 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Interview Graham Charles
words: Dunbar Hardy
photos: Marcus Waters, Mark Jones, Graham Charles
New Zealander Graham Charles is a well-rounded paddler with successful sea kayaking expeditions all over the world and numerous first descents of whitewater rivers all around his home turf. He captures his passion for paddling and adventure through his camera and pen, and is awell-published photographer and author of numerous books of his endeavors. His extensive whitewater background recently served himwellwith his successful first sea kayak circumnavigation of the hostile South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Wherever Graham has ventured to paddle and travel, he has returned with great stories and inspiring photography that capture all the hardships and beauty along the way.
Having just successfully completed the first circumnavigation of South Georgia Island in the remote and hostile South Atlantic Ocean, we caught up with kayaker Graham Charles to find out how the expedition went and to learn more about his style of expedition sea kayaking. Not only did we enjoy hearing his gruesome paddling tales, but we also gained an appreciation for this well-rounded paddler, photographer, and author. New Zealand-born, Graham began his paddling career in whitewater kayaks back in 1981, and went on to train and race internationally for the New Zealand National Team. His comfort in the most challenging rapids in a whitewater kayak has transferred easily into an intense focus on sea kayak trips in hostile ocean environments. His list of recent missions includes successful sea kayak expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Greenland and Baffin Island. Solid technical skills, an extensive background in wilderness leadership and instruction, and a good old Kiwi attitude of "she'll be right!" have meant that Graham seldom turns away from any unfavorable conditions for an extended paddling expedition. Not just a paddler, Graham also shares his trips through his photography and writing, and he is the author of numerous books of his paddling exploits. Graham wrote the one and only guidebook to all of New Zealand’s whitewater rivers (now going into its 4th edition) and has also produced the Frozen Coast about his Antarctic Peninsula expedition. Feeling glad to be warm and comfortable, we settled in and talked with Graham about being cold and wet, and what drives him to be an expedition sea kayaker tackling some of the world’s least explored waters.
PW - Congratulations on the South Georgia Island Expedition. Can you tell us
what this trip was all about?
GC - South Georgia Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles due east of the Falkland Islands and just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The team consisted of Marcus Waters, Mark Jones, and myself. We paddled for 600 kilometers over 19 days. It was an expedition circumnavigating a small island that is second to none on the globe for the amount of wildlife present. It was also great that no one had done it, and that again many people said it was impossible. The weather was the biggest challenge and threat of death winds hung over our heads most days. The weather was absolute crap and bloody cold for 15 of the days, and good for only the last four. It was a great mission though.
PW - What is the history of other paddling expeditions to South Georgia Island?
GC – There have been two other attempts. The first was a team of British army guys who went clockwise and got nailed trying to get around Cape Disappointment. They ended up running out of food and eating penguins and seals to survive – not a good look! The other attempt was by a mixed Australian/US team that went counter clockwise and got around as far as King Haakon Bay. One of the paddlers got tumbled in a wave and they decided to bail. They dragged their kayaks for 6 kilometers across Shackleton Gap back to Possession Bay and headed back the way they had come. So the Southwest Coast of South Georgia has this formidable reputation that stood as the greatest challenge.
PW - How long did it take to plan this mission? Where did inspiration for this expedition come from?
GC – Our South Georgia Island mission, known as the Unclaimed Coast Expedition, was two years in the planning, ever since our expedition to Tierra del Fuego, Chile in 2003. We’d talked about it while in Tierra del Fuego and it got the wheels in motion. The inspiration was in place because I’d been to South Georgia and was in love with the place and also because it hadn’t been done.
PW - How cold was it really?
GC – We were totally coated in ice all day long while paddling, except for our arms because they were constantly moving. The ice didn’t melt off the decks of the kayaks for 6 days in a very cold snap. It was very ugly to be honest.
PW - You have also spent a lot of time paddling up in Greenland.
GC – Yes. I’ve spent over 4 1/2 months total time up there. I have been working in Greenland and the Baffin Island region guiding sea kayakers. It is a lot of fun being in the middle of the pack ice and being in the water with walrus and polar bears (one this season popped up about 30 feet away!). Yes it is often cold, but often it is really nice as well.
PW – You have also taught Survival Training in Antarctica. Sounds brutal. What is that all about?
GC - Every scientist who arrives at Scott Base or McMurdo Station has to go through a four-day survival program. They have to learn how to pitch tents in gale winds, how to live in 100 mph winds, camp in it for weeks and stay healthy and clean, how to light stoves, how to build igloos and snow shelters, and how to travel on sea ice.
PW – All this sounds so extreme and hardcore. Sum up the challenges of paddling/traveling/living in these colder environments such as Greenland, South Georgia, and Antarctica.
GC - It’s cold - ha! Most things are just harder to do. Your hands are freezing and all the risks are higher. So you have to be very well organized or good at improvising, which as a Kiwi is what we are known to do the best. I just like paddling in cold challenging weather. I honestly just get bored in the sunshine, ha!
PW – What it that appeals to you about these self-support sea kayak expeditions?
GC - I like doing these trips that people say are impossible because they clearly are not impossible. It is just that no one has really taken a high-end whitewater/long distance paddler and stuck them in a sea kayak in such hostile environments. So I have a head start into it, which makes it easy to find trips. Also, it really is the only way to cover huge distances in really remote regions while being self-powered (no boats, no helicopters).
PW - What are some mental aspects/challenges for you personally in expedition sea kayaking?
GC - I’m very goal-driven and very passionate about tasks. When I set my sights onto something, it will consume my every waking hour. I also love going to places where people haven’t been and I enjoy the solitude. I relish the requirement for resourcefulness and improvisation that these explorations demand. No textbook or rules will help, as you have to be constantly problem solving. It’s kind of the cerebral challenge now that I’m into.
PW – You are coated in ice, the kayak is constantly crashing through waves, and you are battling a long head wind, what keeps you going?
GC – I admit staying sane is a challenge at times. It is very important to keep the end in sight with all of these trips. There is the need to keep the goal very clear, otherwise it can all just not seem worth it when you are wet, cold and miserable. I do still wonder why I didn’t just stay home, ha!
PW – Talking about harsher environments as well as ‘on your toes’ thinking and resourcefulness, what does it mean to you to accomplish a first descent or circumnavigation for instance?
GC – Keeping on your toes is required these days and that’s why the unknown is so important. It makes a HUGE difference once a problem is solved by others and proved to be possible. It still makes it technically the same, but the level and feeling of commitment are radically reduced. For example its like someone running an unknown rapid or waterfall, once the first person goes there is a lot of information for those following so it isn’t quite the same. Even just ‘knowing’ it is possible makes a big difference over ‘thinking it might be possible’.
PW – In the midst of all of your wanderings and projects you are also involved in a company. Tell us what it is all about?
GC – I created a company, Adventure Philosophy, with my mates Marcus Waters and Mark Jones. We wish to inspire others in all walks of life to seek their own adventures, pursue their dreams, be creative, and value the world around them. We share this philosophy through our core values of inspirational role modeling, personal adventure, professionalism, integrity, and high quality sharing via all forms of media. Adventure Philosophy believes in an adventurous spirit - the determination to pursue a dream or vision, the tenacity to overcome barriers, a willingness to take calculated risks, and a respect and affinity for the earth. Ultimately, we believe that an adventurous spirit lies in the heart of people, and that is what makes up a healthy society.
PW – How did you guys all come together?
GC - I went to high school with Marcus and have explored and adventured with him since we were 13. Mark, Marcus and I all worked together at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center on the North Island for many years and had lots of cool adventures and shared the same spirit. Adventure Philosophy was in my head prior to our Antarctica trip in 2001, but that expedition became the launching platform. We did it to create an entity and icon in NZ that stood for many of the values that NZ prides itself on but is losing to the McDonaldization of the world.
PW – Can you say a little bit more about your paddling background?
GC – I started in a whitewater kayak in 1981. Formal paddling instruction was just starting back then and I first had it from British expedition paddler/instructor Mick Hopkinson. It was like being in a boot camp, lots of drills and going fast. I loved that and that is why I first loved slalom racing and training. I also fell in with Kiwi paddler Donald Johnstone who is the 10-time New Zealand National Slalom Champion. I paddled whitewater slalom full time from 1985 – 1991 with lots of hard paddling in between. During those years I spent a lot of time in Nottingham hanging with the British team. I raced internationally in Trewyran, Nottingham, Bourg St Maurice, Augsburg, Val de Sol, Merrano, Inn, Llubjana, Croatia. I raced in the Pre World’s in 1988, the World’s on the Savage River, Maryland in 1989, and Pre World’s in 1990 in Croatia. After all that slalom I took up multi-sport racing (flatwater kayaking) beginning in 1992 and marathon kayak racing as well. I honestly never really sat in a sea kayak until 2000.
PW – After having so much experience and passion for whitewater paddling, how did you first get into sea kayaking?
GC – I started writing and photographing a coffee table style book on the best places in NZ to go sea kayaking. I thoroughly enjoyed being out there and certainly enjoyed exploring Fiordland way down on the south end of the South Island. It is always beautiful, especially in the heart of winter. It is very remote, with very few people. I love being able to go into an area and not see anyone. My favorite time there is mid winter, as we get these steady high-pressure systems that give calm and cold weather. It’s all yours to go anywhere you want. It was rough and tumble for sure with weather on my initial trip there, but my whitewater skills made it easy.
PW – Describe the transition of skills for you from an extensive whitewater paddling background into becoming an expedition sea kayaker.
GC - I just find the transition into sea kayaking easy and am not as intimidated by huge long distances or bad weather as most sea kayakers. I can roll and it always amazes me that sea kayakers consider this a guru thing to do with a fully loaded kayak. With all the training people do on how to do a zillion different rescues, they could go on a course and learn to roll and solve most of their problems. This is an adventure ethic, not necessarily a sea kayaking per se ethic. I’m a bit of a phony really. I’m not a good sea kayaker and don’t really follow tides or wind charts. I just get in the boat and go regardless. I also am always carrying lots of heavy stuff (camera’s, video gear, sound gear, wine etc). I’ve never sawed the end off my toothbrush!! I tend to use a sea kayak as a way to get somewhere rather than the activity itself. I get a bit bored if there isn’t something very cool to see or if weather isn’t keeping me on my toes.
PW - Do you feel that a sea kayak does indeed offer you the means to ‘get somewhere’? Is it a good means of transportation into some wild places out there?
GC – Yes, absolutely. Sure I could go to some places in a boat or helicopter, but that seems the antithesis to what I want to experience and achieve. I don’t want other people around. I love nothing more than knowing that I am miles and miles from any form of help and all decision-making and accountability is mine and mine alone.
PW – You have a very extensive amount of outdoor instruction background, which, perhaps, has also led to your success on some of your expeditions. Can you describe in more detail your outdoor education experience?
GC – I worked in outdoor education from 1983 – 1997 as my sole source of income. One of my final positions was the Chief Instructor at the Outdoor Pursuits Center in charge of 27 instructors. We focused on experiential development and leadership development through the outdoors and ran a range of school programs for 14 – 17 year olds. I used to run all the skills courses – mountaineering, rock climbing, and kayaking – as well as teach rescue courses. Lately I have also worked in Antarctica doing survival training, safety stuff for film crews, and have run a ski patrol and avalanche safety program. So I’ve been out of doors a lot, and tried to share these skills with others.
PW – You are also quite the photographer. How did you begin?
GC – I have always been an enthusiast and tried to get an internship with a newspaper when I left school, but failed. Undeterred, I kept shooting photos. I wrote and photographed the 1st edition of the NZ Whitewater guidebook in 1997, and afterwards I got lots of strong feedback that material was great. I decided to give photography more of a shot, as no one was carrying heavy top quality gear into these river trips at the time. Now lots of people are into it and very good, hence this magazine! I love photography with a passion and will never stop learning about its subtleties.
PW - What do you try to capture with your photos? What is your motivation as a photographer?
GC – I’m trying to capture the essence of human involvement in activities. I like to create the idea that viewers are on the inside and looking out, like they are there on the trip or seeing it through our eyes. I’m keen to make it to a level of subtlety with landscapes that gets acknowledged as well. I love getting different angles and weird shots that make people say, "oh, that’s different." Since I’m fit and relatively healthy, I can get into some weird places, climb cliffs, lie in the mud, get cold, and generally beat myself up trying to get these types of pictures.
PW – You are also the author of several books. Can you outline some of your writing background?
GC – I first wrote The NZ Whitewater Guidebook in 1997, and am currently working on the 4th edition. I’ve also published The Frozen Coast about our expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula. Honestly though, I prefer to photograph. I enjoy writing but my natural style is conversational/travel-logue/humor type stuff, which is why guidebooks work well for me. Other styles take a lot of time and effort, so I prefer to have other people write the articles.
PW – What writing/photo projects do you have coming up?
GC – I have two other books in the works. One is an anthology of classic Kiwi outdoor epic tales. I will also produce a South Georgia Island book. We’ll have to find a publisher somewhere. It is a great story and a great milestone in Antarctica’s history and the history of expedition paddling. I also have lots of magazine work around the country and overseas.
PW - What are some dream trips you would like to take?
GC – I want a long journey that involves some other culture. I’d like to do some photojournalism in Asia, climb some unclimbed peaks in China. I’d also like to drag a sled to the South Pole and climb some big walls up in Greenland and Baffin Island that can only be accessed by sea kayaks. No one is really doing that; they all fly or get fishing boats. That’s cheating, ha! Seems like a cool thing to do and a unique multi-element type of expedition. Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica are also ripe for future self-support expedition style trips, but they are tough climates.
PW – It seems like water really is a major focus of your life. What about it captures you?
GC - I love the environment and the flow of water. I love the need to constantly change with the water - the ebb and flow. I love the power of the water environment, both whitewater and the ocean, as both are very awesome. And I love the people that are drawn to it. They seem a lot more similar than in many other activities. Like beginner climbers and experts don’t mix because they are in completely different areas – but a play session may see complete novices and worldrenowned experts hanging out in the same eddy. This is great. I am so glad to be a paddler.
Thanks for your time. We wish you well out there Graham. For more information on the South Georgia Island Expedition, go to www.adventurephilosophy.com and for information on Graham’s photography/writing, go to www.imagematters.co.nz.
words: Dunbar Hardy
photos: Marcus Waters, Mark Jones, Graham Charles
Having just successfully completed the first circumnavigation of South Georgia Island in the remote and hostile South Atlantic Ocean, we caught up with kayaker Graham Charles to find out how the expedition went and to learn more about his style of expedition sea kayaking. Not only did we enjoy hearing his gruesome paddling tales, but we also gained an appreciation for this well-rounded paddler, photographer, and author. New Zealand-born, Graham began his paddling career in whitewater kayaks back in 1981, and went on to train and race internationally for the New Zealand National Team. His comfort in the most challenging rapids in a whitewater kayak has transferred easily into an intense focus on sea kayak trips in hostile ocean environments. His list of recent missions includes successful sea kayak expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Greenland and Baffin Island. Solid technical skills, an extensive background in wilderness leadership and instruction, and a good old Kiwi attitude of "she'll be right!" have meant that Graham seldom turns away from any unfavorable conditions for an extended paddling expedition. Not just a paddler, Graham also shares his trips through his photography and writing, and he is the author of numerous books of his paddling exploits. Graham wrote the one and only guidebook to all of New Zealand’s whitewater rivers (now going into its 4th edition) and has also produced the Frozen Coast about his Antarctic Peninsula expedition. Feeling glad to be warm and comfortable, we settled in and talked with Graham about being cold and wet, and what drives him to be an expedition sea kayaker tackling some of the world’s least explored waters.
GC - South Georgia Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles due east of the Falkland Islands and just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The team consisted of Marcus Waters, Mark Jones, and myself. We paddled for 600 kilometers over 19 days. It was an expedition circumnavigating a small island that is second to none on the globe for the amount of wildlife present. It was also great that no one had done it, and that again many people said it was impossible. The weather was the biggest challenge and threat of death winds hung over our heads most days. The weather was absolute crap and bloody cold for 15 of the days, and good for only the last four. It was a great mission though.
PW - What is the history of other paddling expeditions to South Georgia Island?
GC – There have been two other attempts. The first was a team of British army guys who went clockwise and got nailed trying to get around Cape Disappointment. They ended up running out of food and eating penguins and seals to survive – not a good look! The other attempt was by a mixed Australian/US team that went counter clockwise and got around as far as King Haakon Bay. One of the paddlers got tumbled in a wave and they decided to bail. They dragged their kayaks for 6 kilometers across Shackleton Gap back to Possession Bay and headed back the way they had come. So the Southwest Coast of South Georgia has this formidable reputation that stood as the greatest challenge.
PW - How long did it take to plan this mission? Where did inspiration for this expedition come from?
GC – Our South Georgia Island mission, known as the Unclaimed Coast Expedition, was two years in the planning, ever since our expedition to Tierra del Fuego, Chile in 2003. We’d talked about it while in Tierra del Fuego and it got the wheels in motion. The inspiration was in place because I’d been to South Georgia and was in love with the place and also because it hadn’t been done.
GC – We were totally coated in ice all day long while paddling, except for our arms because they were constantly moving. The ice didn’t melt off the decks of the kayaks for 6 days in a very cold snap. It was very ugly to be honest.
PW - You have also spent a lot of time paddling up in Greenland.
GC – Yes. I’ve spent over 4 1/2 months total time up there. I have been working in Greenland and the Baffin Island region guiding sea kayakers. It is a lot of fun being in the middle of the pack ice and being in the water with walrus and polar bears (one this season popped up about 30 feet away!). Yes it is often cold, but often it is really nice as well.
PW – You have also taught Survival Training in Antarctica. Sounds brutal. What is that all about?
GC - Every scientist who arrives at Scott Base or McMurdo Station has to go through a four-day survival program. They have to learn how to pitch tents in gale winds, how to live in 100 mph winds, camp in it for weeks and stay healthy and clean, how to light stoves, how to build igloos and snow shelters, and how to travel on sea ice.
PW – All this sounds so extreme and hardcore. Sum up the challenges of paddling/traveling/living in these colder environments such as Greenland, South Georgia, and Antarctica.
GC - It’s cold - ha! Most things are just harder to do. Your hands are freezing and all the risks are higher. So you have to be very well organized or good at improvising, which as a Kiwi is what we are known to do the best. I just like paddling in cold challenging weather. I honestly just get bored in the sunshine, ha!
PW – What it that appeals to you about these self-support sea kayak expeditions?
GC - I like doing these trips that people say are impossible because they clearly are not impossible. It is just that no one has really taken a high-end whitewater/long distance paddler and stuck them in a sea kayak in such hostile environments. So I have a head start into it, which makes it easy to find trips. Also, it really is the only way to cover huge distances in really remote regions while being self-powered (no boats, no helicopters).
PW - What are some mental aspects/challenges for you personally in expedition sea kayaking?
GC - I’m very goal-driven and very passionate about tasks. When I set my sights onto something, it will consume my every waking hour. I also love going to places where people haven’t been and I enjoy the solitude. I relish the requirement for resourcefulness and improvisation that these explorations demand. No textbook or rules will help, as you have to be constantly problem solving. It’s kind of the cerebral challenge now that I’m into.
PW – You are coated in ice, the kayak is constantly crashing through waves, and you are battling a long head wind, what keeps you going?
GC – I admit staying sane is a challenge at times. It is very important to keep the end in sight with all of these trips. There is the need to keep the goal very clear, otherwise it can all just not seem worth it when you are wet, cold and miserable. I do still wonder why I didn’t just stay home, ha!
PW – Talking about harsher environments as well as ‘on your toes’ thinking and resourcefulness, what does it mean to you to accomplish a first descent or circumnavigation for instance?
GC – Keeping on your toes is required these days and that’s why the unknown is so important. It makes a HUGE difference once a problem is solved by others and proved to be possible. It still makes it technically the same, but the level and feeling of commitment are radically reduced. For example its like someone running an unknown rapid or waterfall, once the first person goes there is a lot of information for those following so it isn’t quite the same. Even just ‘knowing’ it is possible makes a big difference over ‘thinking it might be possible’.
PW – In the midst of all of your wanderings and projects you are also involved in a company. Tell us what it is all about?
GC – I created a company, Adventure Philosophy, with my mates Marcus Waters and Mark Jones. We wish to inspire others in all walks of life to seek their own adventures, pursue their dreams, be creative, and value the world around them. We share this philosophy through our core values of inspirational role modeling, personal adventure, professionalism, integrity, and high quality sharing via all forms of media. Adventure Philosophy believes in an adventurous spirit - the determination to pursue a dream or vision, the tenacity to overcome barriers, a willingness to take calculated risks, and a respect and affinity for the earth. Ultimately, we believe that an adventurous spirit lies in the heart of people, and that is what makes up a healthy society.
PW – How did you guys all come together?
GC - I went to high school with Marcus and have explored and adventured with him since we were 13. Mark, Marcus and I all worked together at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center on the North Island for many years and had lots of cool adventures and shared the same spirit. Adventure Philosophy was in my head prior to our Antarctica trip in 2001, but that expedition became the launching platform. We did it to create an entity and icon in NZ that stood for many of the values that NZ prides itself on but is losing to the McDonaldization of the world.
PW – Can you say a little bit more about your paddling background?
GC – I started in a whitewater kayak in 1981. Formal paddling instruction was just starting back then and I first had it from British expedition paddler/instructor Mick Hopkinson. It was like being in a boot camp, lots of drills and going fast. I loved that and that is why I first loved slalom racing and training. I also fell in with Kiwi paddler Donald Johnstone who is the 10-time New Zealand National Slalom Champion. I paddled whitewater slalom full time from 1985 – 1991 with lots of hard paddling in between. During those years I spent a lot of time in Nottingham hanging with the British team. I raced internationally in Trewyran, Nottingham, Bourg St Maurice, Augsburg, Val de Sol, Merrano, Inn, Llubjana, Croatia. I raced in the Pre World’s in 1988, the World’s on the Savage River, Maryland in 1989, and Pre World’s in 1990 in Croatia. After all that slalom I took up multi-sport racing (flatwater kayaking) beginning in 1992 and marathon kayak racing as well. I honestly never really sat in a sea kayak until 2000.
PW – After having so much experience and passion for whitewater paddling, how did you first get into sea kayaking?
GC – I started writing and photographing a coffee table style book on the best places in NZ to go sea kayaking. I thoroughly enjoyed being out there and certainly enjoyed exploring Fiordland way down on the south end of the South Island. It is always beautiful, especially in the heart of winter. It is very remote, with very few people. I love being able to go into an area and not see anyone. My favorite time there is mid winter, as we get these steady high-pressure systems that give calm and cold weather. It’s all yours to go anywhere you want. It was rough and tumble for sure with weather on my initial trip there, but my whitewater skills made it easy.
PW – Describe the transition of skills for you from an extensive whitewater paddling background into becoming an expedition sea kayaker.
GC - I just find the transition into sea kayaking easy and am not as intimidated by huge long distances or bad weather as most sea kayakers. I can roll and it always amazes me that sea kayakers consider this a guru thing to do with a fully loaded kayak. With all the training people do on how to do a zillion different rescues, they could go on a course and learn to roll and solve most of their problems. This is an adventure ethic, not necessarily a sea kayaking per se ethic. I’m a bit of a phony really. I’m not a good sea kayaker and don’t really follow tides or wind charts. I just get in the boat and go regardless. I also am always carrying lots of heavy stuff (camera’s, video gear, sound gear, wine etc). I’ve never sawed the end off my toothbrush!! I tend to use a sea kayak as a way to get somewhere rather than the activity itself. I get a bit bored if there isn’t something very cool to see or if weather isn’t keeping me on my toes.
PW - Do you feel that a sea kayak does indeed offer you the means to ‘get somewhere’? Is it a good means of transportation into some wild places out there?
GC – Yes, absolutely. Sure I could go to some places in a boat or helicopter, but that seems the antithesis to what I want to experience and achieve. I don’t want other people around. I love nothing more than knowing that I am miles and miles from any form of help and all decision-making and accountability is mine and mine alone.
PW – You have a very extensive amount of outdoor instruction background, which, perhaps, has also led to your success on some of your expeditions. Can you describe in more detail your outdoor education experience?
GC – I worked in outdoor education from 1983 – 1997 as my sole source of income. One of my final positions was the Chief Instructor at the Outdoor Pursuits Center in charge of 27 instructors. We focused on experiential development and leadership development through the outdoors and ran a range of school programs for 14 – 17 year olds. I used to run all the skills courses – mountaineering, rock climbing, and kayaking – as well as teach rescue courses. Lately I have also worked in Antarctica doing survival training, safety stuff for film crews, and have run a ski patrol and avalanche safety program. So I’ve been out of doors a lot, and tried to share these skills with others.
PW – You are also quite the photographer. How did you begin?
GC – I have always been an enthusiast and tried to get an internship with a newspaper when I left school, but failed. Undeterred, I kept shooting photos. I wrote and photographed the 1st edition of the NZ Whitewater guidebook in 1997, and afterwards I got lots of strong feedback that material was great. I decided to give photography more of a shot, as no one was carrying heavy top quality gear into these river trips at the time. Now lots of people are into it and very good, hence this magazine! I love photography with a passion and will never stop learning about its subtleties.
PW - What do you try to capture with your photos? What is your motivation as a photographer?
GC – I’m trying to capture the essence of human involvement in activities. I like to create the idea that viewers are on the inside and looking out, like they are there on the trip or seeing it through our eyes. I’m keen to make it to a level of subtlety with landscapes that gets acknowledged as well. I love getting different angles and weird shots that make people say, "oh, that’s different." Since I’m fit and relatively healthy, I can get into some weird places, climb cliffs, lie in the mud, get cold, and generally beat myself up trying to get these types of pictures.
PW – You are also the author of several books. Can you outline some of your writing background?
GC – I first wrote The NZ Whitewater Guidebook in 1997, and am currently working on the 4th edition. I’ve also published The Frozen Coast about our expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula. Honestly though, I prefer to photograph. I enjoy writing but my natural style is conversational/travel-logue/humor type stuff, which is why guidebooks work well for me. Other styles take a lot of time and effort, so I prefer to have other people write the articles.
PW – What writing/photo projects do you have coming up?
GC – I have two other books in the works. One is an anthology of classic Kiwi outdoor epic tales. I will also produce a South Georgia Island book. We’ll have to find a publisher somewhere. It is a great story and a great milestone in Antarctica’s history and the history of expedition paddling. I also have lots of magazine work around the country and overseas.
PW - What are some dream trips you would like to take?
GC – I want a long journey that involves some other culture. I’d like to do some photojournalism in Asia, climb some unclimbed peaks in China. I’d also like to drag a sled to the South Pole and climb some big walls up in Greenland and Baffin Island that can only be accessed by sea kayaks. No one is really doing that; they all fly or get fishing boats. That’s cheating, ha! Seems like a cool thing to do and a unique multi-element type of expedition. Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica are also ripe for future self-support expedition style trips, but they are tough climates.
PW – It seems like water really is a major focus of your life. What about it captures you?
GC - I love the environment and the flow of water. I love the need to constantly change with the water - the ebb and flow. I love the power of the water environment, both whitewater and the ocean, as both are very awesome. And I love the people that are drawn to it. They seem a lot more similar than in many other activities. Like beginner climbers and experts don’t mix because they are in completely different areas – but a play session may see complete novices and worldrenowned experts hanging out in the same eddy. This is great. I am so glad to be a paddler.
Thanks for your time. We wish you well out there Graham. For more information on the South Georgia Island Expedition, go to www.adventurephilosophy.com and for information on Graham’s photography/writing, go to www.imagematters.co.nz.
 |  |  |  |
