One of the great things about paddling a kayak is being truly amongst nature. People have used kayaks for many purposes and for hundreds of years. To begin with they were a means of survival. The Inuit and Eskimo people used kayaks to hunt and therefore their boats were an essential as well as a spiritual and salient part of their lives.

Many people today however use kayaks simply for recreation, fishing and sport.

For me the first time I sat in a kayak I was amazed how close I was to actually sitting in the water. Whilst this may seem an obvious thing to say it is not until you paddle a kayak for the very first time do you get an overwhelming feeling of being so in touch with your surroundings.

There is nothing quite like paddling silently along a river with only the gentle splash of your paddles breaking the surface of the water. Neither does cruising along on a motor boat or sailing a yacht give you the same sense of vulnerability and control together with a sense of being a part of nature.

Whilst you can never quite capture in a static photograph all the feelings and emotions from the places your kayak travels have taken you, being able to take good quality photographs without damaging your expensive camera is a necessity and having a waterproof camera will become one of the most valued kayak accessories in your kitbag.

For years I never bothered to invest in a waterproof camera to take with me on my kayak travels and now regret that I do not have the pictures to remind me of all the beautiful places I have paddled to.

For years following that I relied on using my mobile phone to take my snapshots which looking back was far from satisfactory. The obvious problem with using a mobile phone is that to begin with you need to have your phone stored in a protective waterproof bag.

This means that when you see something you would like to photograph by the time you have got the phone out of the dry bag and prepared it to take a photo the moment has gone or you have drifted away from the point you intended to take the photo from. I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to paddle back to a destination holding my mobile phone in my mouth.

Furthermore messing around holding an expensive mobile phone while trying to paddle is just asking for trouble and no matter how careful you are it is only a matter of time before you will ruin your phone.

Therefore a decent waterproof camera is one of the kayak accessories you should not be without for capturing a breath-taking sunset or if you are kayak fishing your prize catch of the day.

You can buy an entry level waterproof camera for under $80 with a decent 7.1 mega pixel waterproof and shockproof camera for little more than $200.