Expedition KaBiReTian Part 1

Expedition KaBiReTian.... what the @#%@# is that?? Starting from Marang, Terengganu Malaysia, the expedition brings us to Pulau Kapas, Pulau Bidong, Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian and finally to Kuala Besut in Terengganu. String the names of the islands together and you get KaBiReTian. Total distance 95Nm (roughly 180km) over 6 days of paddling. Epic journey.... as some people say, paddle until stupid. 

Getting to Terengganu was an epic journey in itself, a 10hr bus ride, excluding the causeway jam. It helps if you can sleep through majority of the journey. 

Launching the kayaks on Day 1 was quite a challenge with the surfing waves crashing onto the beach. On top of that we had to tow some spare kayaks with us to be transferred to the mother-boat. Fortunately we had enough experienced paddlers to launch the kayaks without much fuss....and no capsize. 

Jon sharing his knowledge on looking for "windows" and punching out through the waves in a surf zone. 

Listening intently. 

Happy excited faces before the first paddle.... or masking the anxiety inside? 

Never fail to add some (Superhero) character to the buoyancy vests.

Do a little twist aka warm up games. 

Team Care Bears (front)

Team Care Bears (back) 

 And so we started paddling....the epic journey that would last 180km over 6 days. Every journey starts with the first step, or paddle in this case.

Zul and Eliza. 

Jon Khng looking good in his single.

First day of kayaking ended after just a few hours, good warm up for the long days ahead. We were greeted with soft sandy white beaches, in fact everyday was the same soft sandy beaches! 

My favourite part of kayaking....to float around in the water after reaching the destination. Ok so technically that's not kayaking, but it wouldn't be so relaxing without the kayaking part. The greatest suffering about kayaking (to me) is to sit in a cramped cockpit for several hours, so to be able to stretch the back and float around is such a heavenly sensation! 

And we found Nemo. 

I wanna eat a sea cucumber for lunch! 

Sun sets, end of a day.....