Up Date for End of January

The paddles from Lendal are finally in NZ customs waiting to be processed, Kayak skirts from Rasdex are being made and will be here along with our food supplies form Back country cuisine.

Dave flies into the country today, however I have two great mates getting married today and I am a Groomsmen, so I am unable to be there to pick up dave and all the equipment he is bringing. hopefully he will be able to stay with some friends of mine till the wedding events are all over.

Another tropical cyclone has just come through, the third in 20 days, next week will finally be action stations, with our Kayaks getting kited out, gear being packed , food being rationed, charts plotted, electronics checked.

unfortunately the Folding Trak Kayak is out, while paddling in the surf on the Great Barrier island a week ago, i did some damage to the boat, and it has become apparent that in this challenging coast line of NZ, i can not afford to gamble with the boats abillity to carry a full load, Deal with heavy surf breaks day after day, and stay in an operational state. the boat is amazing, though i have to made the hard decision that this adventure may be just out of its range, and there is too much at stake.

more adventures to be had with the Trak later however, and it is still a great option for use on short legs for guest paddlers who may want to join us.

New Sponsorship of Food!

Just confirmed today!

Brent Crossan of Back Country Cuisine has generously provided us with dehydrated meals for our entire trip! Big thanks.

We can’t wait too be eating well with the 22 different meal types (Beef and Pasta Hotpot, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Babotjie,Chicken Tikka Masala, Fish Pie to name a few), a bunch of desserts (Apricot Crumble, Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert, Three Fruits Cheesecake Dessert, Apple Pie) and breakfasts. We are Now able to load more food and travel light with the great tasting Freeze Dried Foods.

Back country Cuisine is great for all your outdoor adventures including mountain biking, hiking, hunting and fishing, yachting and adventure racing and expeditions.

 

everything is coming together for our departure next week!!

 

Pure Productions

Been talking and doing some planning, with Jamie Mackenzie of pure productions, about how we are going to film the adventure, the angle of our story, and the way we hope to share it.

things are looking good for the documentary, and we plan to have video updates posted to the blog, so everyone can get a good visual insight into the journey.

It will be challenging, fun, amazing, scary, tiring and invigorating.

Jamie Mackenzie and I used to work together leading and instructing school groups back in the day.
Jamie had a background in film, and i was privileged to be around when he decided to embrace his dream of running a production company and started Pure. I worked a little for him as a sound man and actor for some of his contracts, as he spent the nights editing in his living room. I now find him in a large production building, with multiple employees, awards and a business partner. Pure is the real deal now!

Thanks for all the Help with this project Jamie it is great to have you and Pure productions on board.

Kayak Down Under Documentary Donate and Create

Help us Create an awesome short film about our adventure. we are looking for funding.

WE HAVE RAISED $2600.00 SO FAR. THANKS HEAPS!

Golden sands, warm breaking beach surf, starry skies, friendly people, fresh fish for dinner, Sunburns, swimming in paradise, Storms, Gale force winds, Rain, being stuck in a tent for days, Penguins, Dolphins, Seals, kayaking over water like quicksilver, Sea caves, a soapy hot shower after 30 days of hard salty work, good food and new friends, Broken gear, empty deserted beaches, jungle, pain, fun, anger and laughs. This will be a kayaking Trip along the east coast of New Zealand.

I Jaime Sharp (pro adventure guide, and traveler) have organised an expedition, with my good friend Dave Briggs, to paddle, 3 months down the east coast of New Zealand by sea kayak starting Feb 1st 2011.

Kayak Downunder NZ Fundraising video from Wandering Wolf Productions on Vimeo.

TRIP OUTLINE
Feb 1st to April 31st 2011 or about 90 days
The trip along the east coast of NZ, North to South is roughly 1474.8 Nautical Miles total.
We are recording the journey and hope to make a 60 min documentary on the adventure, spotlighting Sea Kayaking in history in New Zealand and the people we meet along the way.
Dave and I have invested a lot of money into committing to and out fitting the expedition, and we need money to get the rest of the quality camera gear we need to capture our adventure, and also to edit the final product professionally. Thus through kick starter we are hoping to raise at least $5000 US to fund the HD video equipment, Audio gear and post production we need to give the documentary the professional appeal it deserves.
Post production will be done with help of Pure production New Zealand (http://www.pureproductions.co.nz), with major input from Dave and I.
The final product will be available for sale and will hopefully be entered into adventure film festivals.
Thank you for your belief and support in our project.


help us out with



Recieve a big hearty thanks for your support. we will send you a personal thank you email with a picture of the crew and keep you updated on production developments and also offer you a great funders purchase price on the final product.

as well as the above we will send you a copy of the DVD final cut before we release it to the rest of the the awaiting world. This will not be a Nicely boxed DVD, but a fully functional pre release signed copy. you will also get a small signed limited edition thank you picture from the trip.

you get the $15 rewards and your name in the credtis at the end of the documentary as a key supporter.

You get as for the $40, but the DVD will be the extended editors cut version.

Name in Credits, extended DVD and a Limited edition photo blow up from the trip. signed with thanks from Dave and Jaime

all the rewards of the $400 slot, but you get named as an assitant producer at the end of documentary.
ONLY TWO AVAILIBLE, Email to check its still there we will remove option as soon as they are taken

Named as Executive producer plus all the perks of the $400 dollar slot
THIS HAS BEEN TAKEN!!

Or donate your preffered amount and we will award you with the reward slot you exceed.

Trip Postponed

Unfortunatley due to a number of issues arrising in the last few weeks we are having to postpone the trip till Feb 1st 2011. This will add new challenges to the trip as it greatly reduces our time frame to complete the journey.

This has occurred due to a number of reasons
1. our camera equipment has not turned up in full.
2. we are having trouble with our paddles getting into the country
3. I am having Family issues ( ah gotta love coming back to the homeland at Christmas).
4. Dave will be here then and we can both start the trip together.
5. we still need to find applicable safety gear, like Epirbs, Helmets, sat phone and money is running short.


We may unfortunatley have to cut certain parts of coast line out in order to complete the task of getting to Stewart Island.  No set ideas as yet, we need to see how things go, once we finally get on the water.


Sorry for the disapointment, but better to start of right than fumble along half assed!!

Gopro Head Cams on line for the trip

We have been given a great deal on a couple of Gopro Head cams for the trip, and also any that sell directly through our site gives us funds towards our project, please click the link below if you are interested in buying a Gopro.

These cameras are awesome, they shoot wonderful wide angel 5 MP stills, and full had video, as well as a number of other recoreding options. see below for a short kayak film I shot with the Gopro's and some photos also taken with them.

Simple to use, rugged construction and great service  makes these an awesome investment for adventurers looking to record there journeys. I also hear they work well in Medical applications as well.





Trak Surf Video from Wandering Wolf Productions on Vimeo.