Canoe Journeys in Dalsland, SwedenWith their detailed knowledge of the semi wilderness of the Dalsland Lakes, Paul Lethebee and Jim Davis will be able to take you to places (missed by those who don't have their experience) where you will have the chance to see Ospreys, Moose, Beaver and other rarely seen wildlife. Join one of our trips and explore this unspoilt semi wilderness. Trips range from fully guided and catered trips for adults or families with children to guided but non-catered trips for canoeists, students or DOE/Scout/Guide or other groups.
We are now taking bookings for our next trips in May/June 2010
Dates not suitable?- tell us
Extra trip now available between Saturday
10th and Sunday 18th July 2010 REGISTER HERE.
| Register an interest for May June 2010 | Register an interest for August 2010 |
| None of these is suitable? - Tell us when you want to go | |
Canoeing in Comfort
Read our May/June 2008 trip log to get a taste of what there is to do and see.
View Video (3.5 minutes/8.7Mb) View pictures Aug 05 May 06 June 07 May 08 Aug 08
Do you want to have a family trip? Pictures May 08
Jinaka Canoe Guides place great emphasis on canoeing in comfort.
Your guides will show you all sorts of ways to make yourselves more and more comfortable
while you canoe, camp, relax or whatever. You will be looked after, cooked for, coached in
and supported in learning all sorts of skills and most importantly will be encouraged to
relax and enjoy yourselves on these beautiful lakes. The number of people we sight
typically during a journey ranges from 6 to 20 and most of these are in the distance!
Skills: It is not necessary for you to have any
water skills prior to a journey. However, it is important that you will be able to be
comfortable sitting in a canoe for up to an hour and a half at a time, as well as be calm
in the event of an involuntary swim. If you have any doubts about this, you
should reconsider the appropriateness of a journey. Canoeing uses more
coordination than strength so there will be no need for you to have anything other than a
reasonable level of fitness. There are many skills that will be demonstrated and used
throughout a journey, some of which are canoeing skills while others are related to living
with nature. A key objective for a journey is to see how comfortable we can be and we
shall be exploring skills that contribute to this.
Sample Cost Example: 6 day/5 night journey starting
and ending at Ed, Dalsland, Sweden. - £585-00 - inclusive of canoe, barrel, buoyancy
aid, paddle, and tent hire, food, safety cover, instruction, National Park fees, canoe
shuttle service, but exclusive of personal insurance, alcohic drinks & travel to Ed,
Dalsland, Sweden.
Travel: You would normally use your own
arrangements to travel to Sweden. We suggest a flight from the UK to Göteborg and then a
transfer to Ed (@180km due north of Göteborg) by train/bus. A minibus option for groups
may be available, but would need to be specified at the time of booking. You may choose to
extend your stay in Sweden with a visit to Göteborg or Stockholm at the beginning or end.
Access a Swedish map by typing Dals-Ed into the search box on this link. You
could also consider a ferry e.g. Harwichw-Esjberg
and travel through Denmark.
Documents: You should ensure you have a valid
passport (and visa, if applicable for non-EU citizens) for the period of the journey or
longer as required by many airlines. If you are an EU citizen, you are advised to have an
E111 card.
Health: A confidential medical questionnaire must
be completed, returned and received prior to a booking being accepted. Insurance is NOT
covered in the cost. If you do not already have relevant cover, you may want to look at
SNOWCARD or other providers who can offer a range of options- you will need Level 2 cover
or equivalent. Whilst there will be a first aid kit on the trip, we would recommend that
you pack any personal medication that you may require. There will be NO opportunities to
purchase anything once afloat.
Safety and Emergency Procedures relevant to our
activities have been identified and are supplied prior to booking. A condition of booking
is your signed acceptance that you have read and understood them. On a journey, they will
be introduced and/or practised at the relevant times.
Itinerary: Any proposed itinerary is an outline
which will be followed subject to environmental factors, the most obvious of which is the
weather. Your safety is paramount. Within this outline, we can be flexible and adapt each
day's activities according to personal and group decisions. You will be encouraged to
paddle with different partners and in different canoe positions and you may have the
option to split into two groups. The Dalsland Lakes provide an integrated opportunity to
journey on water and explore the forests and landscapes as well as indulge in bird
watching, fishing, geology, botany, sketching/painting, photography, and other country
interests according to people's preferences. Identifying your interests on the attached
journey questionnaire will assist us in providing background information. The campsites we
stay at are not at all like conventional sites you might find in the UK. For a start .
Example Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive at Ed early/mid afternoon. Relax and have tea and cake whilst being introduced to your guides and fellow paddlers. Your guides will then give you a plastic barrel in which to pack your own personal kit. We will then finish packing the canoes, have a general safety briefing and then set off on a short paddle to our first camp site. On arrival there will be more refreshments and you can choose nice sites for your tents (help available). Meanwhile your guides will be getting the rest of the camp set up and be preparing dinner. After dinner which will be served when you want it, you can relax and chat by the fire. We will outline options for day 2 and you can decide what you would like to do.
| Day2: 0730 Tea/coffee will be delivered to your tent,
after which you can have breakfast on lake shore. 0900 More about safety. Looking out for each other, emergency notes, personal equipment, buoyancy aids, embark check list, rafting up, capsize drills, ecological toilets, the forest environment, fires, whistles 0930 The day's plan- 1200'ish Stop for lunch, stretch, explore 1330'ish Resume journey 1530 Locate camp site, put up your tents (help available). Tea and Cake o'clock 1630'ish Treat o'clock Option to relax, snooze, read, draw, fish, gain paddling skills, take photos, explore, swim, camp craft, tree hugging, etc. 1900 Dinner 2030 Camp games, night paddle, relax and chat by the fire. Discuss possible plans for day 3. Start rehearsing your epic stories of daring adventure for the folks back home. We will take the earliest opportunity with as many of you as wish to go on a night or dawn paddle. |
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Day3 and Day4: 0730 Tea/coffee will be delivered to you. Breakfast- confirm day's itinerary 0900 De-camp 0930 Resume our journey 1100'ish Stop for drink and topical background info 1200'ish Stop for lunch, etc. 1330'ish Resume journey 1530 Locate camp site, put up your tents. Tea and Cake o'clock 1630'ish Treat o'clock 1900 Dinner 2030 Relax and chat by the fire. You may notice some sculptures on your journey, and you can, if you wish, take the opportunity to express your artistic bent and produce a masterpiece of your own. Day5: |
Day6: Tea/coffee will be delivered to you in the Tepee and you can
take a leisurely Breakfast. Depart for Göteborg or another destination of your choice.
Your Guides
Paul and Jim enjoy the pleasures that travelling and playing on water brings. They have
many years of experience of living and working in the countryside and live in the
Yorkshire Dales. They hold coaching qualifications awarded by the British Canoe Union
covering the skills required for journeying on open water in canoes. Individually they
also have other skills in mountaineering, caving, kayaking, sea kayaking and sailing as
well as a good knowledge of things like plants, birds, fish and rocks. With 2 guides, you
have the option to split the group some days depending on the weather and have more
flexibility and variety in a journey. Your guides will be on hand to coach you in canoeing
skills, pass on country skills and respond to your questions and suggestions, without
being intrusive.
This guided canoe venture has been developed with our host in Sweden- Bertil Anderson of Canodal- and the Swedish
Tourist Board. A journey begins at Ed at the Canodal base. There is every possibility
that we will travel partly through Norway as the border is quite close. We will be
collected from whichever destination is most appropriate and return by road to Ed.
Access a Swedish map by typing Dals-Ed into the search box on this link. Explore a Swedish Canoeing Site
To make an enquiry, please send us a message
and we will reply to you.
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