Hello everyone,
Next Thursday the 8th of October, Adventure Time is extremely pleased to host Australian packrafting pioneer John McLaine. In fact we’re so keen to hear him speak that he’s coming all the way from Taswegia and he’ll be entertaining us for the entire evening!
Date: 8th October 2015
Time: ‘Doors open’ at 19:00 for a 20:00 start
Location: 197 Wilson St, Newtown, New South Wales 2042
Price: Free!
Registration: https://www.facebook.com/events/500029506820765/
PROGRAM:
JOHN McLAINE (Taswegia)
John McLaine will be presenting a personal history of packrafting in Tasmania, arguably the home of packrafting in Australia. Introduced to packrafting as a young man in 1981, John participated in the legendary effort to protect Tasmania’s Franklin River from damming. These successful efforts included a floating human blockade and several packrafting films that alerted Australians to the wilderness and whitewater at stake. During the “dark ages” of the 1990s, when Aussies lacked access to new boats and the sport all but died, John was one of a handful of Australian paddlers who carried the torch and continued to pioneer bold and creative packrafting routes.
In the new millennia, when the first modern packrafts became available in Tasmania, John led the “renaissance” and today our sport is again flourishing in the Tasmanian wilderness. John remains an avid packrafter and last year visited North America where he completed packrafting routes in Montana and Alaska, and was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Packraft Roundup.
Conceived in 2010, the American Packrafting Association Golden Paddle Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to packrafting through innovation, dedication, and conservation. John exemplifies the American Packrafting Association mission of conservation, safety, education, and access, and was the recipient of the APA Golden Paddle Award in 2015.
Hopefully see many of you there!
Cheers,
Jeremy.