Cute and practical outfit for kayaking

Outfit for Kayaking: Kmart cotton dress (sz 10), espadrille sandals (sz6) and straw tote bag,
Target cropped denim jacket (girls size 10), Hello Sunshine straw hat

The random things people buy during Covid lockdown! The Boy recently bought an inflatable kayak online after spotting a sale post on OzBargain. During the time that I've known him, we have never gone kayaking nor talked about going kayaking so it was a bit of surprise when I came home from work one day and he says to me: "Guess what I bought today?". Initially I was somewhat sceptical about an inflatable kayak, but after today's kayaking adventure I am now converted and looking forward to our next kayaking outing. The Boy also says that we have to go at least ten times in order to recoup the value out of his purchase (kayak rentals being usually around $25 per hour or so). If you happen to be an avid kayaker, please feel free to share any kayaking suggestions with us in the comments or you can DM me on Instagram @choco_petitestyle.

In this post, I share our experience with our new inflatable kayak as well as my outfit for kayaking. For those of you who might be interested in kayaking but not ready to purchase your own, you can check out this list of kayak rentals in Sydney on Concrete Playground. 

Normally I would have picked a t-shirt and denim shorts outfit for anything outdoorsy that requires scrambling into awkward places. But from past experience, I knew that I would get little splashes of water and get an ugly wet patch on my bottom from wet seats. In the end I chose this practical but still cute short sleeve dress cotton dress from Kmart last spring that was only AUD $15. The round crew neck provided sun protection and the black colour hides any wet patches. For extra sun protection I wore a denim jacket to cover my arms and wore swimming togs underneath, just in case we did end up swimming for dear life. 

I didn't actually end up wearing my straw hat out onto the water as it was windy and I was afraid it would blow away. I also took off my sandals when it came time to getting into the kayak, but this was to prevent any kayak damage. It was The Boy's precious new toy after all!

K2 Challenger two seater Kayak available on Amazon here

The inflatable kayak was interesting. Whilst I have been on several school trips where I learnt kayaking, I have never been in an inflatable one before and started off with the worst fears that it would get punctured or deflate when we were out on the water. Of course nothing of the sort happened!

The Boy found his one from eBay but you can buy the same two-seater here on Amazon or the one-seater here. The one-seater retails for AUD $149 and the two-seater is $228, both with free delivery included. Life jackets weren't included and we bought them here separately. 

The package was delivered in a box and everything comes inside a handy carry bag that fit in the back of our car. Since it was inflatable, one would think it would be light to carry but altogether it was approximately 15 kg and probably easier to carry with two people rather than just one person. 

Kayak and accessories come in convenient large carry bag.
Kayak left out to dry after use. 

The assembly of the kayak was not as straightforward as we had thought and we had to refer to the instruction manual a few times (The Boy usually NEVER reads the manual for anything he puts together, does your boy do this too??). However, the actual inflation process was easy and stress free with the included manual air pump. I forgot to check the time on how long it took us to assemble and inflate everything, probably around 20 to 30 minutes, though The Boy thinks that for next time he would be able to put everything together in about 10 minutes (ha! I'll time him). 

Wearing M sized life jacket which was a good fit (only comes in size M and L)

With current Covid-19 restrictions in Sydney, we were lucky to have a small river within 5 km of our residence. I used a ziplock bag to keep my iPhone safe and waterproof in case I wanted to take photos during kayaking or in case I capsized into the water. 

Zip lock bag to waterproof phone

The kayak was buoyant, lightweight and floated well. We absolutely loved our first kayaking experience. The only minor downside that I could think of is that it is lightweight and fairly sensitive to the direction of the tide and wind, but overall we managed to paddle well in it and steer clear of any obstacles. 

Just chillin' out on the water~ Fuzzy photo through ziplock bag.
Plenty of room for legs in the front, net for holding belongings

After kayaking, we gave it a quick rinse under a tap at the park, deflated everything to put back inside our car and after arriving home gave everything a better rinse. We left it out to dry in the sun on our balcony. We saw plenty of other kayakers on the day, and one couple had bought a large plastic flexitub like this one to rinse their items in which we thought was a good idea and we will probably do the same next time. 

In terms of my outfit, I was glad I had these practical and affordable items in my wardrobe to wear for fun activities like this and didn't mind them getting dirty. The cropped denim jacket is especially one of my faves. It was actually from the girls' section at Target (I'm wearing a girls size 10) and the cropped length and cropped sleeves are a perfect size for my petite size (I'm 150 cm and usually wear a women's AU 6 or XS). 

Whilst my dress and jacket may be old items from Kmart last year, there are similar styles this season so I've rounded up below some similar items that are currently available on their website. My dress, as well as the ones I've shared below, are all 100% cotton. I'm particularly eyeing the navy striped t-shirt dress that is only $9...

1. Short sleeve tiered knit dress $15, 2. Sleeveless tank dress $9, 3. Short sleeve relaxed tee dress black $9, 4. Short sleeve relaxed tee dress navy stripes $9, 5. Target girls denim jacket $29, 6. Espadrille sandals in sage $20, 7. Espadrille sandals in black $20, 8. Canvas tote bag on sale $8 (was $18)
*Images from Kmart and Target Australia websites. 

My espadrille sandals are also from Kmart and are navy (that almost looks black) from last year.  This year they have black, beige, cream and a gorgeous vintage sage. I managed to pick up my espadrilles on sale for $8 at the end of summer last year, so if you're not in a rush you may want to wait a bit longer. I took my usual shoe size (AU6) and they're a good fit. They are synthetic material though and gave me blisters on my first wear but by the third time it was fairly comfortable. 

Thanks for reading this post! Have you or your partner bought any crazy random things during the pandemic lockdown? Would love to hear - share your experiences in comments down below. Hope you're all enjoying this warmer weather. Until next adventure, see you again soon!

xx

Choco 

*Amazon affiliate links were used for some items in this post, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

Don't forget the sun block!