Graham Charles

Sea Kayaking

Age	46
Hometown	Hokitika/Bozeman
Experience	33 years paddling in all manner of canoe sport. Mostly whitewater, adventure kayaking and slalom racing but sea kayaking, marathon and multisport kayaking and racing also. I started at school because I wanted to be a mountaineer so we kayaked when the weather was bad in the mountains to fill in time…. the rest is history.
Achievements	4 years National representation in slalom, 2 World Championships attended. Exploration of many of the NZ ‘adventure’ helicopter runs and writing 3 editions of the NZ Whitewater guidebook. Teaching kayaking for 26 years all over the world. First sea kayak traverse of Antarctic Peninsula. First sea kayak circumnavigation of Sth Georgia Island. Solo kayak/climb trip around Nuussuaq Peninsula, Greenland. And the biggest of them all…..I’m still here and still paddling! Photo:©Zak Shaw
Biggest Adventure	They’ve all been big in their own way, just different.
Philosophy	I absolutely believe in the individual and social benefits of adventure. To engage in adventurous activity promotes and develops vital skills: self-confidence and reliance, determination, initiative, calculated risk taking and most importantly for todays society - accountability. These are the hallmarks of citizens in any progressive and healthy society and are as valuable today as raw currency. Adventure through the ability to inspire, serves the audience and protagonists alike. The social benefit of adventure is immeasurable as the values and norms that define our culture are shaped and supported by the stories we tell. Armchair viewers are as interested in the human story as the adventure accomplishment itself. Aside from the nurturing of skills and the potential to inspire, adventure is also, well, damn exciting. I agree that people should be able to profit from the use of the land and that involves individual control and management. I believe in policies that protect the publics access to land areas for non intrusive recreation. Access to our beautiful and wild places is fundamental to quality life and serves a greater good than the profiteering of a few. It is not in our interest to reduce everything to a life of ease. Restricting motorised access and activity in certain areas leaves the rewards for those prepared to make an effort. Limited access wilderness areas are the jewels the crown of any country’s land resource. Self-interest and greed are unfortunate motivators that oil the wheels of enterprise, achievement and what we hail as progress.These, along with their ugly sisters of pride and arrogance have demonstrably wrecked any fragile relationship we had with the environment and placed us at the crossroads of sustainability or decay. Nevertheless, we must be optimistic that the same self-interest that has fouled our water reserves and accelerated the decline of bio diversity can be used for good: that we can resolve the tension between the messages - recycle and reuse, and discard and dump. The outcome is far from certain, but we have the capacity for a greater collective intelligence; we can communicate, drive policies and change behaviours to ensure resources are used sustainably and that other species are not sacrificed to the short term power of humans.
Website	www.adventurephilosophy.com

Kokatat

Graham Charles