An inspiration to kayak enthusiasts around the world

Nearly a year ago, January 18th 2009 to be exact, a woman by the name of Freya Hoffmeister began a journey that had only been done once before... a solo circumnavigation of Australia in a kayak. Today, she completed her journey.
She completed the trip in 332 days. The only other person to accomplish the trip, Paul Caffyn (1982), did it in 361 days.

I have been following her blog posts, sent by satellite phone, for the last year. As an avid kayaker, it has truly been an inspiration. You can follow the link below to her blog and read all about the trip by going through the posts.

http://qajaqunderground.com/2009/12/14/circumnavigation-finish-at-queenscliff/

Confession

I spent all day yesterday paddling Silver Spring and admiring the alligators... and monkeys.


This bird is an ANHINGA..also known as a snakebird

Rhesus monkeys have become well established in the area around Silver Springs. Troops of 20 or so monkeys roam the area. I heard that the estimated local population may be near three thousand now. I saw about thirty.





As you can see in this photo, many of the monkeys are carrying newborns

Two more pics from Sunday's trip

I was over half through with the trip before I realized my camera was set on the underwater mode. So all of those pictures came out pink! Not that the camera takes good pics anyway, but to salvage a couple of the pink pics, Lynn was able to turn them into black and whites for me. Here are two of them. :-)



This is a fairly large alligator, about eight feet long.



Here is the same alligator with Lynn in the background waiting patiently while I take its picture.

Still waiting for anyone to give me advice on a good waterproof camera!

Home again, home again...

It had been way too long since my last visit to the swamp. Life has just been getting in the way. My camera had to be replaced after my last trip and I bought a waterproof camera to replace it. The quality of pictures that the sealife ecoshot camera takes is MUCH lower than I expected, so my pictures are not nearly as good as some of my previous pics. If you are considering an ecoshot camera for above water shots, you should reconsider. They aren't worth it. If anyone out there has any suggestions for a decent waterproof camera, please leave me a comment!



Still, it was a beautiful day for visiting with my alligators. I can tell they missed me.



My camera may leave much to be desired, but my kayak is the sexiest kayak in the world! I am paddling a VCP Anas Acuta, a long and narrow sea kayak with hard chines and a traditional greenland style appearance. With a 20 inch beam (widest point) and a small ocean cockpit, it is not for the claustrophobic. I have to say, it is a sweet ride. My paddle is a carbon fiber greenland style paddle made by Superior Kayaks. If you like the greenland style paddles and have the extra $$ and don't mind waiting a few months for them to custom make it for you, it is a REALLY nice paddle. It looks heavy, but is the lightest paddle I have ever used. I can paddle forever with it without tiring. It is also ideal for my needs because it is really quiet going in and out of the water, making it much easier to sneak up on the gators for a photo.


The water lily's are in bloom again... Like the gators, I never get tired of looking at them.