Ao Luk Kayaking Rally

This Saturday there was no GVI side trip planned. Instead, GVI sent 2 teams to take part in the Ao Luk kayaking Rally 2010. This is an annual event that started last year. All local people and businesses are encouraged to put together a team (or 2) to take part in a 5.5km kayak rally around Phang-Nga bay leaving from the pier in the coastal fishing village of Laem Sak. It is a competition where the winning teams can win cash prizes and a trophy.





The day included a session of mangrove planting where members of the participating teams waded through the mangrove to plant new trees. It was a great experience to know that you have personally planted a mangrove with your own hands, and that in years to come it will be an important part of the local ecosystem. It was also quite fun wading through the mud to get there.







Our 2 teams consisted of staff members Linda and Laura with 4 volunteers: Alex, Abi, Bella and Dan. Both teams were fighting fit and ready for the competition – with all our practice at Bor Thor we knew we were ready. Firstly we had to become a part of a larger team where we worked together to complete 6 activities to score points. These included charades, a giant picture jigsaw puzzle and a giant board game. There was also an exhibition about the local community based tourism network (who GVI works closely with) and what activities and sights they offer around the district of Ao Luk. There were then 5 questions that each team had to answer about the CBT network in Ao Luk.

After all this we took to the water. Linda was in charge of steering the flying geckos, with Alex map reading and Laura up front. The 2nd team – the lean mean paddling machine - was made up of Dan acting skipper with Bella and Abi rotating the position of navigator. Each of the 60 teams involved left the pier one after the other with their starting time recorded at the top of their answer sheet. Unfortunately there was a 20 minute lapse between GVI’s teams so we saw little of each other on the way round. Each team had a map to follow of the bay and surrounding islands. There were 8 check points on the map where you had to complete an activity or puzzle to get a letter – all the letters made up ‘Miracle Ao Luk’. The letters were in English which was of a great help to our teams.

After the rally was over, we stuck around for a delicious seafood dinner with Gift who is our contact in the CBT and a few of the teachers from the Non-formal education centre who we also work closely with. After dinner a band that is local to Krabi province played live reggae music. It was a really fun evening to finish an exciting day.

Unfortunately, neither team came top enough to win a prize, but the ‘flying geckos’ managed to correctly answer the questions, get all the letters from the kayaking and to finish within 2 hours. The ‘lean mean paddling machine’ was not far behind coming in just over 2 hours.
All in all, it was a great day spent with the community, representing GVI in a local event. I know for a fact that we all enjoyed ourselves and it will be a highlight from our time in Ao Luk.

Ao Luk Kayaking Rally