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A chance meeting with Jacqueline and Dean in the Kununurra Visitor Centre – standing behind me in the queue and clutching the same kayaking pamphlet – yielded two plucky and interesting kayak buddies for the 3 day Ord River kayak trip. What luck for me, as I hadn’t done much planning ahead and a solo trip would not have been possible. The starting point for our self-guided paddle down the Ord River was below the dam wall at Lake Argyle with the finishing line approximately 55 kilometres back at the Kimberleyland Caravan Park. We were all a little trepidatious about the ‘challenges’ that Macca – the trip organiser – pointed out to us before we set off: speed of the flow in narrower sections, potential snags in the water, picking the correct passage around islands and avoiding the motor boats that ply the Ord. Capsizing was the main concern and as Kermit can be fickle with wind and waves, ongoing mindfulness was required. Fortunately, we navigated the main challenges. Unfortunately Jacqueline and Dean’s canoe nosed into the bank on the first morning on a fast flowing section. Now side on to the flow, water came flooding in. However, the canoe stayed upright and luckily two boats appeared and pushed the canoe into the reeds, retrieved floating barrels and helped bail out the water. Thank goodness I hadn’t forgotten to pack Gwen’s gift of a 2001 Wiriuga Cabernet from Meadows, which went a long way to soften the drama of Jacqueline and Dean’s capsize and allowed for a deeper sleep on our first night’s camp. With no other real disasters – bar my forgetting to pack some food, including our second bottle of wine – we could enjoy the base camps provided by Macca and the rest of the paddle. The 55 kilometres of river that we kayaked is special in many ways: spectacular Kimberley scenery; tranquil and cool creeks and refreshing pools and an uninterrupted stretch of saltwater crocodile-free water. Perhaps the latter is most precious as a resource in the northern parts of Australia. This kayak trip was my first overnight paddle in a single kayak and it was tiring, immensely enjoyable and satisfying to learn more about Kermit’s and my capabilities and limitations i.e. there may be the will to paddle upstream to retrieve a lost map but the muscles just can’t generate enough power on fast flowing sections. On the final stretch we rewarded ourselves with mango smoothies at a lakeside café, which also provided a welcome reprieve from the strong winds that were partly pushing us along but also causing Kermit to rotate side on. The forgotten bottle of wine – now very nicely chilled after three days in the fridge at the caravan park – was possibly more appreciated at the end of the trip and a suitable celebration of our efforts. The only problem with the trip? Not long enough! A four or five day paddle would have evened out the distances per day – 25, 10 and 23 kilometres – and allowed for more exploration of the side creeks and pools. Thanks to Jacqueline, Dean and Macca for a great experience – it would not have been possible, or anywhere near as enjoyable, without your contribution (including photos from Jacqueline).