Crossing the “Ditch”

by Erik Olsen on

Ask any seasoned explorer and he/she will tell you that there are few “big firsts” left to do. Sure, the bottom of the ocean still holds a lot of promise since, as scientists say, some 70 percent of the deep ocean has never been explored. But up on the surface, there are few places man has not trod, and few big accomplishments he has not already made. Well apparently one of these firsts is crossing a stretch of nasty water known as The Ditch. The Ditch stretches between Australia and New Zealand, and according to this site, it has never been crossed in a two-man, human-propelled boat (aka kayak).

In late 2007, James Castrission and Justin Jones will kayak over 1000 miles across the Tasman Sea, from Australia to New Zealand. If they pull it off, it will be the first ever crossing and the longest two man kayak expedition ever undertaken. The pair have loaded up a finely-tuned, state-of-the-art two man kayak that looks more like a pace ship than a boat. They’ve got GPS and communication devices and have trained intensely for the effort. All the details of their prep can be seen here. Sounds like an amazing, perilous journey. We wish them well.

Photo of the Day (October 23, 2006)

by Iva Skoch on

Following on my post about the Li River, near Yangshuo, China, here’s a shot I took from the kayak. The rain had just finished, but we could hear thunder in the distance. The river was moving swiftly, carrying us past this “commuter.”

Rafting the Zambezi

by Iva Skoch on

One of the items of my must-do list is rafting the Zambezi. Not that I am particularly into adrenaline sports, but this African adventure sounds amazing. I hear that Zambia is trying to market itself as the adrenaline-sports center of Africa, with rafting, bungee-jumping, climbing and such and it has become quite touristy. I wonder how Hemingway would feel about this “new Africa”. Since hunting for lions is no longer acceptable for Western tourists, I guess he would have to settle for white-water rafting.

The Zambezi River and the gorges below the Victoria Falls are classified as Grade 5, but a few portions are classified even higher – Grade 6: unrunnable. July-March are supposed to be the best months to go because the river is fairly low and more rapids can be done. Although Zambia does not publish a list of casualties, people who have done it say that it was, at times, a near-death experience. (Those might just be the people imagining the rare underwater encounters with hippos and crocodiles).

Any insights from anyone who has been?

Kayaking the Li

by Iva Skoch on

You’ve all seen those Chinese watercolor paintings that hang in every Chinese restaurant and shop, that show the limestone karsts rising above a tranquil river. Typically, there’s a person on a bamboo raft, with a conical hat, on that painted river. Well, that Shangri-La actually exists. And it’s called the Li River.

The Li stretches between Yangshuo and Guilin, in the interior of China, in the Guangxi province.

The best place to experience the Li is starting from the village of Yangshuo (pop. over 300,000–i.e., a mere village in China), nestled in the tree-covered hills and karsts surrounding the river. It’s an hour or so from nearby Guilin (a small “town” of over 1.3 million). Now, be sure to get on the right bus to Guilin–unlike we did–because you could end up some 300 miles to the south, in Yulin, due to a slight pronunciation error. But that’s another story…

In Yangshuo, we stayed in a hotel called the Bamboo House. A double room with a view, A/C, a TV, DVD player and dozens of bootleg DVDs (why?) was only about $14 USD.

You can arrange to rent kayaks from the folks at the hotel. Early morning, they drove us deep into the country and let us off at the river’s edge with a couple of cheap kayaks and very vague directions on where we’d meet our pick-up later that day. We had the river to ourselves.

It was beautiful: white birds flew over the calm water. Water buffalo waded in to watch us pass. Storm clouds passed the nearby mountains. Occasionally, a fisherman on a skiff would pass by. There, we had the only peace and quiet we experienced anywhere in China. Just like in the watercolor paintings.

Fresh Fruits and the Nude Beach of Sauvie Island, Oregon

by Iva Skoch on

Portland, Oregon, is home to some wonderful sights and is a terrific, vibrant town nestled in some of the best scenery in the country. But, however picturesque the city is, you might still need to “get away from it all.” One of the best places to go is a small alluvial island near the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette (pronounced will-A-mit, sounds like “dammit”) rivers, called Sauvie Island.

It’s actually minutes from the center of town, but it’s worlds away. Here, the lovable hippie-grunginess of the Pacific Northwest meets the quaintness of Tuscany and the vistas of Switzerland. You can find ‘u-pick’ farms growing vegetables and flowers, along with dairy cows, horses, and a big wildlife preserve. There are camping locations, nature trails and beaches.

Right now is the time to head there to grab your late-summer-harvest fresh foods. Make sure to try the different berries indigenous to this region, such as the marionberry, which even grow wild on the roadsides. If you are not afraid of starches, test your orientation skills in the Corn Maize, an annual maze cut through a farmer’s field. A tip for runners or cyclists: the paved portion of the island is a scenic 12-mile loop of good, flat pavement.

The best time to go is early morning, when the quiet little rural island is still waking up. Clear days offer gorgeous views of both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood and very little traffic. It’s common legend that it has Portland’s only nude beach; but this, I can neither confirm or deny. I can confirm, however, as a former resident, that the legendary Pacific Northwest “Pillsbury-doughboy tan” can be spotted here, in the wild.