Easter Kayaking: Celebrating Easter From the Water

It’s Easter weekend and many of us will be celebrating by indulging in large feasts and sweet treats. Easter is also full of activities for the whole family to enjoy. There’s nothing better than heading out on an Easter egg hunt and chowing down on some chocolate as a reward for your efforts.

Kayaking is probably the last thing you think of at Easter but getting out on the water could be a cool new way to enjoy the festivities.

There’s an exciting new activity that, in our opinion, should become a new Easter tradition!

Kayak Easter egg hunts provide a new way to get out in nature and enjoy the water while taking part in one of the UK’s favourite Easter activities. So, what is the kayak Easter egg hunt and why should we be doing it here in Ireland?

In this article, we’ll be looking at this cool new idea and hopefully inspiring some of you to make this a reality here in Ireland for many Easters to come.

The Kayaking Easter Egg Hunt

The kayaking Easter egg hunt brings the best of kayaking and Easter together to create a fun new competitive sport. This activity is a great way to get people together working in teams, enjoying nature, and celebrating the festivities.

There are a few ways that the kayaking Easter egg hunt can be done, but our favourite involves two or more teams that compete against each other to collect as many Easter eggs as possible. Teams can compete for first, second, and third place with trophies and Easter-related prizes for each podium finish.

The teams work together in their kayaks to collect as many buoyant “Easter eggs” as possible. The eggs can be set out in a still water or placed along the margins of a river using cord to secure them in their place.

Each kayak has a landing net to collect the Easter eggs in. Budget-friendly fishing landing nets work perfectly for this.

The Still Water Kayak Easter Egg Hunt

When done in a still water, the teams get out in their kayaks at the same time and compete for a set time of 1 to 2 hours. A certain number of Easter eggs will be hidden across the water and teams will try and collect as many as they can in the set time limit. Once the time’s up, all the teams head back to the bank and count up their catch. The winner and runners up are determined by the number of eggs in the nets!

Easter egg hunts on still waters can take place on local lakes and ponds that are big enough to hide several eggs. Hunts can be broken up into many sections with entries for children, teens, and adults. The events can take place over a whole day or over the Easter weekend.

The River Kayak Easter Egg Hunt

When done on a river, the same concept as the still water hunt can be applied or a sprint-style hunt can be done. During an Easter egg hunt kayak sprint, single kayak teams start at one end of the river and race to a pre-determined finish line. Buoyant Easter eggs are secured to both margins of the river and the race participants try and collect as many as possible on the route downstream.

The winner of the Easter egg hunt kayak sprint is determined by both finishing place and eggs collected. If someone passes the finish line in first place but has no eggs, the prize goes to the next person that crosses the line with a net full of eggs.

Points systems can be made for this kind of activity. Some eggs that are hidden better can be worth more points, and larger easily findable eggs worth less. Points can be awarded for completion times as well. At the end of the race, points can be tallied up, and a winner and two runners up can be determined.

There’s a lot of flexibility with this style of Easter egg hunt and how it takes place is ultimately up to the organizer.

The Non-Competitive Kayak Easter Egg Hunt

For the same enjoyment without the competition, a non-competitive Easter egg hunt can be done. This is a great way for the younger generation with a little less experience on the water to get involved, get out in a kayak, and win some Easter candy!

A simple event can be held on a still water or calm river where participants can get out in search of Easter eggs without any race, stress, or competitiveness. Younger children can take to the water with their parents in tandem kayaks or canoes and get involved with the fun.

Anyone that collects some eggs has the opportunity to win a small prize after the event. This is a great way to introduce young people to the world of kayaking in an enjoyable way that will see them begging for more time in a kayak out on the water.

How Can Kayak Easter Egg Hunts Benefit the Community?

Holding an event like this is a great way to get the local community together every year. It is an excellent opportunity for local schools, businesses, and families to meet and create professional and personal connections.

Bringing competition to a community is a great bonding strategy. It can bring people together and produce otherwise unlikely friendships. This helps to build a friendlier atmosphere year-round and gives you something to talk about when you bump into someone at the local store, café, or pub.

Local food and drinks can be shared, and Easter can be celebrated as a community once again. A kayak Easter egg hunt is a great way for local cafes and restaurants to bring their food to the community to promote their businesses and encourage people to eat local food. The same goes for other local small businesses. Stores can put up stands and give away freebees to promote their products or services. This is a great way to fund such an event and will encourage more people to buy locally and support small businesses.

An event of this nature is also excellent for people’s health, and not just the contestants in the kayaks either. Getting outside in the fresh air is excellent for the mind, body, and soul. It elevates mood, improves focus, and boosts energy and the immune system. It is also easier to control crowd density and keep a safe distance during an outdoor event. Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about that as much by next Easter, but I think we will all be more conscious about keeping each other safe in the future.

How Can we Make This a Reality Here in Ireland?

Organising an event like this isn’t a difficult task and it’s certainly something that can be done here in Ireland if we all get together to make it happen.

Before doing anything, the best way to start any new trend is awareness, so if you like what you’ve read here be sure to share this post to as many of your friends as possible. The more people that know about this awesome idea, the better chance we have of making this a reality for next Easter.

From here, the best place to start is by discussing the idea with local kayak and canoe clubs, kayak rental businesses, and local activity centres. These events are a great way for companies to attract business and educate people on water sports, so they are a win for all parties.

If we all get together, we could see next year’s Easter egg hunt out on the water. It would certainly be an event to remember, and if all goes well, an event to look forward to year after year.

If you got this far, thanks for reading…

Let us know what you think in the comment section below or get involved on our Instagram. We would love to know what you think about this idea and find out whether you guys think its as good an idea as we think it is. Discussions are where all great ideas start…

Happy Easter!