The
Trip
Kayak4earth
is
about
a
long
trip
by
special
kayak
from
Brisbane
to
Adelaide
via
the
inland
river
system.
The
trip
will
be
a
journey,
an
odyssey,
a
quest.
It
is
a
long
way
from
Brisbane
to
Adelaide.
Some
say
7,000km.
The
water
bodies
include
the
Brisbane,
Bremmer,
Condamine,
Darling,
Murray
and
Torrens
Rivers,
Lake
Alexandrina,
Encounter
Bay
and
Gulf
St
Vincent.
The
uphill
slog
includes
the
Toowoomba
Range.
Will
there
be
enough
water?
Who
knows.
Certainly
there
is
none
between
Ipswich
and
Dalby.
So,
the
kayak
has
wheels
and
a
pulling
harness.
Water
or
not,
the
kayak
can
make
it.
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The
Aim
The
trip is about global warming and water. Some of the aims are to:
# Provide a mechanism to highlight global warming, specifically, the effect on our water availability
# Increase awareness of the cause and effect - the relationship between burning fossil fuels and the resulting changes in climate that can be expected
# Provide education forums about global warming and water at some major towns along the way
# Collect information from water monitoring and from people who live on the Darling system. This is to collated after the trip
# Increase awareness in our cities on what lies along our major river system
# And importantly, Steve hopes to finish a journey that probably has never been undertaken before
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The
Man
Steve
Posselt
is
a
54
year
old
civil
engineer
who
has
spent
all
his
working
life
in
the
water
industry.
Much
of
this
time
has
been
devoted
to
the
Australian
Water
Association
whose
mission
statement
is
to
promote
the
sustainable
use
of
water.
He
has
commuted
to
work
in
his
wheeled
kayak
for
a
number
of
years.
While
doing
this
he
dreamed
of
this
trip.
So
in
2005,
he
sold
his
water
equipment
business
that
was
developed
from
scratch,
and
started
planning. (Little did he know at the time how much work this would take and how many people would devote their time and energy to assist)
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The
Realisation
By
the
end
of
2005
Steve
realised
that
global
warming
and
climate
change
were
no
longer
environmental
issues
for
the
future.
Action
must
be
prompt,
concerted
and
immediate.
So,
during
2006
he
set
about
learning
as
much
as
he
could
and
working
towards
educating
others.
He
holds
the
view
that
there
is
little
sense
in
trying
to
cope
with
the
costs
of
mitigating
the
effects
of
climate
change
while
at
the
same
time
selling
fossil
fuels
to
people
who
burn
them
and
create
more
problems
that
we
must
deal
with.
The
trip
therefore
had
to
have
these
issues
as
part
of
its
focus.
Steve
wants
people
to
think
about
the
issues,
link
cause
with
effect
and
play
their
part
in
solving
the
problem.
Changes
in
the
way
we
think
and
the
adoption
of
renewable
energies
can
lead
to
an
exciting
future.
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The
Accident
On
1
st
July
2006
whilst
on
an
earlier
odyssey,
Steve
cartwheeled
his
BMW
motorbike
in
soft
sand
of
the
Plenty
Highway
near
Alice
Springs.
With
eight
broken
ribs,
flailed
chest
segment,
damaged
lung,
badly
broken
scapula,
broken
clavicle
and
some
problems
relating
to
the
head
trauma,
it
looked
like
the
trip
was
to
be
cancelled
or
at
least
postponed.
But,
he
says
he
has
been
lucky:
lucky
to
be
alive
due
to
his
friends,
helpers
and
the
air
ambulance,
and
lucky
with
his
recuperation.
After
five
months
he
was
back
in
his
kayak
and
starting
to
rebuild
his
strength.
Planning
continued
and
excitement
grew.
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