Adventure at sea: A two-day kayaking trip on Horsens Fjord

↠ Sponsored post ↞

After a summer full of adventures in East Jutland, unexpectedly due to Covid-19 lockdowns and not being able to travel, I’d gotten to know my own backyard really well. I’d hiked, biked and ridden my way along nature trails, dirt tracks and country roads, but there was still a transportation mode I had yet to try in the area – kayaking.

So when Jeppe from Juelsmindehalvøens Kajakudlejning contacted me and offered a free trip in exchange for social media coverage, I was overly excited. There was no way I was going to pass on such a great offer.

I invited my outdoors-loving Copenhagen-based friend Mads along with me, and was happy to show him some of my beautiful home region. I planned out a route in Horsens Fjord and hoped for the best weather-wise as it was supposed to be rather windy on our day of departure. I had never kayaked before and Mads also didn’t have much experience, but Jeppe reassured us that his kayaks are stable. We weren’t going to capsize.

Setting off from Husodde Beach

Mads and I met up at Horsens Station and were picked up by Jeppe shortly after. We drove to Husodde Beach, the place where we planned to depart. The waves didn’t look as rough as feared, but Jeppe did make us do a test run before letting us out into the unknown. We soon learned that kayaks can carry an insane amount of luggage, that shoes are a bad idea when kayaking and that our butts would get wet – there was simply no way around it. Had it been an actual summer and not autumn temperatures in July, we would’ve been wearing our swimsuits!

Our little test run went well and we both felt secure in the kayak, so off we went!

Along the coast to Troensø

The waves got rougher the further we got out into the fjord, but we soon learned how to maneuver the paddles. I had little faith in us before we set off on the journey, but we were doing surprisingly well, especially considering that we were both beginners.

We clung to the shore, following Stensballe Forest to a sharp bend where Troensø, a former island which is now a peninsula, sits. The blue skies disappeared and dark rain clouds emerged out of nowhere. Suddenly, it started pouring.

We were several hundred meters from the shore, but we paddled as fast as we could and managed to get onto the shore just as the rain stopped… Oh well.

Our butts were drenched, as was the kayak which had taken in what seemed like half of Horsens Fjord. Since the sun had returned, we decided to take our first break, hoping to dry off our clothes even if just a little.

Approaching the island of Vorsø

After emptying the sea water from the kayak back to where it belongs, we set off into the waves once again.

The sun stayed out for a while and the wind seemed to drop a bit, giving us beautiful conditions for cruising through the fjord. Kayaking was a lot less tough and a lot more enjoyable than I’d thought. I think I’ve found a new passion.

We paddled past the sharp corner, leaving Troensø and Stensballe Forest behind, and headed into the open sea towards the island of Vorsø, a nature reserve where wilderness has taken over. The further out we got, the windier it got. Waves splashed over the kayak, soaking our butts and legs. But we were feeling cheerful as we neared Vorsø Kalv, a small islet off the coast of Vorsø.

Reaching Brigsted, our shelter for the night

Soon after, we spotted the cairns of Ebbevejen, the 700 meter long wading path that provides the only way to get to Vorsø – if you don’t have a water vessel, that is. With Ebbevejen in sight, we knew we were close. We were heading to Brigsted Beach, the place where Ebbevejen begins, as there’s a free shelter and campsite right above the beach. That was where we were planning to spend the night.

We were still at open sea though, and the waves were getting rougher, but thankfully we had the wind behind us. Once in a while, we needed to rest our arms, so we let the kayak be carried by the wind, although that couldn’t continue forever. We had to put in some effort if we wanted to make it to Brigsted that same day.

So we pushed on, and soon found ourselves by the cairns, in shallow water that was no longer possible to paddle through. So we pulled the kayak the rest of the way to the beach and dragged it onto the shore. We’d completed the first section of our trip, 7 km in just under three hours – including the break. Not bad going for first-timers!

We were drenched and rather cold after being splashed by wave after wave, so we needed to get to the campsite to change into dry clothes.

A large family had gathered by the fireplace, but they welcomed us and removed their stuff from the shelter where they’d spent the previous night. We were thrilled that we didn’t have to deal with setting up our tent!

Thankfully, the sun had returned so we were able to get some heat into our bodies, at least for a little while. We laid on the grass in the sun, talking about our adventure and watching as a group waded over the shallow waters from a guided trip on Vorsø.

A trip to the village of Søvind

After a while, we fancied a walk so we headed to the nearby village of Søvind. We walked past vast cornfields and the occasional farm until we got to the cozy village with thatched half-timbered cottages and an old windmill.

We paid a short visit to the village’s supermarket and bought some red peppers to roast on the fire. When we got back, the family had gone and three guys were grilling. The fireplace was free for us to prepare our delicious meal (don’t worry – we didn’t just eat peppers!).

An evening paddle to Vorsø

When it was nearing golden hour, we set off for another adventure on the ocean. We wanted to get right close to Vorsø, as close as possible without actually landing on the island. I’d contacted the two inhabitants beforehand to ask for permission to land, but since there had already been a large group that day, they couldn’t give us permission. Instead, they said we could paddle around the island.

The wind was still quite strong but the distance was a mere 700 meters, so it didn’t take us long to reach Vorsø. We paddled alongside the cairns of Ebbevejen and ended at the beginning of the only road – a dirt track – on the island. A small boat was pulled up on the tiny beach and it was incredibly tempting to do the same. We peeped into the dark forest and spotted some kind of building, but it wasn’t the only house on the island as that’s located further inland, hidden in the midst of the wilderness. At that moment, my wonder and curiosity for Vorsø became so much greater. I vowed to take a guided tour there next year as, unfortunately, they’re fully booked in 2020.

I desperately wanted to paddle all the way around the island, but it was getting late and I had to listen to the always sensible Mads. But before heading back to Brigsted, we did paddle a bit further up the coast to see the island from a different angle. While soaking up the last bit of Vorsø, Mads played my photographer. He never lets me take any photos of him, but it was great to have a willing photographer with me. Being behind the lens, I usually don’t have many pictures of myself from my different trips, but this time, I was spoilt for choice!

The wind was behind us as we paddled back to Brigsted, and it took us less than 15 minutes to do. We even allowed ourselves plenty of time to enjoy golden hour before paddling through the shallow waters into the shore.

Good night from Brigsted

We spent the rest of the evening by the warm fire, reminiscing about the eventful day that had just passed and planning out our route for the following day. When dusk turned to night, we cozied up in our sleeping bags in the shelter and fell asleep to the sound of whispering trees.

Morning paddles to a tiny uninhabited islet

We got up rather early the next morning as we wanted to make it to Snaptun before 1 pm. Mads had a train to catch from Horsens as he was heading to the island of Anholt next so we couldn’t be late. We ate our breakfast by the fireplace, got ourselves ready, loaded the kayak and hit the ocean.

We were headed towards the island of Alrø, which is connected to the mainland via a dam.

The wind was much calmer than the previous day, and the water as shallow as can be. We got stuck quite a bit, but thankfully, the kayak was easy to pull through the water. We hadn’t paddled (or waded) for long when we stumbled upon a tiny uninhabited islet off the coast of Vorsø. We took a short break there, mainly to plant our feet so we could say we’d been there!

Reaching yet another uninhabited islet

Leaving the islet behind, we headed out into the open sea which was a lot rougher than the previous day despite the calmer wind. We got rather soaked but the kayak stayed afloat, and Mads and I managed to find a good rhythm with our paddling. Dark clouds came over us and we feared a downpour in the middle of the sea but luckily the clouds passed by without a drop.

Shortly before arriving on Alrø, we came across another small uninhabited islet. The water surrounding it was the shallowest we’d experienced, so after landing there for a short break, we had to pull the kayak for quite a long distance before the water was deep enough to paddle through without hitting the seabed.

Lunch break on Alrø

Soon after, we arrived at the southern end of Alrø, where we took our well-deserved lunch break and chatted to bikers and roadtrippers who were all interested in hearing about our journey.

Getting to Alrø from Brigsted, a distance of about six kilometers had taken us less than two hours, much quicker than we’d thought. We were in good time and we only had 2,5 kilometers left to go before reaching our end destination in Snaptun.

The end goal – paddling into Snaptun

After a while, we said goodbye to Alrø and headed back into the rough sea towards Snaptun. We expected this section to take at least an hour as the sea is known to be rough and deep there, but with the wind behind us and our new-found paddle rhythms, it was a breeze.

We got to Snaptun after just 40 minutes and pulled the kayak ashore to wait for Jeppe who had promised to pick us up. He took us back to Horsens, where Mads continued his journey around Jutland and the nearby islands and I headed home to catch up on my sleep!

When Jeppe first contacted me and offered the kayaking trip, I was rather nervous about how it would go. I knew that I wanted to do it, but I wasn’t sure whether or not I would actually enjoy it. But I absolutely loved it. My expectations for the journey were well exceeded and I discovered the aquaphile in me. And I couldn’t have asked for a better kayaking buddy than Mads. It was nothing short of the perfect trip, and one I’m super eager to repeat!

Would you like to kayak through Horsens Fjord or Vejle Fjord?

I can’t recommend Juelsmindehalvøens Kajakudlejning enough, especially if you’re a newbie like me. Mads and I borrowed a sit-on-top kayak, which is perfect for newbies, but other types of kayaks can also be arranged. You can choose where you’d like to paddle as long as it’s somewhere in between Vejle and Horsens. You can pick up the kayak yourself in Staksrode or get it delivered to your starting point for a small fee. Sounds good? Contact Jeppe here to learn more!

↠ This trip was made in collaboration with Juelsmindehalvøens Kajakudlejning, but all opinions expressed are solely my own ↞