Questions for Andrew
Why is sea kayaking more popular than bog snorkelling?
What is bog snorkelling?
Do people in PNG go bog snorkelling?
There are no silly questions, ask me anything. I'll post them here as they arrive.
To get started, here are a few common ones.
Why are you starting up the Fly River?
The original plan was to start at Thursday Island and paddle the Torres Strait before navigating around the PNG coastline to the northern border with Indonesia. This would have been a neat continuation of the 2006 expedition from Tasmania to Thursday Island. After advice from Australian Customs regarding clearance from Australian waters I decided it was too much extra money and hassle in a sea kayak. The next plan was to launch from Bensbach in the far southwest corner of PNG. There is a river which exits into the ocean that forms part of the border with Indonesia. Again, after initial inquiries it was going to be difficult to arrange for the kayak to be shipped or flown into this very remote area within my tight budget. The plan I settled on came after zooming around on the map and being drawn back time and again to the enormous river emptying into the Gulf of Papua, the Fly River. It fascinates me. I also knew that the controversial Ok Tedi mine was somewhere up there, and soon found out that the river is used to ship ore out and equipment in. I contacted Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) and requested help with freighting my kayak to Kiunga (as far up the river as is navigable in larger boats). So the bottom line is that the Fly River lured me in with a mixed promise of intrigue, possibility, accessibility, and, of course, guaranteed adventure!
How long will it take?
It's difficult to predict this with any confidence. There are many variables that will influence my progress down the river and around the coast. After more closely studying the maps I've revised the total distance down from around 4000 km, to something closer to 3500 km. Allowing for rest and bad weather days, and the days when I just can't be bothered, and assuming I'll average about 35 km/day when paddling, and if the winds are kind and the currents going my way, and and and.... excuses, delays, reasons. 120-150 days.
How far do you paddle each day?
When I paddled the east coast of Australia I averaged 25km/day including all rest days, weather days etc. For purely paddling days it would be closer to 35-40km/day. The furthest I have paddled in a day is about 70km, which by expedition standards is not particularly far. But then again, by expedition standards I’m not a particularly good paddler! When the turtle said that slow and steady wins the race, it should have added that even slow and unsteady can do okay.
What, you’re not an expert paddler?
Correct, I started paddling about 4 months before departing on the 4900km journey in 2006. I still have vivid memories of when a friend dropped me off to paddle 20km up the Derwent River to my home in Hobart for that first time. The kayak wobbled and bucked in the small waves, and I thought, ‘How on earth am I going to get this thing to the top of Australia!’
Part of the motivation behind these adventures is to challenge peoples (particularly students) ideas about what is possible from a very simple and inexperienced starting point. People often love to tell you what they think you can’t do, I’d prefer you made your own mind up about that.
But isn’t it going to be dangerous?
Dangerous in the sense that there are lots of unknowns… yes. Dangerous in the sense that I might not complete the journey and potentially disappoint lots of people… yes. Dangerous in the sense that I might come to some sort of physical harm… potentially yes. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure and fear of physical harm are all genuine reasons to avoid doing something in life. I’ve thought carefully about each one and have decided that, on balance, the benefits outweigh the dangers. To turn the argument around a little, I would say that the fear of inaction, of stagnation, and unfulfilled opportunity are more worrying to me than unknowns, failure and harm. Each to their own on this question, it always raises some interesting issues.
Do you sleep in the kayak?
Not unless I mistake my anti-malarial tablet for a crocodile tranquiliser (which I won't have by the way). Every afternoon or evening I will look for a place to set up camp, either on the riverbank or coastline. I will usually spend 6-10 hours paddling and the resty of the day/night sleeping under a fly-net or pottering around on the beach. Because landing every day is essential, I need to know as much about the upcoming coast as I can. While preparing, I am spending a lot of time looking at maps (especially Google Earth) so I know what to expect.
How far off the coast do you paddle?
This depends on the shape of the coastline. Imagine a bay shaped like a curved banana that is 15 kilometres from tip to tip. If I followed the banana around the curve, it might be 20 kilometres, maybe more! Sometimes it makes sense to cut across the bays (bananas) to save time, other times it's better to follow the bays close to shore. This might be because the weather is looking unsettled and a quick landing could be needed, or maybe there's a river where I can fill up water supplies. There will also be sections of the coast where I can paddle from island to island and not need to land on the mainland for days at a time. In general I'll be within a few kilometres of shore or closer, but sometimes I'll be many kilometres out to sea, either cutting across bays or paddling between islands.