In my post last week, Learning and finding Inspiration, I wrote about an article I’d read in the New York Times.
I wanted to know how far it was from where I was in Hall, ACT, to New York. (According to the site Time and Date it is roughly 16,233 km or 10,008 miles or 8,765 nautical miles)
As I was sitting in a cafe I pulled out my trusty iPhone and went to Google Maps and requested the route.
The answer was a staggering journey of 26,120.9km, which the site estimated would take me roughly 56 days and 8 hours. Somewhat more than I’d expected.
Curiously, Google Maps seems to recommend driving north to Darwin, followed by a drive across Japan, then a drive across Hawaii before taking a scenic tour of the US.
I’m not sure how they estimate the time as 56 days and 8 hours so accurately as I think a lot will depend on my fitness and skill in the water.
I particularly love direction #61. (Kayak 5,404 km across the Pacific Ocean to Japan), #120. (Kayak 6,243 km across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii) and #134. (Kayak 4,436 km across the Pacific Ocean to Washington)
This of course makes a total of 16,083 km of kayaking (9993.5 miles) but given the currents, waves, storms etc. – not to mention that I could veer of course at any time… I could be kayaking for quite a long time.
Don't expect me to there by dinner
Why not just kayak to Mazatlan in Mexico then drive straight up to San Antonio to New York? Surely that would require less kayaking and less driving as well?
Whilst I love to have a go at paddling every now and then, I wonder what made the good folks at Google think that when crossing a vast ocean, the recommended mode of transport should be a kayak?
Should anyone want to try this excellent adventure from Hall to New York or vice versa, please let me know how long it takes you?
The alternative would be for me to drive the 20 minutes to Canberra Airport and catch a plane to New York… but I’m sure you’d agree that that route sounds pretty dull by comparison!