out. My Strava recorded 12km in total, so a bit longer than expected and by the end of it the shoulders certainly felt like they had done a wee shift. There was some amusement at the end where there was a wee rapid if you went too far, we had managed to get landed and out the boat no bother, however another couple who we had passed on the way down didn't fare quite aswell, they went a wee bit too far and then turned too sharply to the shore, and also seemed to lean over all at the wrong moment, very quickly the boat was engulfed in water and they were all on their sides, all their kit that they had managed to keep dry was now soaked and the canoe was half full so it took a bit of effort to empty it and get it onto the shore. Just shows how quick it can all go wrong.
Back in the van, we decided to just head back to the campsite. The boys would have the trampoline again and we could all get a shower. It was lovely night and we again managed out tea outside in the sun, followed by ice creams for weary paddlers. Later in the evening a wee hill at the back of us developed a nice little lenticular cloud above it and this heralded a change in the weather for the next day, we had timed our day on the river to perfection. All good and another great day doing something new.
certainly does look and sound like a perfect day out to me, i can also vouch for steering canoes being tricky, i had a real problem mastering that its harder in a kayak with the doble paddle, it turns out i was trying to pull the paddle in the water when what you are supposed to do is use it like a fulcrum and not pull but push with the upper arm!
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