Category Archives: General

Kayak Enemy #247: Landing Seaplanes

So there I am paddling through the beautiful Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in Sydney’s north, enjoying the stunning Aussie bushland and the distant sound of running waterfalls. Looking up I…

New Kayak! And gale-force winds, dammit!

The day finally arrived for me to pick-up my new kayak. It also came with pouring rain and horrendous winds chopping Sydney’s waters to bits. Still, that made having a…

Come up with the best Fat Paddler t-shirt slogan to win 1 of 3 FatPaddler.com car stickers

First things first. Yes, I rushed to put it on the car too fast and lost the inside of the O, so no need to point it out to me. …

Medic! Paddler down! Again!

You wouldn’t believe it. Burnsie, aka the Navy Cook, who you may have seen suffered a crippling flesh injury on a previous paddle, again today suffered another horrendous kayaking injury….

Paddle the Purple Sunrise, Berowra Waters

The plan was to kayak Lane Cove River early in the morning with a paddler mate. Except the night before he pulled out, claiming “it’s just too early”. Then to…

Best laid plans – Sunrise on the Pacific Ocean

It was a simple plan. Get up at 5am, head to the Spit, get the kayak out on the water whilst still dark, paddle to the Heads, and watch the…

Medic! Paddler Down! Repeat, Paddler Down!

It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. I expected it would be your’s truly, since a big man on a little kayak is bound to lead…

Sydney Harbour – like paddling in a washine machine

I decided it was time for a test, a time to put the demons behind me, a time to get past the disasterous first paddle into Sydney Harbour. It was…

Kayak upgrade - a composite BD Nanook for the Hawkesbury Classic

Paddling in gale-force winds is better than not paddling at all

ANZAC Day, an Aussie/Kiwi institution. The Dawn Service, the March, the beer and two-up, for many antipodeans it is the most important day of the year. The day after ANZAC…

Mate, you look a bit big for that kayak…

“Mate, you look a bit big for that kayak” “It’s rated for over 150kgs, I should be right” “150kgs! What, as a submarine??” This was the start of a somewhat…

Dirk the South African Personal Trainer, otherwise known as “The Smiling Jackal”

Today I went to the gym for my first session with personal trainer, “Dirk”. Now Dirk is not a small man, in fact he is quite a large man, who…

Avoca Lake – Part 2

I really can’t stop raving about this place. The whole lagoon system is about 6.5km to do a lap, so pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but every…

Brisbane Waters – NSW Central Coast

Over Easter I paddled over 41km in four days around waters on the NSW Central Coast. Day 1 on Lake Tuggerah (The Entrance) was forgetful at best – unless you…

Avoca Lake – Part 1

Just a quick shout out to the paddlers of Avoca, and the magnificent lake that I had the luck to paddle over Easter. Just sensational!