THE WILD WATERS OF SKÅNE A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ACROSS SWEDEN’S SKÅNE PROVINCE VIA PADDLE.

A mammoth skeleton blocks our path around the next bend. As we paddle a few cautious strokes closer, the bony frame of the primitive beast constantly tumbling around in the burbling water reveals itself to be the remnants of an enormous spruce that has fallen across the Holjeån River.

This river, in the north-east of the southern Swedish province of Skåne, also known as Scania, flows in wide loops from Östafors Bruk, through lush meadows and pristine nature before finally disgorging its waters into the lake of Ivösjön. With its wild riverbanks and massive tree trunks, it feels as though we are exploring a prehistoric land. The river is the first of three disciplines in our personal triathlon on the waters of Skåne. Jean-Luc, Justin and I have set ourselves the goal of paddling across the region from east to west on three waterways: the Holjeån River, the lake of Ivösjön, and around the imposing Kullaberg peninsula that juts out into the ocean channel known