Hi PaddleWisers, A thought in response to the thread on problems in renting kayaks in various far-flung places... Why not harness the international experience of this group to build a selective list of 'not to be missed' kayaking spots in various parts of the globe? PaddleWisers seem to be travellers; and would it not be wonderful to have a nicely researched list of places to kayak readily to hand? I used the description 'selective' and this would be to keep the list tight and manageable. Another adjective would be 'subjective', as any list would be, but then that is the fun with 'lists' and I am sure after some creative discussions! we can arrive at a tolerable compendium. But perhaps before we go firing off suggestions for a list, we could arrive at certain criteria: My thoughts tend towards limiting recommended spots to just five per country, to keep the list manageable. [I realise that most of us could reel off the names of five times that number! ] Note that I suggest 'country' , not 'county', to keep the list reasonably balanced! And we all have different ways of 'grading' our experience and the 'scenic' quality of our chosen destinations. So perhaps an example of a listing could be along the lines of... # Sydney Harbour. ' Experienced travellers call it one of the most spectacular city harbours. Always busy, and dangerous because of that. Few kayaking retailers on harbour, but rentals available from."..... etc etc. # Southwest Tasmania. ' True remote adventure in the roaring forties. Big seas and big wind guaranteed any time of year. Self reliance absolute essential. Reward is fantastic wilderness survival experience... etc. # Na Pali coast, Kauai, Hawaii. ' Unique high cliff scenery; caves. Summer only. Can be crowded with other tourists. Kayak tours available. Rentals available at Hanalei... # Hauraki Gulf/ Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. ' Dozens of islands, many of them protected parkland but camping allowed. Island hopping heaven. Relatively protected waters. # New Yawk Harbour...See as Sydney above, plus some. From the water, ranks with Chicago for cityscape. # Great Barrier Reef .. world heritage listed. Largest coral system. 900 islands to get lost on; 3000 reefs to get wrecked on. Tropical travel has special hazards.... Etcetera, etcetera..... The above are examples only! So, five kayaking destinations only per country represented by PaddleWisers.... ' seakayaking ' in this context would be at its widest meaning, ie, lakes and rivers included, if they make the top five .... we are seeking the creme de la creme.... But first for the criteria.... any thoughts? peter rattenbury australia *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Aug 03 2000 - 16:04:03 PDT
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