On the water in Bristol at 8.15am and then off up the Avon. Lots of rowers, a couple of kayakers and some walkers probably looking for a coffee somewhere. It didn’t take long to go through Bristol and then it was back into the countryside again.

It took about 2½ hrs to reach the first lock on the Avon. The drop was bugger all, a bit over a foot, but it was flowing too fast and was too slippery so I headed over to the lock. The boat coming out closed the lock gate on me and by the time I parked and ascertained the situation there were two boats coming down. Luckily they were very nice people because there were no more in sight. I paddled in before they came out and they lent me their windlass to fill the lock when they left. They also stayed to close the gate when I Ieft. Can I remember their names? Nope, but I told them that. The boat is …..  Bugger I kept reciting it all day. Maybe they will pick this up on Facebook and help me out. Anyway, despite their funny accent (maybe Jordie?) they were lovely people.

At the next lock which was about halfway to Bath I met a group of four paddling to Bristol for the day. One of the guys looks after the media for the Bloodhound which is getting ready to be the fastest car in the world. 1000mph, that’s right, miles per hour. I love that sort of thing but I can’t help thinking the money might have been better spent trying to ensure the earth would be liveable for humans in 100 years. Not everyone gets how serious the situation is though.

Paddling on through leafy glades I saw quite a few sets of steps cut into the bank and a couple of groups cutting some more. Apparently at the end of summer they re-cut the steps and get ready for a winter fishing competition. One of the blokes digging had the temerity to mention the ashes, but I couldn’t really worry about the thoughts of some English nutter digging steps in a canal bank in the middle of nowhere.

It was warm, 28 degrees, and two lovely young ladies were swimming along the canal between a couple of barges. They reckoned the water had cooled down which maybe it had, seeing as their summer was way back in June and lasted two days. Sorry, that’s a bit harsh today made it three days. It was just a wee bit cool for my liking but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I did get sick of the locks, particularly after the mob with the standup paddle boards said there were two, maybe three to go and I had lugged the kayak up the steps of the fourth one. Jools came and picked me up there and we called it a day just as I was in the suburbs of Bath.

Right in the centre of Bristol. It really is a floating sea port

Even Captain Cook parks here

Just a baby for the lock. SS Great Britain will fit

A slow rowing boat to chase.  (It’s way up near the bridge)

And here are some fast guys. They were practising their starts.  If you look closely you can see the head of the cox in the bow.

Rowing club 3 miles upstream.  I saw two fours, one eight and many singles

First obstacle, just a tiddler but back to the lock

Looking back as the two boats go out

Thanks to a lovely couple as I exit. Ah ha Kimberley J—-. John or Joe maybe, now I remember.

Why would you have lee boards on a canal boat. They were common here

Pretty good eh!

Steps cut for the fishing competition

Bugger. Left or right? Take the left.

And up we go

The one going to Bristol

Another bummer. This is the beam you push to close the lock gate

The average man would have been fed up with locks by now

This bypass was easy

And this one

A train goes past at 130kph but does not scream like the Gold Coast one

Coming into Bath

Launched at Portishead at 9:15am ready to ride the tide up the Severn and the Avon to Bristol. It was a bit bleak with a south easterly wind at 15-18 knots. That was fine until turning into the Avon when it became a headwind. It wasn’t the wind itself that caused the problem, it was the waves. Because the kayak has wheels, waves splash into the cockpit and run down my back. I should have had the skirt on – mistake no. 1.

Temperature was about 18 degrees and the water might have been a bit cooler but it wasn’t too bad. It took a bit of skill to find the mouth of the Avon but you could say that I have had a bit of practice. It was still pretty muddy with the tide about two thirds of the way in. Disappointingly there was not much tidal flow. This is because there is very little volume despite a tidal range of about 9m today because the river is dammed at Bristol and Bristol Harbour is entered via a lock. Tides can range 14m.

It is a historic city with the “floating” harbour opened in 1809. It is interesting to see the result of what must have been a pretty substantial engineering feat back then. Maybe it is the most used bit of water in the world. Sailing dinghies, canal boats, large boats, kayaks, canoes, rowing boats, water taxis, you name it, it is on the harbour. Without the dam and the lock none of this would be possible.

I was going to paddle around the harbour and up the Avon but Michael and Ben on the lock said the tide wasn’t big enough to flood the dam and there was no way around it. They put me through after two boats came down. I met Julianne there and we got a one day permit for the harbour. Ben took a photo while I waited which is posted below.

Brunel’s steam powered SS Great Britain has a place of honour in the harbour. Restored in 1970 after being towed from the Falklands, it was once the longest passenger ships in the world from 1845 to 1854, was powered by steam and sail and did many trips out to Australia. Fourteen days across the Atlantic was pretty fast too.

Mistake 2 for the day was to leave the camera case at Portishead. It had everything including manual, charging gear and a telephoto lens. Bugger! After looking for it and then having a meeting with the mayor Bristol was the end of the line for the day. Oh well, things can only get better.

The Mayor of Bristol is George Ferguson. His business card is red and his pants are red. None of the suit and tie nonsense for George. He doesn’t even own a car and came to meet us on his bike. Bristol is the European Green Capital for 2015. George could speak proudly of Bristol’s achievements and their advances in renewable energy but what could Steve speak about? Well not much really, except maybe to try to apologise for the crooks running Australia. You know, the ones that take $1700 this year from every man, woman and child and give it to their coal mates so they can afford million dollar salaries and luxury lifestyles for them and their lobbyist mates. But, I did point out that no matter what Bristol does in a green way, we can offset that with a few more billion tonnes of coal. Makes ya proud eh!

Did I like George? Of course, it would be hard not to like and respect someone who just goes about doing his thing and making a difference to the world. He can be very proud of his city

The No Entry sign must have been for someone else

The UK leg starts

Some abominations for Joe Hockey

Look closely and you will see the mud between me and the M5 bridge

The tide is well in here

But not high enough to float this one

Or this one

That’s a pretty old navigation station

A canal boat on its way to Portishead. Skipper said he pitied Australians. Something about ashes. What are they? Bring on the rugby.

I had a dim recollection of this so knew Bristol was close

Ben Wookey took this while I waited for the lock

Boats coming down. The bridge is swinging to let a sailing boat in.

SS Great Britain

In the harbour

The mayor and an adventurer

Last diary entry I said that intended to start paddling 13^th August but it has slipped to 20^th August. The rig has needed some work, both the Audi and the van, but it is all looking pretty good now. You can see by the photos that the UK rig is about a quarter the size of the USA rig but I like it that way.

As I said, one of the difficulties in any new country is learning how to shop. I have made some mistakes along the way but I’m getting the hang of it. You simply cannot go to Bunnings and then Target and you’ve got everything. I have most hardware now, most of the kitchen stuff but a cutlery container to go under the sink has eluded me so far. The toilet now works with a new pump, there is an external tank with a pump fitted so the taps work and there is a container on wheels to collect the grey water. There is what they call a cassette for black water, and that is all sorted out, but that should not be required. It isn’t always easy to find a dunny here though, so maybe in emergencies. Everything has been horrendously expensive. Two gas cylinders, the size we would use on an old gas camping light, cost me $240. I nearly choked. This is not new to me as I saw it in the seventies and later. I just thought that things might have improved for the do it yourselfer, but not as far as I can see. Hey Bunnings, there’s a big market opportunity here!

Julianne should be here for the 19^th so we have a day to prepare and then set off from the Severn River. The caravan is at Devizes. Anyone remember the limerick from school? (Hint:  it’s about breasts of different sizes….). The camp site is in the country and it took about 20 phone calls to find it. It is booked until 27^th August but as the 31^st is Bank Holiday I’m not sure what we are going to do. After that it might be possible to find camp grounds.

We have to be at Dungeness 6^th September because I have booked a spot with Full Throttle for the week of 7^th September. That makes the crossing legal which takes a load off my mind. They provide an escort and pick the kayak up and take it across the shipping lanes before sending me on my way again. It isn’t what I wanted and I didn’t want to spend the $2,700 but se la vie.

Now back to the climate change business. How many people realise the following that I lifted off the web:

There’s something about climate change that almost everyone in Australia has either forgotten or never knew in the first place.

In 1990 Bob Hawke announced his government wanted the country to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2005.

For a fleeting moment, it seemed the Australian public, politicians and the media were in agreement with the science.

But a new book investigates how the industries that stood to lose the most worked to undermine the science and entirely reshape the story being told to the public.

“We have been propagandised,” says the author, Maria Taylor.

In 1989 Hawke described a “growing consensus amongst scientists” showing there was a strong chance that major climate change was on its way, that this change was linked to human activity, and this could have “major ramifications for human survival” if nothing was done.

Public statements by scientists in Australia and around the world, backed by government reports and research, had established unambiguously that humans were causing climate change. Bold steps needed to be taken if the major risks of catastrophic climate change were to be mediated.

The UN’s intergovernmental plan on climate change delivered its first blockbuster assessment of the climate science in 1990.

Taylor’s book recalls how Australia was working its way towards a detailed plan to deliver Hawke’s proposal. State governments had response strategies in place. Politicians were largely on board. So was the fourth estate. The public understood the science and the huge risks of not acting.

Now, a quarter of a century later, climate change has been turned into a toxic political football. Scientists have their integrity attacked on a daily basis.

Climate science denial is a feature of the conservative media and many members of the public are either confused about the science, ambivalent about the issue or entirely uninterested.

So how has Australia has managed to find itself behind where it was a quarter of a century ago?

Around 2007, Taylor was asking herself that question. How did the corporate interest replace the public interest? How did climate science become “controversial” in the eyes of the public?

Taylor, who is a journalist and newspaper publisher, wanted to know how Australians were “persuaded to doubt what they knew”.

From the late 1980s industry and climate contrarians got to work to reframe the issue from the science to the economics.

She reviewed hundreds of newspaper articles and government reports for a PhD thesis and now a book, called Global Warming and Climate Change: What Australia Knew and Buried … Then Framed a New Reality for the Public” (you can download a copy free from publisher ANU Press).

Taylor also interviewed about a dozen key insiders, including scientists, advisers, politicians and journalists. She says the fact that Australia was ready and willing to act 25 years ago has itself been a forgotten story.

Almost no one that I spoke to remembered the 1990 emissions reduction target. Even people like [former energy minister] John Kerin, who co-signed it!

In the book Taylor explains how from the late 1980s industry groups, free market advocates and climate contrarians got to work to reframe the issue from the science to the economics.

By 1996 much of the damage was done. The advent of John Howard’s government ensured there would be no more genuine progress.

Taylor charts how opponents helped reposition environment groups as being anti-jobs and against the national interest. The book documents how climate science deniers were promoted by “free market” thinktanks to push uncertainty instead of risk.

There are some people that will go down in history with very tarnished reputations. The hate that we see for the current government will be nothing as the crisis unfolds. Will our current system of government survive? Nope, absolutely zero chance of that. What it has delivered is a death sentence to many and when they wake up changes will be made. What will they be? What will we change to? I have an idea and it is not pretty, but for now all I am trying to do is to spread the scientific facts.

How’s that for a camp ground. The power is at the hedge. No neighbours!

Cute isn’t it, after the USA behemoth

It is confirmed, Klaas and Lynne are home. Klaas is 10kg heavier and his dog Wolfie is 5kg heavier. Now to fix that. Klaas reckons it won’t be a problem.

Thanks to CPS a parking company who stored the kayak for me for nothing right near where the Queen Mary 2 docked. Unfortunately I dropped the kayak on the wing mirror of the Audi when I picked it up, so have had to do a repair job.The van needs a fair bit of work as well so that is all good fun. UK people are really helpful but space is limited everywhere. The van is around the corner in a yard so it is an 800m round trip every time I go there. That doesn’t sound like much but try it with the tools at the house and attempting to fit a piece of timber across an odd shape. I guess after a few trips you either think near enough is good enough or you get better at guessing. It is the smallest I could get but I like it and it’s easy to tow.

As with any new country it is difficult to find where to get things. The local Homebase hardware shop is what I would call boutique. There are lots of different things, even some bedding and electrical goods, but it is about a quarter the size of a decent Bunnings. No drive through for timber, pavers, cement and the like. So too the car parts place. I haven’t found anything like a decent Supercheap yet. Most things, like tools, adhesives, timber, hinges, screws, rope etc are more in pounds than our prices are in dollars. At £1 = $2.20 that means they are more than 2.2 times the price. I think we might be spoilt in OZ.

Staying at Trevor and Marilyn’s is more like staying with family than friends. They are great except Marilyn treats me too well, and I also have the bonus of one of their sons, Simon, who is here. Simon was 8 last time I saw him. Trevor was my boss in Libya in 1977, which doesn’t seem that long ago really. He is a great engineer but has been retired for 7 years and does other fun stuff now. The photo of him with his MG that he rebuilt yonks ago has him dressed in his Concord uniform with a British Airways tie. He shows people through the one at the museum one day per week. He is also an assistant lock keeper and boat builder – all voluntary.

Note the kayak on the Audi Quattro. The racks need another bit of work but it is all coming along nicely.

My plan is to start paddling 13^th August so no significant posts until then.

The little ship lines up next to the big one

This isn’t gonna work. They shoved it in the baggage loading hole further back. Would have been no problem if that extra landing wasn’t there

Klaas feeling pleased with himself for pretending he needed a wheelchair which got us priority boarding

Leaving Manhattan behind

Outside Trevor and Marilyn’s at Staines

What a ship! It is huge and very grand. The food was fantastic and so was the service.  I arrived at the terminal early, towed the loaded kayak to the crew ramp and waited until the sniffer dog had checked it. Unfortunately the crew ramp had a 90 degree corner so they decided to load it into the hold after all of the luggage. Watching from the deck seven floors up was a bit nerve racking, but they got it on and all was well. A 6m kayak won’t go through a 3m hole when it is sideways on a forklift.

At Southampton it was already in the luggage area when I got off so I just wheeled it out through the door with all the other passengers. Of course there was the minor problem of what to do with it then. After a few enquiries with car park and security guys it found a home in the locked car park. It is behind a shed and they don’t want any money. I am to pick it up Tuesday.

The Cunard experience was incredible. They handled it all without any problems. Landing in the UK was almost like coming home. People understood exactly what I was saying and were very helpful.

I hired a car and dropped Klaas and Lynne off at a hotel at Heathrow that afternoon and they will be back in Ballina on Monday. Telephone and portable wifi are under control although the UK is a bit of a pain with credit cards. Many organisations, like topping up the phone or paying vehicle tax, will only take UK cards. None-the-less I now have an Audi Quattro A6 AWD Diesel Estate ($4k), insurance coverage ($1.8k), and a small caravan ($3k). The van needs some work but that should all be OK.

What a city! Dynamic, driven, in your face, and yet very human. We have experienced Harlem, Manhattan and Brooklyn – all very different. MKC, the Manhattan Kayak Company owned by Eric Stiller (Keep Australia on Your Left) and supported by Jules, Deputy Director and the one who keeps Stiller under control (ha ha), is just the most outstanding find where kayaking and stand up paddle boarding is available in the heart of Manhattan. Harlem, just up the subway from Manhattan is very livable. Brooklyn with its language diversity, trees, wealthy houses beside old apartment blocks, fruit and veg on the sidewalk is maybe a glimpse into the future for some cities.

Meantime back in Australia I am seeing the work of a fascist government, run by a psychopath, surrounded by psychopaths. These words are serious. What is happening fits the definition of both. It is appalling and very embarrassing. I do have to say that Australians are better than this. I will do my utmost to tell everybody that these clowns do not represent most Australians. For all our sakes I hope it is true, that we really are better than this.

America has been an experience, that’s all I can say, not good, not bad in an overall sense. Almost to a person Americans are at least as warm, open and helpful as Australians but you often have to get past the shutters. They are fearful, courtesy of a media that is influenced by an ex-Australian. What I like though, is that they expect you to be a wanker until they find out you aren’t, which hopefully they do, then you see the real American.

They are a belief based society though, whether it be God, political party, religion, the weather channel, whatever. It is hard to change a belief once it is there so maybe that is a reason that they have the highest number of climate science deniers in the world.

It has been a great privilege to be in this city for three weeks. The next big city I paddle through will be London. Sometimes I am in awe of what I have seen, sometimes it seems so blasé and insignificant. My mood swings between hope and despair. My enthusiasm for what I do does likewise. I want to come home to Australia but there is a job to do, and it will be done.

Katrina and Sandy

The stories from each city are horrific but as different as chalk and cheese. From the other side of the world we watched but struggled to understand.

Two areas in New Orleans come to mind, the superdome stadium and the convention centre. The stories from the superdome are tragic and we felt for the people at the time but we didn’t know the context.

To get to New Orleans from Baton Rouge you drive over long bridges across the swamps. When I say long I mean tens of kilometres long. When you drive any significant distance in and around the city you do so on elevated roadways. They are everywhere. They are draped like spaghetti around the stadium where the world saw all of those people stranded for many days. There are on and off ramps (effectively boat ramps into the floodwaters linked to the rest of the USA) that are 150m from the stadium. People have said they were stopped from using them to take supplies to those trapped at the stadium.

The convention centre is on the river bank not far from where I put into the Mississippi. We drove past looking for access to the river before settling on a point in the French Quarter. The road is higher there and did not flood. You can walk from the convention centre to the bridge that crosses to the other side of the river and is connected to the elevated road system. Many people gathered there hoping to get a lift out. Some walked to the bridge only to be turned back. Military vehicles and police drove the roadway. Some people were shot.

Accounts from both places almost beggar belief but it is difficult to check their veracity. Human stories, acts of kindness, tragedy and despair abound but let’s just look clinically at the situation. There was terrible flooding where the levees failed but in most areas the water was not flowing significantly. After the hurricane it was just a flood, something that millions of people in the world deal with on a regular basis. So what happened, how do you get such a monumental failure in systems?

Now switch to New York. Superstorm Sandy belted the East Coast. It flooded the subway system. Waves crashed through all of the low areas near the river. All the people I talked to on the water reckoned their boat houses had about 1.2m of water in them. It stopped the city for five days. Go to the coast and houses were washed away. Boardwalks and other infrastructure finished up in the Atlantic. Most has been rebuilt less than three years later.

You get the feeling that Sandy was bad but New York is resilient and organised. Occupy Sandy was formed immediately and started relief work using the Occupy Wall St networkk You simply can’t evacuate a city of that size anyway. After ten years the effects of Katrina are obvious. After three years the effects of Sandy are not.

What is the difference? Is it an example of rich and poor, haves and have nots? Maybe strong arm tactics are applied more to the poor? Is it fear? I can’t answer any of those questions.

Perhaps this example, unrelated as it seems, might help. We have just had an invasion of Portuguese-man-of-war on the Jersey Coast south of New York. People are fearful of the water. The reporting uses words like “deadly”. These things are blue bottles, no more no less. After a few days nor’easter they are common on Australian east coast beaches but here they are a big deal.

Americans are taught to be fearful. They are taught to follow rules. Despite the fact that all the cops we met have been wonderfully friendly and helpful, they never step outside the rule book. Is it possible that New Orleans had many more poor people, or dare I say, black people and that fear resulted in a policy of containment?

Klaas    Hi, this is I, without a lie, waiting on a good old Aussie pie.

Almost back home, can’t wait to hug my Wolfie (and maybe some of you). As you probably already know, leaving New York after a three week stay on the 14th July on the Queen Mary 2 to Southampton via Halifax and arriving Sydney on the 25th, then Coffs Harbour and home the 27th.

Analysis of the six months expedition?. Overall a great experience, Steve did an unbelievable job in doing what he did. After living with him every day for six months I can honestly say that he is an outstanding human and unique in what he has done. I,who have always prided myself on physical performance admit he is a better man than I (In some aspects) Let us not go overboard. Hail, rain, cold, hot, he walked, paddled, kayaked some four thousand kilometres under extreme conditions, without complaining, sore, fatigued, but never down.

The media let him down badly but he never wavered in his goal bringing the message of Global Warming to anyone willing to listen. The man is a human dynamo. We are about to part company and go home while he will continue his quest, kayaking up the Avon, down the Thames, across the channel to France, up the Seine to coincide with the World Forum on Climate Change in Paris late November. I wish him the best of luck, good weather and hopefully finally acceptance by the public through the media about the issues he is passionate about .I am going to miss him as a friend and hope his dreams will be fulfilled.

We saw a great deal, about a quarter of the states in the US. A lot of preconceived notions proved wrong, eg US is a super power with highly developed technology, bullshit, half the time my phone did not work, pollution is bad, like signs along the mighty Mississippi warning you not to eat the fish you catch, chemical plants emitting a foul stench which the locals say causes defects in babies and early death etc. I personally had sore eyes for the time I was around there. A lot of motels were sub-standard. Especially in the Southern states a lot of poverty with lots of beggars on street corners. The gap between rich and poor very pronounced. The Northern states might have won the war but they did not win the heart and souls of many Southerners in Dixie land. Housing for the poor is nothing to write home about. Mostly consists of rectangular wooden structures like forty foot containers which they seem to plonk willy nilly on a piece of land. They are mass produced and I’ve seen thousands of them. No verandas, no gardens, no chickens or a piggy or two. In all the trailer parks we have stayed there are lots of permanents and a lot of itinerant workers use caravans.

The Southern states are like my country of birth, flat as a pancake. Once you come to North Carolina you see the changes, the scenery is magnificent and the living standard seems to be better, the further North one travels, and East, it seems to increase. One thing the Yanks excel in is roads. They are good, plentiful and very well sign posted. The under and over passes quite architecturally pleasing. Lots of hill billies in the rural areas as opposed to the sophistication of towns like Austin or Dallas in. Texas, New Orleans’ French Quarter. Baton Rouge I remember as grid locked traffic, Memphis is a city and if you can delete Elvis, another city on the Mississippi, etc. I loved the Outer Banks and Chesapeake Bay, the almost continuous city all the way to the jewel in the Crown, New York.

I love New York, alive, vibrant, exciting. Very expensive though and rip off tourist orientated. Lynne and I were wandering around and wanted a toilet.( A word the Americans don’t understand, one asks for the bathroom) We spotted the Plaza Hotel on 5th Avenue and went in. Magnificent chandeliers and six thousand tons of marble floors, walls and staircase and a unique oval bar. I ordered a beer and Lynne had a glass of chardonnay. We visited the bathroom which was all gold plumbing, including the toilets, talked to the three bartenders, two Italians and one Bosnian and asked for the bill. $36.  Do you mind. That was one expensive piss.

Another day we hopped on the Red two decker “Hop on Hop off’ and went everywhere, Central Park, Harlem, Times Square, Broadway, China Town, little Italy, Wall street etc. Madam Lynne “Had” to see a live Broadway show of course. Old scrooge me wasn’t too sure about that but was over ruled (apparently females have either two votes or veto rights and we went to see the latest musical hit on Broadway called “Something Rotten”. Mind you, it was hilarious and I laughed a lot but still think it was not as good as “The Producers ” which we saw in Sydney’s Crown Casino and did not cost US$155= per seat. The St James theatre where is was staged seats 1710 people. Think of the money with two performances per day. I’m seriously contemplating going into show business.

On a whole, the food is crap. At best it’s mediocre Almost all food is deep fried and full of sugar. One of the highlights of the journey was the airboat ride on the great Bayou between New Orleans and Baton Rouge patting “Big Alfie”, 13’2″ of Alligator. Wandering through the Blackwater Swamp looking for Black bear and making friends with squirrels which are everywhere.

See you all hopefully shortly. xx Klaas

Lynne:     Well, my incredible journey is coming to an end. I had no idea what to expect, most of my impressions have come from what I’ve seen on movies and TV. I have to say that at times I have been disappointed in what I have seen and heard. We have sampled many different eating places along the way. The table service on the whole is poor. The African Americans are excellent in this area, efficient, happy, chatty. The food is deep fried almost without exception, 90% of all foods have added sugar and the shelves in the supermarkets are loaded with every kind of donut, cookies, cakes, sweets; cereals are no exception, aimed, it seems, at the young consumer.  So called muesli containing chocolate bits and one even with smarties mixed in. The only place I could see carrying good healthy food were organic food stores, very expensive. The only place I saw rolled oats. Our rv sites have on the whole have been excellent, especially the KOA, kamps of America, similar to our 5 star parks, however, the present one is abysmal. Cleanliness is non-existent but enough said, they are not the norm.

Having said all that America has been a wonderful experience, New York is amazing, full of life and soul. We have been through many beautiful areas, met many great people, had lots of fun. Steve’s journey was another fantastic experience for me. Total commitment to his mission, many very perilous situations, particularly on the Mississippi, tough going albeit by kayak, bicycle or just walking with kayak in tow, many in harsh weathers. It has been a pleasure to travel with him. We have had some funny experiences along the way and this trip will be long remembered. Julianne and Renate joined us at various times and were invaluable. Julianne will be joining Steve on his next adventure from UK to France. She is the navigator and I wish them good luck and safe end of journey. Don’t lose him Julianne!!!! He gets upset!!!

For those who did not follow through with the link, this is the Environment TV link. What I said has been cut drastically so it is not quite correct but sort of OK http://theenvironmenttv.com/2015/06/22/kayak4earth/

The van and the Ford have been sold, not for the price we wanted but it is to a couple with four young kids, so if I have to lose a heap of dough it is best to the right people. We keep it until 11^th July, three days before getting on the ship to England. The shipping terminal is in a rough industrial area in Brooklyn and the challenge is to find somewhere nearby to store the kayak and wheel it to the ship the day of departure.

To my surprise I like New York. The life is amazing. Central Park is terrific. The energy of the place bubbles over everywhere with rap dancers in the subway, roller skate dancing on the road in central park, beautiful singing in a tunnel and everyone is helpful and friendly.

Of course it is a big city so it’s not for me. The traffic is dreadful and funny at the same time. There seems to be no restraint. If it is possible, drive forwards. Inevitably the lights change and cars, buses and trucks are stuck across the intersection and the grid is locked. Dickheads start blowing their horns, pedestrians wander around the cars amidst the cacophony but only some get upset. “HEY DICKHEAD” is shouted frequently at the horn blowers, that’s why I know what they are. Sometimes NYPD try to control the mayhem with two cops on an intersection, which is really just a coronary inducing experience for the poor guys.

The museums are a must see and I guess ground zero is as well. It is hard to imagine the incredulity of a bustling city seething with humanity being confronted with the jets and then the towers crashing down. A new skyline dominating building has just opened, and two massive square holes with water flowing into the centre mark the site of the old twin towers. Coming into the area, before noticing these, we came across a construction site. I knew I was there, at the spot. My heart tightened, my whole body tensed with dread. I took no pictures, just wanting to pay my respects and get out of the place. No way will I go back.

All the way up the coast the military presence was obvious. Jets roared, aerials dotted the shore, big bore guns fired. The power of the tiger could be felt everywhere. Poke it in the eye and expect a rational response? Of course it lashed out. It was angry and maybe it didn’t care what it hit or what was sacrificed.

The military cost must inevitably be borne somewhere though. Many bridges I paddled under were rusty or had concrete spalling. Many roads are potholed. Many buildings are abandoned. Evidence of decay abounds even if there are other shiny ostentatious effigies for the haves. Many in the USA have not.

Sitting still biding time until the ship goes is not fun. I miss Australia. I miss my family. I miss home.

This email from Harriet who organised a group meeting in Central Park helps a lot and boosts me along.

Thanks Steve,       So glad you could be our reason to get together! Your journey is so inspiring. One of my “climate heroes” is a Canadian artist and climate activist, Franke James. She likes to say we must “do the hardest thing first” if we are going to work to solve this .Thanks for leading way. Wishing you much success, good adventures and pa positive spirit. We must keep going and we must win. We have no other choice.

With much respect and admiration.

Harriet

So, next post will be in a few weeks from the UK. Logistics start again. Arriving in Southampton with a 6m kayak, Klaas and Lynne to despatch at Heathrow that night, permits to get, vehicle to buy and fit out, what fun – not.

As Harriet says:   We must keep going. We must win. We have no other choice.

NOTE: There are regular Facebook posts, some with videos, until I catch the boat mid-July. If you don’t have Facebook, sorry.

Bad weather was predicted for the Sunday finish at the Manhattan Kayak club and we were able to hire a boat from the Hudson Sailing School on Saturday so we loaded it with two people from the Audubon Society and two from Environment TV along with Renate. That gave us some good images and footage while I paddled to the finish.

All press releases had 1.00pm Sunday as the finish so it was back in the river, paddle downstream a bit and come in at the appointed time on Sunday. It was sunny with a strong westerly wind, totally different to predictions. The intrepid Environment TV and Audubon were represented but that was it. No other media arrived, even though some had said they would. One Climate Reality person, Katie, turned up and that was it.

Disappointing? Yes, definitely but we are used to that now. You can do almost anything, even be the only person to paddle up the Mississippi in flood but if the message is Climate Change forget media. There are lots of actions all over the place by groups and individuals that are never reported, so we don’t get any idea of what is happening. That will change at some stage but certainly not in the USA any time soon. Charlie and John are both great guys with a huge mission at Environment TV. Check them out and read what they do. Fantastic. http://theenvironmenttv.com/

That’s it for paddling for more than a month. Lots to do like sell the van and car, learn more about Katrina and Sandy, meet people in New York, sort out what to do with the kayak to get it on the Queen Mary 2 etc. You will be amazed when I start to write about Katrina.

Renate:  Our last camp ground is close to NYC, and at 775$/ month it’s quite cheap. Accommodations are a bit strange: You have to walk through the first shower to get to the second one.

The camp ground is large and filled to capacity, but we hardly see or hear anyone. Are people inside all day? There is the occasional dog yapping in a trailer. One guy is leaving in the morning at 4am, another neighbor is greeted at 6pm by his dog. He tells us about his ex-girl friend and the house they still own, but can’t sell anymore after the housing market busted.

We are appreciating the tarp Steve has hung over our table and stay outside when it rains. But why in the world are we not allowed to hang our towels on the ropes? They want me to put my towel into the dryer after a swim! Seriously?

Renate:  Which rocket scientist designed Penn Station?30 minutes wait time for the train to Secaucus where our car is parked. Okay, it’s Sunday. None of the trains listed on the TV screen show the track. “They will display that a few minutes before” explains a fellow traveller. Strange. “Track 9”. Hundreds of people start rushing in that direction. A long line has already formed at the elevator, so we turn to the double doors (we just discovered yesterday that we have to open these all metal doors to get to the escalator and the track). Several hundred people inch forward to squeeze through, some pulling suitcases. It’s the train to Newark airport. A narrow escalator follows. I am glad to have some space in front of me because I see a commotion down at the end where people step off. Still, I barely make it without tripping or stepping on someone’s foot. A few yards down is another door, not wider than any door at home, causing the pile-up at the end of the escalator. We walk about two hundred yards along the train before entering to have a chance for a seat.

Has anyone ever thought about widening the door frame? Removing the metal doors? Or how about more than one access to a train that transports several thousand people?

I frequently travel by train in Germany. Even small towns have more than one and far wider paths to the tracks. I have I’ve never seen anything like this. This is New York City?? Americans, we need to invest in our infrastructure! This is developing world level. Sorry.

A gentle on shore breeze at Staten Island blew the smog away so that the shorelines across the bay were visible. Sunworshippers lay on the gritty sand beach soaking in the warmth from a sun slightly obscured by high cirrus clouds. From just offshore the Narrows Bridge, spanning the entrance to New York Harbour was visible at the end of the island.

A slight adverse current slowed my trip along the beach but with the bridge looming after 8km, the wind started to pick up and I paddled hard to take advantage of a following breeze after turning the corner into the harbour. The run out tide under the bridge was quite strong but with the sail up and surfing the waves I made reasonable headway.

The Manhattan skyline was straight ahead with the Statue of Liberty just visible. The wind blew directly towards the statue so I straight-lined across the harbour. It was busy but not excessively so. The route was across the line of the Staten Island ferries. A pusher tug with a large barge came out fast from the left and after making some rough waves flattened the seas behind it for a few minutes. A large container ship driven by three tugs crossed my line going slowly to stern. After they reached a buoy in the harbour the two at the stern pushed the ship around 90 degrees, pointing it towards the bridge and the open sea. Finally I was near to the Statue. Three groups of barges, about a kilometre apart and filled with rocks and gravel stood across the line and provided a bit of a wind break to take photos.

It was pretty rough and I didn’t have the spray skirt on but I did soak up the scene. Here I was, at the big apple after coming all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and probably being the only person to have paddled up a flooded Lower Mississippi. There is still a long way to go but this is a big milestone.

Sunday is the big finish at the Manhattan Kayak Company on 12^th Ave next to the Intrepid Air Sea and Space Museum. Thunderstorms are forecast but we are now locked into a 1.00pm arrival at high tide.

KLAAS              He has done it. New York, the end of the America leg of the trip. You must admire the silly bastard. Whatever your beliefs about climate change, it has been an epic voyage. First the Australia leg, Walking from Canberra to past Wollongong, tham kayaking to Sydney against mountainous seas and than onwards to America. Buying a  4wd and caravan and then launching the kayak into the Gulf of Mexico and paddling to New Orleans, up the Mississippi against the tide to Baton Rouge, Natchez, to some  80 miles north of Memphis when the river became impossible to negotiate due to severe flooding. He nearly lost his life in a log jam and wisely decided ton buy a pushbike and continue on that to the coast, where again he could paddle and make his way to New York. There has been countless set backs and disappointments but Steve never wavered from the big picture. He almost never lost his great sense of humour and simply carried on. I have great admiration for the man and stand in awe of his physical achievements\.The publicity has been dismal and few Americans seem to care. In spite of all this he never wavers in his commitment , absolutely believes in what he does and I am proud to have been part of this expedition and witness his determination of doing every inch of this so far 4000 odd kilometre epic.

New York New York. The Big Apple. I stood on Liberty Park today next to the Statue of Liberty and admired the skyline of Manhattan. There is something I can’t explain about this city. Every time I see it I feel butterflies in my belly. It’s alive, it is vibrant.

It has never changed. I came her first in 1948 and have been here some eighteen times during my live. It still excites me. The first thing I did was what I all ways do, go to the first delicatessen and purchase a hot pastrami roll, the way only the Yanks do,(With mustard of course) During the next few weeks I hope to do a lot more site seeing, Broadway, do a show, Radio City Music Hall, Madison square garden etc. and then the Queen Mary 2 to England and home end July. By, Klaas.

LYNNE.      Well, a very interesting and exciting day. For Steve it was the end of his journey, tough at times, but both he and his trusty kayak came through without major incident or injury to either one!.  We all congratulate him on an enormous effort. At times he has been utterly exhausted, sore and aching but up and ready to face the next day’s paddling. I am in awe of the hurdles he has overcome, especially in confronting the periliously flooded Mississippi. We celebrated the event with a great meal at Chili’s and a couple of well earned beers for Steve. We arrived at Great Kills National Park on Staten Island, where Steve commenced his last run from the beach. Some sunbathers lolling about, mostly older couples, reading or with earphones on,  smothered in suntan oil. Old bodies gleaming. !! Lifesaver on patrol perched on his lookout tower placed on top of a mound of very dark coarse sand freshly graded for the day. Not a soul in the water for him to watch and not likely to be. We then drove to the pickup point at Liberty Park. It’s a lovely spot with magnificent views of New York city skyline and the Statue of Liberty, she is a very imposing lady. Just as we drove over a bridge into Liberty Park, I pointed out a suspicious looking plastic wrapped and taped  ‘thing’ lying in undergrowth by the bridge. It was the exact outline of a body lying on its side with feet together. We were certain it was a body, so we decided to inform a trooper we saw parked by. He went to look but unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear the end of the story. Oh well, we thought, we were in New York.!!.

Near the end of Staten Island

The light sand is a berm that goes the full length of the island and is covered sandbags. It has been constructed after Sandy

The pylons are steel. Those are riveted plates you can see

Jersey City on the left, then Manhattan then Brooklyn

Barge crosses close

Turning the ship around

And this says it all