A four day kayaking adventure to work

Following two rivers, one drain, one sea and one creek, it turns out that paddling to work, which ends up being mostly a drag, over four full days, is bloody hard work.

After a stripped back walk to work (The Commute: walking 90km to work), I decided to continue experimenting between the lands and seas of home and work. This time by paddling. At least, that was the plan; following two rivers, a canal, the sea, and a creek- all the way to my desk. What usually takes 75 minutes by car took four full days of mostly dragging, burning over 18,000 calories. Sleeping by the river, under a train line and next to a boat ramp, the final drag through the suburbs was a full watershed transect, which is an intimate view into all the goods and bads of humanity- including myself. What was another commuting stunt turned out to be the hardest, most insightful four days of travel I’ve ever done.

Produced and Directed by
BEAU MILES

Produced and Edited by
MITCH DRUMMOND

Filmed by
MITCH DRUMMOND
CHRIS ORD
BEAU MILES

Additional Footage
SARAH FOLEY
BRETT CAMPBELL

Final Sound Mix
JAMES DOBSON

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MUSIC:

The Long Wait by Max H
Pushing Boundaries by Oran Loyfer
Questions by Bell Always
Vuelta Al Sol by Tomas Novea
Undertow (instrumental) by Low Light
First Puesto by Rafael Rico
Dont Cheat by The David Roy Collective
Seis Continentes by Tomas Novoa
Hold (instrumental) by Sasha Daniel
Devotion (instrumental) by Skies Speak
Belonging by Muted

[GeoWizard]

This is adventure in it's purest form. Incredible stuff.

[Stellar-Cowboy]

I don’t even mind having 4 vids a year. They’re so great it’s a pleasure to have any.

[SeanHodgins]

I love the concept of "finding" adventures. Most people want to "go" on adventures, like finding a new place or area to explore. But when you say "finding adventures", its different. Finding adventures in places you have already explored and know about. I often go back to the forests and streams I would play in as a kid, and its always a unique experience when I go back because I am gaining new perspectives.
Love the way you tell your stories.

[karlschmidt]

This film and Beau's walking commutes inspired me to give my on-foot commute a go. Preferring to avoid the highway I made a 24 mile route on mostly trail and ran home after a day's work just a few weeks ago. It took me about 4 hours and the wildflowers were stunning!

[michaellodge]

How does this dude not have a million subs. His content is of the purest form, truly humbling guy.

[vincebascombe]

You’re literally the perfect representation of an outdoor ed teacher.

[scottiemellotie]

11:25 "the beauty of only having one mosquito in your tent is that they can only take so much"
31:20 "sorry sir you have no blood left for us to take"

[kanefanning]

Can we appreciate the lack of midroll ads so we can enjoy the movie uninterrupted

[NickCouyoumjian]

That shot around 14:00 combining all three methods needs some appreciation 👏 very well done

[allcaps]

"Pushing and pulling myself through a place that's usually a blur in my window, has reinvented this place I thought I knew."
Don't know why, loved this line.
Usually I too love walking instead of taking car or public transport. And when you walk, you notice every single detail on the route. When you drive, all you experience is either google map or irritating other drivers who think traffic rules are not made for them.

[Damian_Hunt]

I love the fact that Beau doesn’t get a lift to the start point, he wheel-barrows it 2.2k, gotta love the guy.

[elindbe]

Imagine if Beau walked into the office while everyone was there, covered in mud, dragging a filthy kayak behind him. They would have all looked at him and said to themselves "yep, typical Beau"

[ikeelu]

I didn't do something this extreme, but just started biking to work over the last 2 months. It's made the experience of going to work a lot more enjoyable. I'm no longer on autopilot during my commute. I start to notice many small things in the neighborhood that I usually miss. By the time I get to work, I'm more awake, alert, and in a better mood. The commute home is where it starts to get fun. I'm off in the early afternoon and the routes home are endless. Do I go for a nice cruise along the ocean? Make a huge climb up the mountain take some dirt/gravel trails? Ride along the reservoir? Typing this got me thinking of a video for you. You have done car, walk, and now kayak to work, why not bike? Now the time to get to work isn't going to be anywhere near as long as those last two, but what if you showed you can change your commute through nice detours or sights you want to see. Show that your commute doesn't always have to be on paved roads or the shortest routes.

[Mrjmaxted]

I'm sure you get this a lot but you're like an outdoorsy Bob Ross! There's nothing but positivity pouring out of you!

[rinaldinijo]

Boss: "You're late!"
Beau: "ahh the traffic has been terrible for past few days..."

[LewisWatson]

that shot at 13:45 with the accompanying voice over was so thought provoking to me. you're a fantastic story teller, beau and a killer teacher i bet ! always look forward to your uploads x

[matzk]

When I was 9-10 my aunt and uncle build a small raft with me. We went down the river that flows along our village.

A couple years later I went fishing there with my neighbour (ca.50yo). He wanted to show me where the river runs deep and where the fishes stay and hunt. I could tell he was wrong and showed him a couple of really deep parts that I discovered with my aunt and uncle. I could tell him where the river had formed hidden caves under the embankment and how the ground was shaped like.

Traveling down the river once had shown me much more about it than just walking along it for 30years.

Great video, greetings from germany.

[lellul]

I work in a bush crew and most of the time my job involves me trying to clean up creeks and rivers. The fact that not many people know the true health of our waterways is astonishing. Thank you for making this film and shining a spotlight on the health of these Ecosystems. You're an absolute inspiration. Keep doing the good work.

[anna]

Major props to your camera guys! Their work beautifully brings Beau's incredible stories alive!

[TonyNelsonCamping]

I can't believe that it is already two years since I've watched this film for the first time.

I've saved it actually, as a reminder of what our adventures should be all about. A mix of hard effort, seeing the world around us for what it is, and sucking up things that are out of our control.

I'll most probably come back here to reflect some more.

Great job and insights in this film Beau.