Wow, so you liked the sound of Flinders Island then! Our trips sold out in record time and we're really looking forward to three awesome trips on this magnificent island. Stay tuned for dates for 2018, hopefully out mid-year.

This month we've put together some tips on what makes a good paddling day and a background on Deny King, legendary bushman of Southwest Tassie. Deny's grandson, Tony Fenton, has also recently published a book on the history of Port Davey with stories from explorers, whalers, track-cutters and Aboriginal history. Called Fleeting Hopes you can get a copy here.

Reg and Tory were excited to go paddling with Mike Tomalaris, from SBS sports and cycling commentary fame recently. Reg, being an avid Tour de France follower (he once made Jen cycle with him over many of the Tour mountain climbs), had a fabulous day paddling and talking cycling with Mike.

With Autumn around the corner, traditionally our most settled weather here in Tassie, we are looking forward to a busy couple of months paddling in Southwest Tassie, Flinders Island and around Hobart. Hope you are looking forward to some great paddling too!

See you on the water
Reg and Jen

King of the Southwest Wilderness

Deny King was an extraordinary man by any measure and his home was Tasmania's remote Southwest. In 1936 he worked his father's tin mine at Melaleuca and for the next 55 years this miner, artist, naturalist and family man played a significant role in the proclamation of the Southwest National Park, now the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Read more about his fascinating life here.

What makes a good paddling day?

The adage about planning and preparation certainly applies to kayaking and can make all the difference to your day on the water. Reg has compiled some handy tips on what to check and look out for before you launch, including our favourite weather sites.

Five questions with…

Katherine Cooper, award-winning wildlife artist and initiator of the Vanishing Point art/science collaboration on ocean plastics (and avid kayaker). You can find her work here.

1. What draws you to the sea?
I’ve lived on islands all my life. Island lifestyle has taught me many things - respect for our oceans, a deep concern for ocean health, and a passion for the creatures that share those amazing places.

2. Do you have any favourite locations?
Stokes and Whistler Point on King Island, Eshaness and Hermaness National Nature Reserve on the Shetland Isles, Tassie’s Wild West Coast. These wild places possess an ancient rugged beauty.

3. What do you hope to share with your paintings?
We’re very busy people these days – more so than ever before – and there’s a frenetic urgency that seems to accompany that. Paintings are my attempt to draw people’s attention to the beauty that surrounds us, not to take it for granted, to stop, breath and appreciate our incredible but increasingly fragile, natural world.

4. What was Vanishing Point about?
Vanishing Point is an arts/science collaboration to raise awareness about the issues surrounding plastics pollution in the ocean. The works focus on the perceived inherent beauty and value of colourful plastic and its intrinsic appeal to both humans and wildlife alike. It is an enormous environmental issue for our oceans and for us and demands our attention and action. The exhibition will be held in October/November this year.

5. Kayakers love being on the water, what do you urge them to take notice of in this environment?
The incredible beauty …..and what better way than by kayak! Oh and fins ………always check for fins ☺