Namhae Island: sea kayaking, fishing and coasteering
by SARAH SHAW on Sep 25, 2012 – 5:21 pm
The warm summer days are dwindling in Korea, so this past weekend I ventured to Namhae, a rural island located five hours south of Seoul, in South Gyeongsang province. Again, I traveled with Adventure Korea, an established budget travel company who generously sponsored my trip. Due to little development on the island, Namhae is purely a fishing and agricultural community with stunning natural beauty.
Our energetic guide, Max, led our trip. Thanks to Max, we all had a fantastic time. (고마워요, 마크스!)
After briefly stopping for lunch at a rest stop, and stocking up on beer and soju at a local grocery store (there are no shops available near our accommodation!) we arrived on the island. On our way to the Kayak Village, a truck was parked in the road, and there was no room for the bus to move around it. The keys were resting in the transmission in case anyone needed to move it?a true sign that we were in the countryside. It reminded me of the small communities and islands in my own home state.
On arrival at the Kayak Village, we settled in various minbak, guesthouses, scattered mere walking distance from one another. I stayed in the lovely abode pictured above, complete with a great rooftop patio and conveniently located across from the docks.
Within minutes of arriving, we (literally) dove into some water activities, including swimming, snorkeling, and coasteering (cliff diving and jumping.) Half of the group embarked on a short hike/swim along the rocky coast line to find the perfect place to go coasteering.
Photo credit: Adventure Korea
We took turns jumping off three different levels of cliffs. I hadn’t jumped off a cliff since I was 16, when I jumped off the middle of Sebago Lake’s “Frye’s Leap,” a well-known cliff located in my home state. Between jumping, swimming, and climbing, coasteering in Namhae was quite exhilarating. In the photo above, I’m jumping off one of the higher levels?and I must admit, I look pretty badass doing it?although not nearly as badass as the girl diving off the cliff in the photo above. (Make sure to wear water shoes, because there are lots of rocks and shells scattered along the cliffs.)
After rinsing the salt out of my hair, I put on some dry clothes and joined some of the other group members for deep sea fishing. We split into two boats, and our guide welcomed six of us on board.
He taught us how to attach the bait to our hooks and lure the fish by gently moving the fishing pole up and down. However, I didn’t actually fish. I relaxed on the boat and felt the sun beat against my face, while consistently snapping photos each time a fish was caught.
Here’s Sam, an English professor who prepared for this excursion by wearing a knife attached to his leg. He told me that he originally studied to be a mortician. This didn’t surprise me.
The others caught at least one or two fish before the sun set and we floated back to shore.
Back in the village, some bigger fish were being cooked for dinner, along with kimchi chiggae, and a variety of delicious side dishes.
Bonfire photo credit: Caroline Henry
After dinner, we meandered towards the beach for a bonfire! Because Namhae was recently damaged by the typhoon, there was plenty of driftwood scattered around the beach. Mr. Kim, the bus driver, was working that fire in the photo on the left. (Go Mr. Kim!)
Again, because Namhae is such a rural island, THERE ARE NO SHOPS AVAILABLE IN THE VICINITY OF OUR ACCOMMODATION. Do not arrive on Namhae with empty bags of liquor or you will be sorry. Also beware of thieves. After dinner, I opened the refrigerator in our minbak and noticed that my bottle of soju, placed so carefully next to a bottle of peach iced tea, had been stolen by someone on the trip. I was livid. Luckily, I found a bottle with a couple shots missing, and thanks to the generosity of others, by the end of the night I certainly had my fair share.
Some group members brought marshmallows on the trip, and others bought chocolate. Some, including myself, decided to skip out on the snacks and merely drink a bottle of soju (or two.)
The next day, we woke up in time for breakfast around 8:00 AM and met at the waterfront an hour later to go kayaking! These 5,000 won plastic, yellow aqua shoes that I purchased on the rafting trip were perfect for the occasion, and as an added bonus, they matched my child-sized life jacket. Sweet.
Instead of kayaking, we could canoe or try out a paddle board.
On this Sunday morning, we swiftly kayaked through the tranquil water for a couple hours. As we paddled around the island, I gazed at the vivid blue water contrasting with the jagged, rust-colored coastline, and watched families and groups of middle-aged men fishing and relaxing on blankets with picnic lunches.
I also spotted several massive jellyfish, (amazing!) which I managed to capture quite well. I’ve never seen such gigantic jellyfish in my life.
The weekend’s weather was exceptionally beautiful, and like always, I dreaded the bus ride back to Seoul and the thought of going back to screaming children on Monday. Namhae is such a charming island, filled with an older population who seem to live more traditionally than those in the city. I hope I can return to see some more sights, visit the beaches I missed, the German village, and maybe even try garlic farming for a day.
This trip is called “Sea Kayaking, Coasteering and Deep Sea Fishing.” Adventure Korea leads this trip a few times in the summer, and it costs 123,000 won (approximately $115), including transportation (a chartered limousine bus), 2-hour sea kayaking fee, 3 meals (Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch), accommodation and bon-fire on the beach. Coasteering, limited to 20 people, costs an extra 15,000 won, and the deep sea fishing costs an additional 25,000 won. For more trip options, visit Adventure Korea’s homepage.
