Kayaking under the Pont du Gard

To be honest, I wouldn't say that I'm at 'activities' kind of guy: escape rooms, go-karting, even ten pin bowling, none of these fill me with excitement. Quite the reverse, really.

So when the Minx suggested we take the kids kayaking* on the river Gardon, I knew it was a great thing to do, but I had to feign my enthusiasm. (And I am not a good feigner!)

But we all set off, this morning, driving down to the place we'd been told to park up, and then we were taken by minibus to the set off point. I have to say, it was all tremendously well organised, and soon enough we were wearing our life jackets and clambering into our kayaks. 

The Minx opted to travel solo, I was in with Milly, Charlie with Hannah, and Izzy with Nate. 

Chief amongst my reservations about this activity was spending eight kilometres paddling in the baking sun, but we lathered ourselves in sun tan lotion and, surprisingly, it was pleasantly cool, travelling along the river. 

Once Milly and I had (largely) sorted out our steering, we all made happy progress, very occasionally bumping along the bottom of the river, which was certainly not in full flood, but only once did I have to get out and pull us to deeper water. 

We stopped for lunch on a bend in the river, where Charlie, Izzy, and Milly all went swimming. Charlie, who loves a cold water swim, looked like she was in heaven. 

We made good progress after lunch, passing beneath the Pont du Gard for the last kilometre to the pick up point, from where we were taken back to the cars. 

As is so often the case, once I was actually doing the activity, I must confess that I did enjoy myself (although that's still a hard no to the escape room).

And after we'd freshened up, we set off home, swinging via Uzès for an ice cream (see Extra). It was a gorgeous little town and I think we might come back. 

* I have looked this up. It would appear that "in a kayak, the paddler is seated and uses a double-bladed paddle pulling the blade through the water on alternate sides to move forward. In a canoe, the paddler kneels and uses a single-bladed paddle to propel the boat forward."