Video: Kayaking a Lost World in Patagonia

We all know that Patagonia is one of the most remote and beautiful places on the planet, but even it still holds wonders to be revealed. That's what the kayakers in this video discovered when they made a descent of the amazing looking Pucón River there. The waterway is marked with impressive waterfalls, deep canyons, and wild whitewater. Everything you want to see in a good paddling movie.

Video: Kayaks, Waterfalls and RC Drones

I've been saying that drones are the next big innovation for adventure filmmaking for sometime, and I'm happy to see that that not-so-bold prediction is starting to prove accurate. This video shows just what can be done when using a remote controlled drone to capture footage from a paddling expedition. In this case, a group of kayakers hit the water for a little whitewater and waterfall action, all of which is captured on video. Mind you, these drones aren't super expensive and out of the reach of the mainstream filmmaker. They are surprisingly affordable and can do some very cool things. Just check out the video to see what I mean.

Kayaks, Waterfalls, and RC Helicopters - Behind the Shot with Shifted Cinema from Shifted Cinema, LLC on Vimeo.

Video: First Descents In Michoacan, Mexico

I posted a teaser trailer for this expedition awhile back, with the promise of more to come. The video below fulfills that promise. It features paddlers Rafa Ortiz, Dane Jackson, and several others, as they go looking for whitewater and waterfalls in the Mexican state of Michoacan. They found everything they could have asked for and more. Looks like an amazing place to paddle.

67-Year Old Kayaker Completes Atlantic Crossing

Polish kayaker Aleksander "Olek" Doba completed an epic paddling expedition this weekend when he reached the coastline of Florida. The 67-year old Doba wrapped up a 6000-mile (9656 km) long journey that carried him solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a specially modified sea kayak.

Doba set out from Lisbon, Portugal on October 5 of last year, with the intention of kayaking the Atlantic at its widest point. That meant arriving at Cape Canaveral, which he did on Friday. But his ultimate destination was New Smyrna Beach, where friends were waiting to greet him Saturday. By the time he stepped ashore, he had spent 195 days alone at sea, and paddled an estimated 6700 miles (10,782 km) in total.

The journey was not without its challenges. Back in February, bad weather damaged the rudder on the kayak, forcing Aleksander to stop in Bermuda to make repairs. That same bad weather knocked him hundreds of miles off course, so once repairs were complete, he caught a ride aboard a ship, which returned him to his original position, so he could resume the journey where he had left off. That was on March 23. Less than a month later, he was crossing the finish line in Florida.

In staying true to the nature of his solo expedition across the Atlantic, Doba did not restock his boat with food and other supplies when he stopped for repair in the Bermuda. Instead, he continued to use the items he brought with him when he set out from Portugal back in October.

This is a pretty impressive accomplishment at any age, and I respect Aleksander for sticking to the "rules" of the challenge that he set down for himself. Inspiring stuff to say the least.

Video: Discovering Adventure On The Colorado River In The Grand Canyon

Defining adventure is a very personal thing. What make up an adventure for me, may be very different from what is an adventure for you. This short film follows a group of kayakers as they paddle the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, while also seeking to define what "adventure" means to each of them. It is a compelling little documentary that will leave you thinking about the topic, and pondering exactly "Why We Go."

Why We Go from Brett Mayer on Vimeo.

Video: Kayaking A Drainage Ditch In British Columbia

This 5-minute paddling video features some great footage of Ryan Lucas, and his crew, as they kayak some impressive whitewater in British Columbia, Canada. But perhaps the best, and scariest, clip is when they zip down a wild looking drainage ditch. Don't try this stuff at home kids!

Video: Kayaking California

California has a reputation for being one of the best kayaking destinations in the world, and rightfully so. It's diverse landscapes and granite bedrock in the Sierra Nevada range make for an excellent paddling playground. Recently, a team kayaker took on the East Kaweah and South Silver Rivers, and filmed their California adventure for us all to share. The result is a great looking kayaking film that will get you excited to see more of what the state has to offer.

Video: Paddling The Grand Canyon Of The Stikine

Last summer, a team of kayakers traveled to a remote region of British Columbia to take on the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, a 45-mile stretch of river that has some of the wildest whitewater on the planet. In fact, the Canyon is described as "unnavigable," although there have been a few descents over the years. The crew of 7 Brits, and one lone American, set out to give it a go. The 23+ minute video tells their story, and gives us our own glimpse of the raging waters they faced.

Grand Canyon of the Stikine from THE RIVER MILITIA on Vimeo.

Video: Explorer Louis-Philippe Loncke Discusses Lake Titicaca Exepdtion At TEDxFlanders

Last year, explorer Louis-Philippe Loncke, along with Gadiel Sanchez Rivera aka "Cho", spent 38 days circumnavigating Lake Titicaca by kayak. That body of water, which falls on the border of Peru and Bolivia, is considered the highest navigable lake in the world, and yet no one had ever completely paddled its shores before. Recently, Lou-Phi appeared at TEDxFlanders to share his story about that expedition. The video below is his presentation. It offers all kinds of insights into what they found on their journey, and the logistics of kayaking in the Andes.

Adventure Tech: The World's First 3D Printed Kayak

Sticking with the kayak theme today, we have yet another interesting innovation from the world of technology. If you're a tech nerd (like me!) you probably know there has been a lot of buzz over 3D printing the past couple of years. It is a form of technology that remains in its infancy, but holds huge promise for the future. Now, someone has put that innovation to work, creating the first 3D printed kayak. While it won't win any awards for design, and it probably doesn't perform like the top boats on the market, it sure is an interesting process to see come together. What do you think? Would you paddle something like this?

Video: Dane Jackson Makes 60-Foot Waterfall Drop

While we're on the subject of big waterfall drops, here's a successful one. Dane Jackson went over the 60-foot La Tomata waterfall in central Veracruz, Mexico, adding to his already impressive paddling resume. The best part about this video isn't the big drop. We've seen plenty of those before. But this particular one is caught on video in so many ways including GoPro, remote drone, and a variety of other methods. The result is some spectacular looks at a very impressive drop.

Video: Kayaker Rescued Before Going Over 60-Foot Waterfall

This video is seven months old, but only came to my attention yesterday thanks to our friends over at Climbing.com. It shows the dramatic rescue of a kayaker who went over a 20-foot (6 meter) waterfall, only to then realize that there was a 60-foot (18 meter) drop on the other side. The action is mostly caught on GoPro cameras as the two kayakers involved struggle to avoid going over the falls. Pretty scary stuff to say the least.

Kayaker saved just before swimming over a 60 foot waterfall!! from David Fusilli on Vimeo.

Kayaking Around South America: Freya Hoffmeister Closes In On Finish

It has been quite awhile since we last checked in on Freya Hoffmeister, the long distance kayaking queen. If you're familiar with Freya, you probably already know that she is the first woman to kayak solo around Australia and is in the midst of attempting her second contingent by paddling completely around South America too. She's been working on that project for some time, and while she still has quite a ways to go before she is done, she is edging ever closer to completing that epic paddle as well.

As of now Freya is 630 days into the expedition and currently she is in Punta de Pesqueiro, Brazil. Considering the fact that she launched this journey from Buenos Aires, Argentina in August of 2011, I'd say she has made considerable progress. She has been traveling in a clockwise direction around the continent since that time, braving the treacherous waters of the Drake Passage, paddling solo up the west coast, and even passing through the Panama Canal.

During that time, she has taken a couple of breaks, flown home to Germany to rest, regroup and refocus. But she has always returned to the water and remained dedicated to completing this epic project. It seems she's in the stretch run now however, as she makes the final push toward a return to Buenos Aires, where the entire journey began.

At the moment, Freya is resting her weary body before returning to the water. She'll then head to Sao Luis, which will be her next major stopping point. She still faces a few months of paddling before she wraps up the expedition altogether, but the end is somewhat in sight, even if it is still a bit distant. With thousands of miles of kayaking now behind her, and hundreds yet to go, I'm sure Freya is focused on the finish line, and eager to be done, but the final push is going to require her to stay tough and power through the final weeks. That is something we know she is more than capable of doing.

I'll keep a close watch on Freya's final push toward the end, and of course let everyone know as she approaches Buenos Aires. As I mentioned, it's still some time off, but considering the distances she's already covered, it seems that her finishing the expedition is just an inevitability at this point.

Video: First Descent In Michoacan

The video below is a teaser of bigger things to come. It gives us a glimpse of a recent paddling expedition to the Mexican state of Michoacan, a dangerous part of the world that offers intriguing opportunities for a team of kayakers. The full movie for this expedition is due out next Tuesday, March 11. For now, we'll just have to enjoy this brief look at their adventure, which seems like it was everything they were hoping for, and then some.

Video: A Wild Double Drop Over A Waterfall In Norway

It has been awhile since we've had a good paddling video, and I'm not sure if this one actually qualifies. It is quite scary however, although it does look like a wild ride. It features kayaker Nathan Barbier making a double-drop on a waterfall in Norway. It manages to be both scary and painful looking at the same time. Ouch!

Nathan BARBIER (FRA), Carnage entry, Double Drop, Norway from Nathan Barbier on Vimeo.

Video: Kayaking Down A Drainage Ditch

Between kayaking in the streets of the U.K. and snowboarding in New York City, we've seen some very interesting videos recently, but this one actually tops them all. It features kayaker Ben Marr shooting down a drainage ditch at breakneck speeds before splashing into Lion's Bay in British Columbia. It looks like quite a rush. Almost like a water ride in an amusement park.

Thanks to the Adventure Journal for sharing this.

Video: Extreme Sports In 4K

The video below captures some of our favorite outdoor activities in stunning fashion. There are segments of kayaking, mountain biking, paragliding and more. Better yet, the entire video was captured using a Sony video camera that captures it all in the emerging 4K format, which offers far higher resolutions than HD. Beautiful stuff.

4K from Image Impossible on Vimeo.

Video: Kayaking The Flooded Streets Of The UK – Behind A Truck!

The U.K. has been battered by some incredibly awful weather in recent months, with heavy rains, flooding cold snaps, snow and more. All of that rain has brought flooding to some areas, where some outdoor enthusiasts have decided to turn lemons into lemonade, by kayaking on the flooded roads. But not content to just paddle through the streets, these industrious (read crazy!) lads decided to pull their boat behind a truck. The results look like fun. Well, except for the final run that is.

Kayaking on flooded Essex Roads from UncleAlbert on Vimeo.

Video: Kayaking The Zambezi River

Looking for a healthy dose of adventure to jump start your week? Then look no further than this video, which follows kayaker Mat Dumoulin as he paddles the amazing Zambezi River in Africa. The scenery is quite spectacular and the white water looks insane. What more could you ask for?

Kayaking the Zambezi river - Mat Dumoulin from Dumoulin mathieu on Vimeo.

Video: Erik Weihenmayer Talks Paddling On The Rio Marañon In Peru

Adventurer Erik Weihenmayer is certainly one inspiring individual. Not only is he the first (and to date, only) blind person to climb Everest, he has also managed to compete in adventure races, compete in mountain biking events, and a number of other outdoor activities. He has even taken up kayaking, which must be terrifying for anyone who doesn't have the use of their eyes. Next year Erik plans to paddle the length of the Grand Canyon and as a training exercise for that expedition, he recently traveled to Peru to take on the Rio Marañon, which presents some similar challenges. In the video below, he talks about that adventure.

Thanks to Lou-Phi for sharing this video.

Rio Marañon with Erik Weihenmaye​r from peter gandesbery on Vimeo.