“You’ve come on a good day,” said the man at the Noukhada base on Yas Beach. “We’ve seen three dolphins here this morning so keep your eyes open.”
With much excitement, we pushed off from the beach, hopped into our Extreme 420 sea kayaks and paddled out into the channel. The water was flat and calm and a light breeze kept us cool as we headed north, floating up the coast of Yas Island by the golf course. To our left was one of the few local islands open to the public. We lingered in the shallows, watching the gulls and curlews foraging along the shoreline.
Suddenly, my eagle-eyed wife spotted a shimmer out in the middle of the channel and then a flash of reflected sunlight. A fin! We almost broke the Olympic paddling record as we sped across the water to meet the dolphins.
We’re aware of the international ruling on how close you can get to marine wildlife so we hung back when we reached them, not wanting to disturb their Friday morning swim. We manoeuvred behind them and cruised south, following them as they rode the current.
The Noukhada man was right: there were three dolphins – two large and one small. For the most amazing half-hour we floated effortlessly with our new dolphin friends on calm water and under clear skies. It was the perfect antidote to the pressures of the working week.
The details
Noukhada rents sea kayaks, small sailboats, windsurfers and stand-up paddleboards from its base on Yas Beach. Book in advance and for 2 hours or more and you get the entry fee to Yas Beach waived, so you can chill out on the beach afterwards for free. If you’re a beginner, you can also join a guided kayak tour. http://noukhada.ae/rentals/; call 02 558 1889
I wish …
Northern Lights
One of the most life-changing holidays is seeing the famous Northern Lights, the amazing multi-coloured dancing display in the skies above the Arctic, which are created when solar flare energy hits the Earth. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience but seeing the lights is difficult so research is essential; you need the right location, weather and solar activity… and some very warm clothes.
How: www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast and free apps such as Aurora Forecast (TINAC Inc) will tell you how active the lights will be. Websites such as visiticeland.com, www.visitnorway.com, visitsweden.com, visitfinland.com and https://www.travelalaska.com/ will help you research the trip.
Where: Inside the Arctic Circle. Top spots are Tromso in northern Norway, Arctic Finland, Arctic Sweden, Iceland’s north coast and Alaska.
When: Winter, preferably when High pressure systems are more frequent in your chosen destination (these usually bring clearer skies).
by Matthew Brace
