Boating in the Desert
Some of you may be aware that we are relocating to the UAE and I will be starting a new job with much of my work in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. At present we are in the throws of relocating. The house is packed and Kate and the girls are in temporary accommodation in Dubai. The process has been pain free. Within an week I had a residents visa and Kate and I had orgainsed a rental property, a bank account, kids in school, mobile numbers and Kate was confidently driving around the city.
In addition to all the chores, we also sorted the kids with some activities. For Ada it was Nippers at Umm Sequiem Beach and for Lucy it was badminton. For the third child, me, it was getting down to Wadi Adventure the white water and surf park about 150km south west of the City on good road.
The park has a wave pool which is capable of producing a 3.3 metre wave every 90 seconds and the ability adjust the type of wave depending on the needs of the participants. Looks like an amazing way to learn to surf and Kate and I will certainly take some lessons and see how we go. It also had a great high ropes course and a cable wake board pool.
However the real attraction for me was the white water course. There are three runs, a beginner Class 1 course a Class 2 course and a Class 3/4 course. The weather and water was warm and paddling just in my buoyancy vest seemed like a great idea.
The venue is popular with European slalom team trying to escape the winter. But apart from their slalom boats on the bank and a couple of rank beginners, I saw no other kayakers. You paid admission and then a fee for activities and the price was reasonable for a day of kayaking that included boat hire. The water was off between 1pm and 2pm and between the three channels, there was 1.133 km of white water..
I grabbed a Piranha Jed play boat and headed into the medium channel for a warm up. If felt great to surf a few waves and try some cartwheels. Before too long I was feeling a little cocky so I changed to a Z One and headed for the main channel. There were about eight rafts on the channel and all the pumps were running. To be honest it felt a notch harder than the Penrith course although it had been 14 years since I had paddled that course a lack of boating in recent years had degraded my skills.
The start went well enough but about half way down I ran a drop that I didn't scout from the boat and was surprised by a powerful hole at an angle to the main flow. My approach was wrong and the hole caught my rear rail and I was over.
What I then discovered was that the course was much shallower than Penrith as I counted rocks with my head and grazed my way upside down on the bed of the course before rolling up. I was more alert as I continued to the bottom of the run a little worse for wear.
All in all, it was a great couple of of hours and it will be a great place to spend a full day of kayaking. Even better if I throw in some surfing lessons in the same trip.
In addition to all the chores, we also sorted the kids with some activities. For Ada it was Nippers at Umm Sequiem Beach and for Lucy it was badminton. For the third child, me, it was getting down to Wadi Adventure the white water and surf park about 150km south west of the City on good road.
The park has a wave pool which is capable of producing a 3.3 metre wave every 90 seconds and the ability adjust the type of wave depending on the needs of the participants. Looks like an amazing way to learn to surf and Kate and I will certainly take some lessons and see how we go. It also had a great high ropes course and a cable wake board pool.
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| The main conveyor leading to the harder channel. The pool and conveyor for the easier channels are on the right |
However the real attraction for me was the white water course. There are three runs, a beginner Class 1 course a Class 2 course and a Class 3/4 course. The weather and water was warm and paddling just in my buoyancy vest seemed like a great idea.
The venue is popular with European slalom team trying to escape the winter. But apart from their slalom boats on the bank and a couple of rank beginners, I saw no other kayakers. You paid admission and then a fee for activities and the price was reasonable for a day of kayaking that included boat hire. The water was off between 1pm and 2pm and between the three channels, there was 1.133 km of white water..
I grabbed a Piranha Jed play boat and headed into the medium channel for a warm up. If felt great to surf a few waves and try some cartwheels. Before too long I was feeling a little cocky so I changed to a Z One and headed for the main channel. There were about eight rafts on the channel and all the pumps were running. To be honest it felt a notch harder than the Penrith course although it had been 14 years since I had paddled that course a lack of boating in recent years had degraded my skills.
 |
| Despite the warm water, a rashie would have been a good idea. My shoulder after grinding down the channel upside down |
The start went well enough but about half way down I ran a drop that I didn't scout from the boat and was surprised by a powerful hole at an angle to the main flow. My approach was wrong and the hole caught my rear rail and I was over.
What I then discovered was that the course was much shallower than Penrith as I counted rocks with my head and grazed my way upside down on the bed of the course before rolling up. I was more alert as I continued to the bottom of the run a little worse for wear.
All in all, it was a great couple of of hours and it will be a great place to spend a full day of kayaking. Even better if I throw in some surfing lessons in the same trip.
