The expedition took place in the southern coastal region of Norway and comprised six Officer Cadets from the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme in Newcastle plus two instructors. The first three days were spent in Evje where we kayaked on Bygsland Fjord. The scenery was spectacular, and we spent our time learning basic kayaking skills moving between islands on the lake. We covered stability, turning, stopping and capsize drills, discussed safety aspects, and learned how to lead and navigate the group for a leg at a time. We looked at various landing points and discussed the logistics of getting everyone ashore safely.

We then drove down to the coast to put our newly learned skills into practice on a four day expedition. We started in Arendal from a harbour and had to carefully manoeuvre between other vessels kayaking out of the harbour as quickly as possible into quieter waters. The Officer Cadets individually planned the routes taking it in turn to lead the individual legs. The water was very calm on the first day, and we arrived at our first camp in good time. The first night was spent on a deserted island where we caught fish and muscles and had a lesson in gutting fish.

The next day, we set off across some choppy water heading for a beach so that we could replenish our water supply. It was our first experience of kayaking in higher seas where we learned strokes that would prevent us from capsizing. We found a suitable campsite on an island near Grimstad. The next day we awoke to force 5 seas and were forced to stay on the Island and wait until the following morning when the stormy weather had subsided and allowed us to continue our journey. We managed to reach our end point by the afternoon of the fourth day in good spirits.

Once the expedition phase was over, we returned to Bygsland fjord to perfect our new skills. We learned to tow and practised rolling. Everyone in the group passed the assessment achieving a 3 star British Canoe Union award. Sea kayaking was great fun and a wonderful way to explore the coast of Norway.