There are some pieces of equipment that a kayaker has to have with him or her all the time when going on a paddle. It’s the personal paddling kit and the safety kit, and then some other kit, especially if one is going on a multi day adventure. There are so many things to take and pack, that the boat just naturally becomes heavy. Something what may not be a problem on the water, but becomes a challenge on the land. For us definitely, as Natalie isn’t as strong as me, when lifting heavy boats, and with the fact that her back is already injured, getting boats in and out of water has been an important part of our planning. Normally we use a plastic pipe to drag boats over out of water on rocks, small foldaway trolley, and IKEA bags to move stuff around. So this is what we packed this time. However when we were getting ready in Glenuig we were convinced by Steve to swap our two trusted pairs of Eckla trolleys for one Kayak Carrier System trolley. At the beginning we were very hesitant as the wheels were huge off road monsters and the trolley disassembled into more pieces than what we were used to. Compare to our previous arrangements, when we just had wheels in a bag behind Natalie’s foot pegs and frame on deck, we had a bag with wheels, a bar on deck and three flat pieces in the hatch.
However soon we became to love the trolley. The size of the wheels allowed for the heavy loaded boat to be wheeled across all different surfaces. If on previous trips stoney beaches were a no go, this time we could just run over small boulders like in a off roader. And we were well impressed when the trolley coped with deep seaweed. If on previous trips we would get punctures on the small wheels, these huge ones were just fine.
Half way through the trip we were in love with our new trolley. In Balranald campsite we were so high, that we wheeled the loaded boats from the beach via the sandy slip way all the way to the tent, about a kilometre away. Because like everyone there in the caravan park we wanted to have our wheels next to our temporary home, too. What we learnt was that despite this trolley looking huge at the first sight, it was only the size of the wheels which made difference when packing. Everything else was more or less the same to before. And as the hatches became emptier, we needn’t to disassemble the pieces that much. So now, that the trip is over and our borrowed pair would be going back to its owner, we will be getting it for ourselves.
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