Skåne's wild waters
The river Holjeån, in the north-east of the southern Swedish province of Skåne, stretches in wide loops from Östafors Bruk through lush meadows and untouched nature until it finally pours into Lake Ivösjön. Through the wild banks and the gigantic wooden flotsam that keeps appearing before our eyes, however, it seems as if we are just exploring a land before our time.
The stream is the first discipline of our triathlon on Skåne's waters. Jean-Luc, Justin and I have set ourselves the goal of paddling the region from east to west on three waterways: the river Holjeån, Lake Ivösjön and the estuary Kattegatt, around the imposing peninsula of Kullaberg.
![By canoe through the picturesque landscape of Höljeån](https://img3.oastatic.com/img2/33755664/800x-s/variant.jpg)
Tricky maze
While Jean-Luc expertly manoeuvres himself in his canoe around the spruce lingering in the horizontal, Justin and I, sharing a canoe, get stuck on an overhanging branch. Trying to free ourselves, we are almost catapulted out of our craft and, after the struggle, end up with a flat spot in the riverbed embankment, overlooking various spider webs.
The next bend also turns out to be a tricky skill course. We have to manoeuvre our boats around various stones. Persistently, the Holjeån meanders on, revealing a magical fairytale world with new challenges in every loop.
Traces of the past
After the next bend, the glittering Ivösjön, Skåne's largest lake, opens up and the second discipline of our exploration tour with the paddle begins. The area around Lake Ivösjön is one of the richest in fossils in the world. Sweden's oldest woman, Barumskvinna, who was 9 000 years old when she was found, was also discovered at Lake Ivösjön. During her lifetime, Lake Ivösjön was still part of the sea. We glide over the dark shimmering surface of the lake that holds such a long history.
On to your own island
Forty larger and smaller islands are scattered across Lake Ivösjön. We will set up camp for the night on one of them tonight. We are approaching the first rocky islet.
![One of the many uninhabited islands of Lake Ivösjön](https://img.oastatic.com/img2/33755715/800x-s/variant.jpg)
"Come on, let's look further," says Jean-Luc. "After all, we can have an island all to ourselves today." Then our eyes fall on an island with a wide sandy beach to the west and an enchanted fairytale forest to the east. This is where we want to spend the night. The tents are pitched right next to the water. We eat our sandwiches and enjoy the golden sunset over this surreal backdrop.
Equipped with our headlamps, we take a short hike through our tiny island forest. Later, we sit outside on the shore with a view of the clear starry sky.
Waking up in nowhere
The next morning I am roused from my dreams by the sound of birds. Lake Ivösjön lies in front of us, shrouded in a light mist. Justin and Jean-Luc still seem to be asleep, and I quickly jump into the water and swim a long lap in the refreshingly cool lake. Then we set course for Axeltorp, where we have hired the canoes from the Wetlandi Nature Centre.
![Guaranteed solitude at Lake Ivösjön](https://img0.oastatic.com/img2/33755926/800x-s/variant.jpg)
Battle on a rough sea
The dramatic silhouette of Kullaberg appears before us as we arrive in Mölle. Here we start on the last discipline of our waterway triathlon.
Starting from the small fishing village, we want to paddle around the peninsula and past Kullaberg's lighthouse to the grottoes of Josefinelust on the north side.
A stiff breeze is blowing towards us and further out to sea small white whitecaps are dancing. "When you get near the lighthouse, the sea gets very rough again, but it gets better to the northeast," says Matt from Kulla Kajak, where we borrow our sea kayaks for today.
At the end of the day, the sea is very rough.
As we leave the protective harbour, the waves get higher and higher. We fight our way forward bit by bit. After a few minutes, however, we make it. We reach the wind-protected north side of the peninsula. Suddenly it is quiet and all dangers are forgotten.
The Coast of Stories
We follow the seashore, venturing again and again through the narrow rocky fords, around which we have to manoeuvre skilfully. Cormorants have settled on the boulders and are drying their wings in the warming sun.
We stop at the rocky beach of Josefinelust. There are a total of 20 caves on Kullaberg. The two caves at Josefinelust can be reached after a short climb along the shore. The Skåneleden hiking trail also passes Josefinelust. We follow the path a short way along the cliffs and spectacular views of the Kattegatt open up.
![Kayaking on the rocky coast of the Kullaberg Peninsula](https://img2.oastatic.com/img2/33755893/800x-s/variant.jpg)
During our evening swim, we jump off the rocks into the crystal clear sea. It is hard to tear ourselves away from this beautiful wild bay. In the harbour of Mölle, our official destination is reached.
Over the past few days, we have travelled Skåne from river to lake to sea. Skåne's magical waterways, just a paddle's stroke apart, have told us their very own story on our triathlon.
![Profile picture of Karen Hensel](https://res2.oastatic.com/v3/community/default_profileImage.png?389df605)
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