Australia provides hundreds of kilometers of coastline for a wide variety of water sports. Long stretches of sandy beach are perfect for surfing. Scuba diving, boating, fishing, watching sea life and wildlife, and other sports are offered. A sport growing in popularity is sea kayaking. All nature lovers can enjoy the coastal areas all around this beautiful and diverse country. People of all income levels and lifestyles from backpackers to the wealthy who seek golf resorts overlooking the ocean, individuals on leisure travel and families on break, all appreciate Australia’s spectacular seaboard and coastal waters.

One of the top ten scuba diving regions in the country is the Julian Rocks Marine Park. Other activities to engage nature lovers are winter whale watching above the cliffs at the old lighthouse and sea kayaking with dolphins. Those who love to see wild life and those who want to experience life on the wild side can come to this amazing park.

Those staying nearby at Byron Bay can come into the park and explore every day. A lovely resort town near the seashore in northern New South Wales is Byron Bay. This picturesque town sits along the coast and has a waterfront and sandy beaches. The point of land where Byron Bay is located is known for being the first land in Australia that sees and feels the morning sun.

Now, sea kayaking is a water sport that people of most levels of physical ability can enjoy. People can pack food, water, and sunscreen with them. Those who like to snorkel or scuba dive can bring their gear along. Sea kayaking brings sea life up close. From a leisurely exploration of the waters close to the shore to thrilling adventures out over the coral reefs, Australia’s coastal ocean water is fabulous for kayaking.

Kayaking is a very special way to explore the fabulous coastline, lakes, inlets, rivers, creeks and maze of little islands and Bob Lillington has been kayaking for forty years and has run his company, Yamba Kayak, here for the last ten years. With its ocean-side location, you might think kayaking at Yamba is all about the sea, but according to Bob this is not so.

â??Not everyone wants the challenge of sea kayaking,â? says Bob. â??In fact 90% of my tours are to the pristine rivers and lakes in the area. Take Lake Wooloweyah for example â?? only about a third of it is visible from the land and so I take people to discover areas only accessible by boat and they love that sense of adventure.â?

Paddling the area for many years has made Bob very knowledgeable so a tour with him combines the kayaking experience with an insight into all you see â?? the mangroves, trees and other vegetation, grandiose pelicans fishing in the lake, black swans, sea eagle nests, royal spoonbills, cormorants and herons. On the eastern shore of the Yuraygir National Park you might also see dingoes, wallabies and kangaroos.

Depending on the weather, sea kayaking is a wonderful way to view the coastline and, if white water appeals, there are operators on the Nymboida River to the south east of Grafton which is one of the major white water rafting destinations in Australia.

http://www.things-to-do-barcelona.com/attractions/cruising-barcelona

calm water kayaking
whitewater kayaking or whitewater rafting

All use the shovel, which is a cylinder of wood, aluminum, fiberglass, carbon or kevlar (including different alloys of these materials) with a concave or flat shovel (depending onthe mode) in each of its ends.

1. Slalom Kayak (K1 category) - It is a slender vessel, tapered, with enclosing through skirt, single seater, with a length of 3.50 meters minimum regulatory and a width of 0.60 m. The minimum allowed weight is 9 kg. Craft top-level competition are in full compliance with these measures. They are constructed with a base of synthetic resins and fibers, glass, kevlar or kevlar-carbon. They must be equipped with safety handles fore and aft. In slalom, as well as K1, canoes there are also regulations car (category C1) and tandem(category C2).
2. River Kayak - Short and squat, with a beam wider and shorter length, with flat bow. It is highly maneuverable and requires some skill and physical condition to master. It is quite light and can be transported to the shoulder. Its main feature is used thigh, which conform to the kayaker’s legs, this allows you to master with the vessel trunk movements. The depth is only about 10 cm. The k1, k2 andk4 are competitive use and belong to the category whose races are made ??boating on rivers and lakes in the Olympic Games there this discipline which is depending on the distance traveled in the competition.
3. Whitewater Kayak - The whitewater kayaks are shorter than those used for calm water due to themaneuverability on raw speed. There are various types of construction according to themode it was designed, whether plastic or fibers and there are even inflatable kayaks. For this sport, whitewater, the basic safety equipment, are added to the hull and theskirt, which covers the open side of the kayak preventing water to enter. There are alsoother security features such as cazapalas, a harness which is named for the openingwhich allows passing the paddle shaft, which is fastened to the vest, for rescue kayakpaddle or a partner. There are also some discipline of whitewater kayak: downhill, rodeo or freestyle and extreme kayaking.
4. Kayak-polo - Boats are used just three feet long, made ??of plastic or fiber. They have rounded tips andthe foam shield to avoid damage to other paddlers in a match in case of impact. They generally have low volume, especially in the stern, allowing the paddler sink when turningon its axis, necessary changes in direction the game itself.
5. Quiet Water Kayak - Behold the sea kayaking and lake kayaking. These kayaks are of great length and canreach 6 m (up to 8 m boats if two people), his sleeve is rather small and can be as low as 0.5 m, the depth does not exceed 30 cm, and is usually only about 10 cm.
   Are less maneuverable than river kayaks. Usually weigh between 8 and 45 kg,depending on the nature of the construction material.
   There are different brands of kayaks such as the Vanquish, roman, zedtech, nelo andelio.
6. Sea Kayak - It piragüística discipline that uses the kayak to travel by sea, a few hours to several weeks with autonomy. Normally the boat is longer (to make it quick, directional and sailsafely over the waves) and usually has some compartments (or lockers) to store thecamping gear, food, clothing, … inside. Typically found in 1, 2 and 3 seats to the coastsaround the world. Some models have a rudder and others, the latter are the more respect the original model, as are boats designed to be rotated through a techniqueknown as paleo sweep stroke, addressing the latter with the type of stroke and hip . The rear blocks are optional in this type of boat, but recommended for better control of the hip. Some kayaks for cold areas are lined with Polyurethane or fiberglass insulation.
7. Canadian Kayaks - Are used for lakes and ponds, are vessels from 4 to 5 m, hydrodynamic spindle-shaped.Require some training to use them, because they are relatively unstable. In general, all are compartmentalized in the stern and bow, and are watertight compartments that allow you to store camping items, also come with an elastic networkon the deck, to carry those items of greater volume. Usually have a compartment for carrying personal items, called ”locker” and a small keelon the bottom for stability, and in some cases, you can attach a keel to sail in windy conditions without it We vary the course. These may be some variations among themselves, but are not very important because they can be exchanged between the two above aquatic environments.
   Besides rowing, it is important to take a sponge and a vessel for baling, some withmanual bilge pump. It is advisable to use a piece of polyurethane rigid, square, 40 x 40cm, as rescue buoy or claims. This buoy is essential for self rescue, unless you have apaddle float or paddle float. As optional equipment we recommend the use of a whistleor air horn warning, especially for crowded areas with jet skis or surfboards. Some havesmall mirrors that are used as marker light.

The kayak is a small vessel in relation to others, cover ajar or open, rather wide (manga)and elongated (length). They are one, two or four seats, and there are river, whitewater,or track speed, sea kayaking, rodeo, kayak polo, whitewater slalom, recreation, etc.

A romantic kayaker kayaking defined as the transformation of his being on a ship as a whole: ”My body is my ship and my soul the captain. ”

Exact origin of kayak is unknown, but it is known that the Eskimos were the first to use it. It’s supposed to be the oldest boat in use today and is estimated to have more than 3000 years. Were used by aleuitanos peoples, the Inuit of northern Canada, Greenland andIceland Norse, Lapps of northern Europe and the Koryak and Chukchi tribes of SiberiaAccording to some historians, the word kayak means ”clothes to walk on water “ since it was built to the exact measurements of the rower, others suggest it means ”man-boat”.

Today there are paddlers who say that the kayak you have to wear it, do not get into it. InInuit society, children could not use these boats and only upon reaching adulthood, andits final measures, the family, almost a ritual act, he built his kayak. It was said that if an Eskimo went hunting and did not return was because he had used a borrowed boat.

The Eskimos also created specific items for this activity as the anorak constructedusing guts of birds and other materials, also developed a type of spray skirt that left onlyher face bare of the rower.

Also developed techniques such as roll (“eskimo”), which allowed it to quickly righting incase of a rollover, because exposure to cold water could kill in seconds, is also known that the Eskimos could not swim.