Kayaking in Norway: A Gutsy Girl Diary

I think the last time I went kayaking was in Scotland more than 15 years ago. And when I say I kayaked, what I really mean is, paddled around a bit on a lake. With this limited experience in mind, I have to say this 6-night kayaking trip really was a challenge for me.

I’ve got that classic mindset of expecting to be good at things immediately, even though I have absolutely no right to 😂. It’s so easy to assume you can only enjoy things if you’re good at them, rather than just having fun regardless. And honestly, that’s what I wanted to overcome.

Here’s how it went, a live day-by-day diary…

Day 1 – Arrival

Headed to Norway for a week, kayaking and hiking at Lysefjord, the longest fjord in Norway.

My journey to Stavanger was pretty straightforward until I arrived, and my checked bag had not 😅hoping it arrives and is delivered (as promised) ASAP!

Met up with the group from Gutsy Girls, there are only a few of us on this trip so it’s super intimate. We have a host, Candy, who looks after everything logistics-wise and then two other girls, Miriam and Issy.

We were picked up from the airport by the local guides, and taken to the Fjord-side cabin (with a pit stop for snacks, some emergency knickers 😂 and a really gorgeous view over the Lysefjord).

We spent some time chatting with our local guide, a Finnish girl called Sini. She’ll be teaching and taking us out for the first few days in the kayaks. After dinner, we all relaxed with a tea and got to know each other. All the girls have been so kind about lending me stuff if I need it ☺️

Day 2 – Learning How to Kayak

Early breakfast this morning to fuel up ready for the first day of kayaking. Got our gear on, a pretty busy get-up – thermals, socks, wetsuits, booties, neoprene jackets, lifejacket, splash jacket, hat! (Miriam had overpacked, so she lent me some spare thermals, legend!!)

Sini gave us a rundown on the paddle and the kayak itself. We spent the morning bobbing around the bay in front of our cabin, practising techniques.

Had a break for lunch and then headed back out in the afternoon to learn how to do a partner rescue, with a wet exit (meaning you capsize yourself into the water and get wet).

Turns out capsizing yourself isn’t as scary as it sounds; you’ve just got to pop back up to the surface. Then your partner can empty your kayak of water and you climb back on and wriggle back into the cockpit. All kinda surprisingly fun!!

After capsizing, our host Candy and I headed to the local outdoor outlet so I could buy some essentials – with no information about my bag and a KLM strike coming this week, I’m just rolling with it.

This evening we’ve had pasta for dinner and chilled out – all feeling that nice cosy tiredness from an active day! Back out on the water tomorrow!!

Day 3 – Kayaking Take 2

So many activities today!! After breakfast, we kayaked out of the bay to an island around the corner, about 2.5km away.

Honestly, I was worse than the day before, I just could not paddle straight 😂 kept veering to the left and then to the right and having to re-align myself. Sini was helping me with tips and techniques, and I had to keep reminding myself that it’s literally my second day, it’s not normal to be perfect straight away (pun intended)!

The island we arrived at was covered in very comfy, squishy moss — we stopped there to rest and have dried mango, dates and hot drinks. Sini talked through all the stuff she packs for a day tour – spare clothes, emergency kit etc. When we paddled back, we had a bit of a wind behind us and it was definitely easier 😁.

After lunch, we got into the water again to learn how to self-rescue. Defo my favourite part so far, I managed to capsize and drag myself back in successfully. Afterwards, you have to use a little pump to get all the water out of your kayak.

We then just messed around, climbing in and out of kayaks to practice, kissing the nose and the tail, balancing and sliding without falling in. And a final silly game of tag with sponges 😂.

Before dinner, the sun came out so we all swam across to the nearby pontoon and jumped in. Because the sun made an appearance, it had charged up the algae, which is what makes the amazing bioluminescence in the water. At 9.30 pm we went back out in the dark for a night paddle to see it all sparkling in the water.

Proper magical, moving your paddle or hands around in the water and making all these sparkles ✨🤩 loads of stars in the sky too. This is rare to see, so it really was a moment to commit to memory 🥰

Day 4 – Foraging in the Wild

Today was alllll about foraging for dinner ingredients! First up, we kayaked, with our new guide Ana, about 3km up the fjord to look for seaweed and mussels. The water was so high and we only managed to get a bit of seaweed (two kinds — Eggwrack, Bladder wrack).

Having a wee on this trip involved clambering out of a floating kayak up onto a jetty via huge tyres 😂 kinda fun actually.

It was pretty busy on the water with boats making waves and the wind. At one point, it felt like I’d literally just been paddling and going nowhere; the wind was like noooooope. Made it back eventually for lunch and a chill!

And finally my bag arrived, hurrah!! Nice to get my stuff, but honestly I also feel it was quite a nice challenge of managing what you can and can’t control 😅glad I managed to stay cool about it all.

Later this afternoon we walked along the coast of the fjord to gather herbs: sorrel, yarrow, clover (red and white), and heather. Ana explained all the health and history of each herb and plant we spotted along the way — interesting to hear how things are used as natural remedies and supplements.

For dinner we used everything we foraged: seaweed in the pasta sauce, yarrow in the flatbreads and the rest of the herbs in the salad. Felt like a proper hunter-gatherer.

Day 5 – Hiking Hølleslineia

Finally got to move our legs today on a full day hike!! After a short drive we were dropped off for an A —> B route.

The first part was the incline, climbing up and over moody grey rocks. We eventually got to the top for views over the fjord and we could see our cabin, teeeeny tiny in the distance!

From there, we headed along the cliff, right above where we had paddled the day before.

There was a bit of scrambling along the way, and for lunch we stopped at Fantapytten, a sort of infinity pool overlooking the fjord.

The rain was looming over us, but we got so lucky that it didn’t hit until after we’d eaten. Ana told us more facts about Norwegian nature, glaciers, local conservation and the area in general.

From the cliff edge, we headed into the forest away from the fjord towards a lake, Revsvanet. The rain was properly coming down, making the roots and rocks veryyy slippy and everywhere was just generally very muddy.

There was a lot of squelching, a few slips along the way, aaand a couple of moments when boots got filled with mud. The final stretch was around the edge of the lake and we finished up 6 hours later at the visitors centre for a popular trail up to Pulpit rock – a pretty cool rock formation overlooking the fjord.

Early evening we headed to the private sauna overlooking the water. We sauna-ed and then braved the cold water for a dip and back again. A perfect, warm relaxation after the day!! Honestly, another great day, rounded up with chats and a lot of laughs over dinner.

Day 6 – Kayak Expedition

We set out with big intentions for a long, old day on the water today. Fuelled up and with packed lunches, we first paddled out towards the cliff edges we walked over yesterday on the hike.

We made it almost an hour before we needed a wee again (honestly, something about being on the water, wrapped up in drysuits and not being able to go, has been making us allllll need it constantly this week).

After we climbed up the jetty to the wee spot and had a snack we were on our way further up the fjord. We were planning to go even further but after that wee stop, honestly the rain was relentless 🥲 and we decided to take the shorter route.

After a tricky crossing back over the fjord and a soggy lunch on a small beach, we decided to head back to the cabin to warm up from the wind and rain.

I’ve really made an effort to go with the kayaking flow, even though *eye roll* I wasn’t immediately amazing at it, I’m feeling pretty proud that I’ve improved and enjoyed all of it!!

After a shower, we all sat on the couch drinking tea, eating biscuits, yapping and giggling for the rest of the afternoon. Ana came back at 17.30 and made us hot cocoa and then cooked us the most delicious spread of pizzas. We’re talking thinly sliced potatoes with apple and walnuts, aubergine and reindeer for the meat eaters — it was incredible.

After more chats and giggles and stories we headed to bed for our last sleep before our final day together!

Day 7 – A Final Hike

The sun came out for our final morning — a hike up Sokkaknüten. Pretty steep up, we took it slow, and when we reached the (windy) peak, we got 360 views across the fjord and surrounding area.

After a snack, we headed back down, taking it easy on the slippy and muddy path. We were back to the cabin for lunch, including leftover pizza from the night before and other Norwegian treats.

Before we left, I had a last dip in the fjord and that water was fressshhhh (read: effing freezing). Together with guide Ana, we reflected on our week, what we’d found challenging, enjoyed and what we wanted to take into our lives moving forward.

It was so special and a bit emotional — despite (or maybe because of) our small group we just really connected. Plus, we all had a very similar and silly sense of humour, so it’s been a hilarious week. Felt like I’ve made proper new friends.

The girls got dropped off at the airport for their flight to London and I headed to Stavanger for the night before my flight back the following day. Had a mooch around the city in the rain, then grabbed a takeaway for a chilled hotel room rest and relax.

Incredible week with a group of brilliant, beautiful and hilarious women.

10/10 no notes. Would recommend.