Barron river

I felt like I needed to do something more constructive with my time off in cairns, something that added to my fitness, skill set or knowledge, rather than "touristy stuff". I get such a lack of stimulation from sightseeing and have felt like I'm doing trips for the sake of it. After my (kinda) clean bill of health yesterday I thought I will make the most of my time off.

So yesterday I posted on a kayaking group on Facebook asking if anyone had a spare kayak, PFD, helmet, paddle, throwbag, safety kit and spray deck. And also if they wouldn't mind me joining them on a kayaking trip. And also if they really didn't mind, could they pick me up from my hostel and transport all the kit as I have no car here. It's a lot to ask a group of strangers.

A guy named Stu said I could use his stuff, but he just went away for three weeks so couldn't offer anything else. So he asked his mates to rally and rally they did. Steve said he would collect me and all the kit, and Peter said he would guide me on my first descent of the river. I placed faith in a community and they delivered amazingly.

So this arvo we set off to do a Baz lap (kayaking the Barron river) with me in the kayak and kit of a guy I'd never met. I was really rusty, need to work on my skills so much, had a pretty scary swim (when you go upsidedown and can't get back up so have to get out of the kayak and swim) but it all ended well. I have been invited out again tomorrow and Friday, after hesitation I am determined to go and do it right this time!

Still have the chest pain, but it's much reduced since last week when it was quite bad, I'm just ignoring it for now and seeing if it will go away completely.