New Year's Eve!

After an extremely pleasant paddle this morning...a mere 20kms...through azure blue waters and past many very pleasant beaches, a nudist colony, one tortoise, 3 dolphins and a 1 1/2 metre shark (further justification for peeing in a coffee cup), we've arrived in Forster, my new favourite place. It's low tide and families and us have been floating down currents, sitting on sand bars and throwing back 'throw backs' - another new Australian discovery (they're miniature beer bottles that make you feel like a giant - great for someone like myself who pretends that he's nearer 5'8 than 5'7 or maybe 5'6 tall). It's heaven and there's no more paddling for the next day and a half. We've got 2 radio interviews at 8am tomorrow morning which could be tough depending on what happens tonight, we were on Channel 10 news a couple of days ago and we hit the front page of the local rag today announcing our arrival. We're spreading the prostate word good and strong.
Happy New Year's Eve!
Rob

Things I've learnt...

Things I've learnt since the start of this paddle:

1. Sitting on your arse for 8 1/2 hrs straight is not relaxing - couch potatoes and computer game addicts deserve more respect
2. Sitting on your arse for 8 1/2 hrs soaked in your own pee is generally unpleasant, but still preferrable to getting in the deep dark water where the sharks live, or leaving your World Of Warcraft game as with above said gamers
3. There's more than one use for a coffee cup and two are better than one...dependent on your muscle control
4. Despite what your watch says whilst kayaking, time is not constant, can slow, stop and sometimes go backwards - a similar and related theory applies to dentist waiting rooms, meetings on a monday morning and pregnancy tests
5. The land mass of Australia is in fact a floating island, that sometimes moves - generally clockwise - due to the east Australian current (EAC) first discovered by Nemo, causing land masses to move away from tired kayakers unable to keep up with its rotation and associated time flux
5. What looks like your final destination, often isn't, despite what the map says: a common happening that provides an endless source of amusing and sometimes intelligable expletives from Scott
6. Jeff Buckley, Rage Against The Machine and Coldplay, are all good at attracting sharks
7. Steak and eggs at 4am in the morning is an untapped unrenewable energy which could put India in the top 3 world leading countries if enforced nationally - shame they don't eat cows
8. Australian's like to swear alot and use a variety of interesting non-dictionary derived terms relating to the human antomy as expressions of endearment
9. Scott, unlike normal people and a little like the new Brad Pitt film, is ageing backwards and is currently celebrating his 10th birthday psychologically - shame for him that he doesn't look like a 29 year old Brad...note here that I'm learning how to 'rib': another form of native Australian bonding I've discovered recently and have perfected following a series of unsuccesful attempts that were mistakenly interpreted as 'dissing'
10. Kayaking is a little like moving to Australia: it takes a long time to get there, but it's all worth while once you finally arrive
ROB

Conversations onboard a kayak...

We are well and truly past the half way point now and we are both looking forward to a "few" drinks on NYE at Forster in a couple of days.  We have planned out on detail what, when and where we will be doing everything for NYE over the last couple of days in the middle of the ocean and they all tend to end up with us quite drunk on a dancefloor doing the electric boogaloo...look out Forster we are coming!

So i thought as a little treat i would give you an insight to the typical conservations we have on any given day whilst heading towards that ever elusive headland.

6am  "lovely morning today Rob" "yes Scott this is great maybe we should try and go even further than planned today as feeling really good after that steak, bacon and eggs we had at 4:30 this morning", "Sure Rob sounds like a plan, hey check out those dolphins noble creatures aren't they"

7am "Time for a break i really need to pee", "oh thats disgusting Rob i cant believe you did not bring a cup or anything???".

7:10am "Breaks over lets get going so we can have a break at the next beach and stretch our legs", "sounds good Rob lets motor"

7:15am (insert babble here regarding drunken stories, relationships and when we finally arrive in Bondi)

8am "Feels good to stretch the legs huh, lets go and grab a coffee". We exit the kayak and walk to a cafe to buy coffees still feeling good about the day.

8:20am "Alright so we have 2 more hours until our next stop so lets get going", "lets do it"

8:45am "I swear that headland is moving away from us Rob is that possible?", "I think i saw a story on this once and yes i think it is entirely possible Scott".

9am "Break time and i hope you remembered to bring your cup this time Rob?", "oh shit i knew there was something i forgot..."

9:30am "That bloody headland is still doing that moving back thing, f#*k i hate kayaking!"

10am (roughly) "Lets stretch the legs again and have a sandwich and knock over this last leg as am keen to have an afternoon off to chill", "sounds like a plan"

10:15am "I really hate this kayak and those bloody dolphins are really pissing me off right now"

10:20am "............................................grumble, grumble, moan, f#*k.........................................!!!!!!"

10:40am ".....................................................................I really hate Rob right now!!!!"

10:41am ".........I really hate Scott right now!!!!"

10:48am ".....................such a stupid idea, i hope a shark comes along and eats Rob's arm so we can call it a day......."

10:50am "Are you sure that is the right headland Rob and not the one on the horizon?", "no thats definitely it Scott"

11am "Sorry Scott it is that one in the distance..."

11:01am "I really hate Rob!"

11:30am "It's definitely that one now for sure Scott", "grumble, grumble, moan Rob grumble f#*k!"

11:40am "........................................................................................F*#K!!!!!!!

11:45am "headlands moving away from us again Rob???????????", "Do you really think?", "yeah definitely this time without a doubt...........!"

11:55am "..................................................grumble, grumble, gruuuuuuummmmmmmmmbbbbbbblllllllleeeeeeee........................"

12a. "Aaah finally made it, that wasnt to hard at all!!!", "yeah looking forward to tomorrow now...".  

IDIOTS!

Stay tuned,

Scott.

Day 8 Scott's Head to Hat Head

It has been awhile since my last blog and have no excuse other than have been a little lazy...sorry about that ladies and gents.

So tomorrow signifies the half-fricking-way point, woop-woop bloody WOOP! We are expecting fireworks, chopper escort and ticker-tape parade when we arive into Port Macquarie tomorrow to signify this momentous occasion....only time will tell Port Macquarie, only time will tell (you have roughly 16hrs to do final prep FYI).

Today's paddling was good apart from dropping the bag with our 2 way radio, food, sunscreen, flares, digital camera and Rob's water bladder when we launched from the beach this morning, but besides that today was a good day. The good news is that the folks up here are the honest type and my dad i mean *ahem* "support crew" when he went back to search had already called it in and had the items out drying them for us. Good on you Scott's Head town folk, good on you (its not just a clever name after all)!

We managed to do just over 40kms today in just over 4 hours and both myself and Rob have noticed the difference in our stamina and endurance that we have slowly built up thanks to those lovely southerlies we encountered last week. All in all we are in good strength and the afternoons aren't so filled with calls to the girlfriends or friends looking for sympathy cause we are so sore and tired...well not me anyway! Some mornings are tougher than others though as you just want to curl back up in bed and get a few more hours sleep rather than getting up at 4am knowing that you have to get into the water well actually this is every morning but who's counting? That said once you get out on the water and you warm up little everything is ok and you just point the nose to the most distant headland and paddle.

When you are out on the water and have been paddling for awhile and you have taken as many stabs as you can at Rob and you are both sulking cause that headland is not getting any closer and you swear, i mean, you know that you are going backwards (you never actually are but at the time you know this to be the truth) you start to think about a lot of things, some random and some not as random as others. Here is a list i have compiled of some of the things that you think of and bear in mind some of these are at the darkest of hours:

1. Food - that you have eaten, you are going to eat and you would eat if it was right in front of you at that exact time

2. The future - so much about the future...

3. Work - contemplating where you have started, where you are going and general work stuff like 'where did that stapler go i had 6 months ago...?"

4. Love - what a craazy notion!

5. Sex - same as food above just replace 'eat' for 'have'

6. The paddle - actually finishing the paddle and making it to Bondi. Then the following day watching the kayak go up in flames as you laugh like a jackal.

7. Mortality - kind of a big one out on the water as there are certain times when you have no other humans around and a national park for massive stretches and you start to wonder what if a shark....what if we got knocked out and....would Rob jump in the water if a shark grabbed my arm mid stroke to save me?

To answer the last one Rob asked me this question and i said probably not so would not expect anything less from him.

There is a lot more things that go on in your head out on the water but they would be the top 5 but i will be sure to update you if there is anything else that bumps something off the list.
WE are currently staying with some family friends in South West Rocks for the night which is great of them to put us up for the night. WE went for a wander through town earlier and stumbled across the local Thai takeaway and being a fan of a good pun we had to take a picture and i have included the image for you all.

About it for me today but stay tuned...

Love Scott.

Day 6 and 7 - Coff's to Nambucca

Got to be quick on this one as I'm sitting in a chip shop smelling kiosk, I'm tired and the web point is like something out of a 60s Sci-fi movie. It's going to start asking me to call it Hal and then defrost the freezer and short circuit the cold drinks machine, electrecuting me as I try to pull the plug.

Xmas day was very relaxing as we sat round the pool in Coff's, ate loads of food and generally zoned out. Today was a relatively short one of 42kms to Nambucca. we had following winds and so pressed onto Scott's Head after a pretty knackering 2nd half. Even though the winds are behind us know, the chop is heavy and it takes a lot of effort to keep the kayak stable and on course. lots of dolphins, no shark sightings but I've heard since that there were some tiger sharks out there today. Scott's passed out and I'm heading to bed.

Night. ROB

Day 5 - Yamba to Coff's Harbour

Yeahaaa another day from heaven and hell. the morning was great - no wind, sun coming up over the horizon, oily sea, 2 shark sightings and Keggsy was on good form playing a classic mix of indie hits for the first 3 hours. we had a perfect beach landing and coffee break at Bare Bluff then got back into the kayak. Idyllic. We'd been expecting a southerly change but not so early in the day and just as we got off the beach, i felt the breeze pushing the tip of my hat down into my face. Great...it got stronger. Four hours of muscle and ligament grinding later, having struggled straight into this head-on wind and chop, I was tired, my wrist was killing, I'd been in and out of black thoughts 4 or 5 times already...and in my mind, it was all Scott's fault! That's what I've discovered happens when you're under massive physical stress and tired, you blame the nearest living thing near to you, and after 8 hours paddling, that's the other person in your kayak...and they're not going anywhere. Hee hee. What fun. I think Scott was about ready to hit me round the head with the paddle. As soon as you're safe and out of the wind, the mood totally changes the music gets turned up and it's all good fun and laughs again. After 8 1/2 houres, we eventually got into Coff's Habour entrance, which was like a washing machine, and had a camera crew from channel 9 NBN plus Coff's Habour Advocate photographer waiting on the beach. We're in The Tropic Oasis in the sun now sitting by the pool on our Xmas Day off. Mr and Mrs Timbrell have arrived and brought stacks of food and presents. Legends. Happy Christmas everyone. ROB

Day 3 and 4

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I managed to strain my wrist during the first two days of ripping southerly winds and as it was still howling out at sea, decided to knock up the kms by paddling down the Evans River. It was stunning. Today however we were up at 4.30am and back out on the high seas with a gentle NE wind following down the coast. After another shark sighting, a beach break at Brooms Head and some stronger winds, we ended up cruising past our goal of Minnie water and straight into Wooli. We hadn't meant to, but my map reading isn't that good and from 2kms out, it all looks the same. Still, it was 10km more than we meant to do so the paddle to Coff's tomorrow should be more manageable than the 62km we'd planned. There are strong NW winds at the sart of the day turning into SW in the afternoon which could be a shattering way to arrive, so we're getting up at 4am tomorrow instead to try and beat it. Yippee.

Putting some pictures on the blog now. Below are a couple of videos. ROB

Day 2 - Ballina to Evans Head (40kms)

Ouch ouch ouch, lots of expletives and a call out for happy pills. That was another really really tough day. The southerly is still blowing strong, white caps on the water, wind in the face and no time to eat, pee or check the radio. From Ballina to Evans Head is one long open stretch of endless beach with the only landmarks being so far away that you just don't feel like you're moving or getting any closer. It's a real test on morale. After 5 hours head on into the wind, we made the call to do a beach landing (something we've been advised not to do if possible) as the strain was too much and my arse was shouting at me to stand up and walk around, which isn't advisable or possible 1km off shore in a rocking kayak. Jesus may have done it but then he hadn't been paddling for 33kms without peeing.

Anyway, the beach landing went well (Scott's got 29 years of surf experience), but we were stuck in the middle of nowhere, no houses, no people and no road access, plus the waves looked too big to get back out again once rested. It looked like it could be a long trek. Then, like a mirage from the sea spray, came Dave, a wildlife reserve ranger who was steaming up the beach in a 4 x4 truck checking out the populations of endangered birds; oyster catchers and siberian somethings. We hitched the kayak to the back of the truck with Scott hanging on by one hand and me sitting warm in the front, whilst we sped down the last 7kms of beach to Evans Head, where we continued the last kms of the paddle up the river. Some may call it cheating, some may call it a lucky break, but we're just thankful not to be sitting in a sand dune shivering and checking out the birds (of the lesser spotted feathery type).

The campsite's all set up, bellies are full of fish and chips and we're off to the bowlng club tonight to shake a bucket of cash and raise funds.

I'm praying for North Easterly winds for tomorrow.

A massive thanks Sofia and Leif who've got us into a jungle resort for tomorrow night. Bring on the massage girls. (I'm joking Al x). ROB

Day 1...done!

So after day 1 both myself and Rob are feeling sore, raw and a little disillusioned. Who would have thought paddling 740km down the East Coast would have ben so hard...well not us for one but we have been shown the hard way that this is not the case.
After starting the day in magnificent form with Channel 9 news and the Byron Echo coming along to film the launch we started our paddle on a nice, clear and calm Byron Bay. This however changed as soon as we rounded the corner and headed straight into a Southerly wind that was trying to push us backwards (very unproductive wind and i think i mentioned this to it on numerous occasions with the odd swear word chucked in so it knew i was serious). The wind did not let up and turned our 4 hour paddle into a 7.5 hour paddle of endurance, great way to start!
We did see some marine life on our travels with the first being about 40 minutes into the trip. Now before i mention what we did see i should introduce our 3rd paddler named 'Kegsy'. Kegsy is our bucket of tunes iPOD dock which we aptly had blasting some songs to motivate us on our trip. Now as i was saying our first visitor, was a shark that we saw off to the left of us a couple of times which prompted the question "does bass attract sharks?". We didnt want to test this so we turned it off just in case and promised to Google bass and sharks. Upon returning we have realised that this is the case so Kegsy's involvement on the paddle is in jepoardy for the rest of the trip. Kegsy is understandably upset...
Thanks to Leif and Sophia coming down to see off us in Byron and be sure to go see Leif for any Aveda products you may need when in town and not a couple of skanky cheaper girls who have just opened a salon down the road.
Also a big thanks to Dan, Lisa and little Indy for making the trip down to say hello and see us off, it was much appreciated. Indy and i did not hit it off to well but i do have to say that it is one good looking baby but with parents and genes that she has there is no wonder (see picture below of the happy parents and even happier little girl i am holding, always had a way with the ladies...). Thanks guys and speak to you all soon.
I am off to bed now for a 4am start.
Stay tuned.
(sorry have bad connection so cant upload images but will do so tomorrow).

The start of the trip

So it is 8:13am on the day before the paddle and i am at Sydney airport ready to fly up the coast to Byron to relax and prep for the trip.
The only problem with this plan is that the plane has been delayed for 2 hours so i am stuck and stranded, on a caffeine high with nowhere to go. My main hope is that this does not become a re-occuring theme for the trip....i'm sure we will be fine?
My sister Joanne is roughy about 100km out of Byron and she is kindly driving the kayak up the coast for us so we are ready to go tomorrow morning. Big thanks to her and for her help as she will also be staying on as our road crew for the first few days so big ups big sis!
Stay tuned as i am sure the blog will become a lot more interesting over the next few weeks once we start tomorrow, as opposed to a blog written in a sterile airport from an anxious, ADD riddled person such as myself.
Peace.

Santas drop in with Adrenalin.com.au

As part of our training regime, we've been looking for ways to increase the heart rate and get the fear factor pressure on high in order that when we see sharks on our paddle, we don't freeze and start crying. So when I was given the chance yesterday to jump out of a perfectly good plane, dressed as Santa with full red suit, white beard and hat - I said yes please...and then rand to the car to get a spare change of pants. It was to celebrate the launch of a new range of festive experiences to buy online from Adrenalin.com.au, including amongst other things, a tandem skydive with Santa. Have a look at the footage (I'm the short person who's first out of the door at the beginning).



Adrenalin have been really supportive of our paddle trip. They gave us a kayak tuition experience in Sydney harbour for our charity auction and are potentially using their power boat for journalists to follow us into Bondi on the last stretch on the 9th January.

Olympus says that Poseidon's cool with it

Olympus have very kindly given us a couple of their waterproof and shockproof 1030SW 10.1 megapixel cameras for use on the journey. It means that we'll be able to upload pictures and footage each night, capture sea life as it trys to eat us and make what we write on the blog seem more interesting. Very very cool. Keep checking this site for updates.


After all this time thinking about it and preparing, we'll be on the water in just 6 days. We fly up to Byron on Friday, start paddling on Saturday and should be back to Sydney in just 20 days.

Thanks

Again just a quick thanks to all those people and companies that helped contribute to our auction fund raiser.

Byron to Bondi on The Morning Show

So yesterday morning we woke up Nelly and took her to the Channel 7 studios for an interview with Larry and Bec on the Morning Show about the trip.  Follow the link to watch the interview.

Huge thanks!

A massive thanks to everyone that donated prizes to the auction, that came along to show their support and to those that bid for prizes and donated money. We raised over $4000 on the night which is a fantastic result. Thanks also goes to the ladies from the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and also to Scott's parents who came down to Sydney for the night and chatted to just about everyone in the room.