Back to Reviews By Title - T

The Frozen Coast: Sea Kayaking the Antarctic Peninsula, Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters with Sarah Moodie
Craig Potton Publishing
Reviewed by Lindsay Wright (Courtesy of Taranaki Daily News)

A couple of years ago I was clearing customs into Ushuaia. The Argentinian customs officer looked at the pile of New Zealand passports on his desk, shook his head and paddled his arms in emulation of someone under way in a kayak. "Senor," he grinned resignedly, "are you all loco too?"

At that stage the first three authors of this book were paddling their way through the wild Patagonian channels, a year after the epic Antarctic Peninsula trip that this book covers, climbing hitherto unscaled mountains in the worst kind of weather. Sarah Moodie is a freelance journalist brought on board to make the words flow.

And all in the name of Adventure Philosophy, the organisation they formed to promote the concept of adventure into the 21st Century.
"We believe the world is a better place for those who are prepared to confront the improbable and defy the odds," their mission statement says.

And they've paddled the talk. The Frozen Coast is an engagingly written account of an incredible achievement; paddling 850 kilometres from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Antarctic Circle at 66 degrees south.

It must have been awfully hard yakka – and my one complaint with the book is that the reader doesn't get any impression of just how hard. The pictures are awesome and the text well written ... but where's the frostbite? In the bum, I'd imagine – 16-hour paddling stints must have been pretty hard on the nether regions, but the hardy trio paddle on, writing lyrical about the stunning scenery.

Put this book on your coffee table – just flipping it open to any picture will instantly make you feel warmer. Loco? Maybe ... maybe not. You be the judge.

Further details are available on www.adventurephilosophy.co.nz