North of the Sun: a Norwegian eco-odyssey

Ever since I travelled up the coast of Norway by supply boat as a backpacker 100 years ago, I've loved the place and its nature-loving people. Now I love it (and them) even more, after my annual dose of Banff Mountain Film Festival last night, courtesy of my friends at World Expeditions, the main sponsor.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Australia, which is screening in 19 cities around the country and ends on 28 June, is always amazing, always full of adventures of all kinds.

This year there's nude skiing, off-width climbing (where climbers wedge themselves into cracks just wider than their bodies), rocky mountain biking, waterfall-kayaking, island-hopping by paddleboard. But the standout film, and winner of the People's Choice Award at Banff, is North of the Sun.

It's about two 20-something Norwegian surfers, Inger Wegge and Jorn Ranum, who'd met at film school, discovered a shared passion for the outdoors and hatched a plan: to spend a winter surfing and living simply on a remote beach in northern Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. Here's the trailer:

I was spellbound for 46 minutes - and not just because I fell in love with their Hobbit-like cabin, which they built out of driftwood and heated with a makeshift heater/stove (so resourceful!). I felt inspired by their sense of wonder, their good cheer and camaraderie in the face of adversity (extreme cold, lack of sunlight for months at a time...) and their commitment (winters last nine months this far north).

I want to live here

North of the Sun could have been just another adventure film. Instead, Inger and Jorn have created an ode to the simple, natural wonders of life, to living free and frugally (they survived on food past its use-by date, which is free in Norway, and spent only five dollars during the whole trip, on sugar and tea) - and to caring for our surroundings. They collected three TONS of washed-up debris from their beach, which was later airlifted away by helicopter. Good times, good deeds. What could be better?

Catch it at the Banff (click here for dates and venues), or rent/buy it on Vimeo.

Top 5 sources of good eco-news

Everybody needs good news now and then, particularly good eco-news. Of course it's important to be aware of what's happening, get regular reality checks, know what issues need our support and action.

But it's also important to lift our gaze to the good that's being done, the progress being made, the people doing positive things to restore harmony in the Man vs Wild balance.

Behold, my top 5 sources of glad eco-tidings, in no particular order:

1. Zite: I love this app. "Zite and a cup of coffee," as one Zite reviewer says, is a great way to start the day. It's basically a magazine/newspaper created just for you, on your iPhone/iPad, like this: you tell Zite what you're interested in (e.g. sustainability, eco-design, conservation) and it curates stories and blog posts from ALL over the world. So you find yourself reading more widely than you ever would have, and the more you use Zite (and give the thumbs-up to stories you liked), the more it gives you what you'll like to read.

2. Grist: This Seattle-based online news organisation isn't afraid to be light-hearted when spilling the (Fairtrade) beans on eco-issues. Sure, there are hard truths here, but there's also the Grist List, which covers good things happening around the world, and Ask Umbra's column, which explores corners most green-news sites don't, answering questions like "Could I pee in the shower to save a flush?" Sign up for the daily email and you'll never go hungry for witty eco-news again.

Get to work, puss!

 3. Treehugger: One of the first sites ever to focus on sustainability and still one of the best, with multiple blog posts daily (16 so far today!), and news about green design and living (like the cat-friendly eco-desk and 9 green living options that improve your quality of life) as well as business, energy, transportation, science and technology.

4. TakePart: Ok, so the fact that this is the organisation that made The Cove tells you it won't all be good news (if there is such a thing). But there are plenty of green-living tips here, like in the As Green As I Get column, and the site is pleasant to browse (lots of pics).

5. Huffpost Green: The environmentally minded sister of newshound The Huffington Post is possibly more cerebral than the other links here, and has some high profile (guest) bloggers, like the Kumi Naidoo, head of Greenpeace International.

Rock-hugging cabin, Norway

Still hungry? Try a dose of Cabin Porn (a perfectly innocent photo gallery of shacks in natural places), squeeze into the Tiny House movement (the sustainability of living in small spaces), get informed about clean energy at Reneweconomy or lose yourself in EcoTraveller (good eco-travel news).

What's your favourite source of eco-inspiration?

Surf's Up goes digital - and 10 things I love about surfing

It seems like only yesterday but three months ago, almost to the day, after jumping through virtual flaming hoops like a Pavlovian poodle, my first ebook went live on iTunes: Adventures on Earth, an interactive collection of my best-ever adventure travel stories and pics. Click on the cover image (left) for more, or read the launch post here.

Now, I'm happy to announce, Adventures has a digital sister. The second Australian edition of my surfing book, Surf's Up: The girl's guide to surfing, is now available as an ebook - from Kobo, Amazon (for your Kindle - link coming soon) and Google Play.

(It's also coming soon as a real book again, after a few months out of print - I'll keep you posted.)

If writing a book is like giving birth, getting it online is like giving it a smartphone and the keys to the hovercraft - in a good way. To celebrate, I thought I'd share a part of the book that's close to my heart, called 10 things I love about surfing:

What’s so great about surfing?

1.  It’s fun, pure and simple, with no artificial colours or flavours. There’s no better feeling than riding along the face of a wave and then paddling back out with a huge grin on your face.

2. It keeps you in touch with the natural world, which adds another dimension to an otherwise city-bound life. Go for a surf and you can’t help but notice which way the wind’s blowing, if it’s low or high tide, or whether there are fish or sea birds around this time of year. Being a surfer makes you more weather-conscious too, because you want to be able to predict swells and be ready for them.

Girls and their longboards,
 pic by Moonwalker

3. It’s simple. All you need, really, is a surfboard and a few waves. Not only that but the waves are free!

4. The sense of community. Yes,  surfing is a great way to meet guys—the odds are in your favour, and you know you’ll have at least one thing in common. But I also love the way you can fall into conversation with another surfer and find out about the new swell working its way up the coast, the good waves at a nearby beach or the whale that was sighted yesterday. And that without any planning whatsoever, you can meet up with people you know at the beach, simply by virtue of the fact that you’ve all converged on the best spot to surf that day.

5. It teaches you patience, whether you’re waiting for that elusive ‘last wave’ before you head in, waiting for the next set or waiting for the flat spell to end so that you can go surfing again. There’s always a lot written about searching for waves, but we often overlook surfing’s quieter sister: patience. In a world that values control, it’s nice to know you can’t hurry the ocean.

Karlee Mackie post-surf,
pic courtesy of Ocean & Earth

6. It’s good all-over exercise. Surfing sculpts your body, toning your upper arms, shoulders, stomach and legs, like almost nothing else—and without you even realising it!

7. It’s peaceful. Some city beaches can get a bit aggro, but even in the city you can often find a peak or a whole beach to yourself. That's when surfing soothes the soul, gives you breathing space in your life and a chance to stop and just be (until your next wave). It helps you get things on land back in perspective too.

8. It builds your confidence, and that spreads to all areas of your life. If I can surf, what else can I do?! Not only that but it gives you stories to tell—about that amazing last wave you got yesterday, or your last surf trip up the coast, or the wipe-out that all your friends teased you about for a week.

With friends in Manly,
pic by Steven Siewert

9. It’s humbling. You might feel 10-feet tall after riding your first wave, but you can also get the whipping of your life if you’re not paying attention. Surfing gives you an appreciation for the ocean’s power and lets you see it in all its moods. You can never dominate it; the best you can hope for is to be able to play in it.

10. It’s beautiful. Summer sunsets when the ocean is as smooth as glass and the sky’s colours set the sea on fire. Gloomy steel-coloured days when raindrops splash into the water around you like diamonds. Full-circle rainbows in the spray off the back of a wave. A surfer crouched inside the eye of a perfect barrel. The show never stops.

~

I wrote these words almost five years ago and I still agree with every word, still love surfing as much as ever. Those links again: Surf's Up is currently available from Kobo and Google Play (Amazon had some issues with the magazine-style layout - link coming soon!). Enjoy the ride...

A great day for whales

A short, ecstatic post today. I'm doing mental cartwheels after last night's news that the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest judicial body, ruled on what the world has long known: there's nothing "scientific" about Japan's whaling in Antarctic waters. The ICJ consequently ordered Japan to revoke any existing permits and refrain from granting more whaling permits - and Japan, to its credit, has agreed to abide by the ICJ's decision.

Safe at last - minke pic by
Eye to Eye Marine Encounters

It's a good news story for the environment, it makes me proud to be Australian (it was Australia that began legal proceedings against Japan's whaling in 2010) and of course it's a great day for whales.

RIP the 10,439 minke and 15 fin whales killed under Japan's scientific permit since 1986.

Minkes have a special place in my heart after swimming with a few of them on the Great Barrier Reef a couple of years ago - where, incidentally, real scientific research is going on, and people like you and me can tag along, help collect data and have one of the best wildlife experiences of our lives.

Read my Sydney Morning Herald story about the trip here: Meet the minkes.

I can't help feeling hopeful when things like this happen, when human beings wake up to the wisdom of letting wild things be, well, wild. It sends a signal that reverberates around the world that, whether we're aware of it on a daily basis or not, we are all members of an incomprehensively vast natural family, and always will be.

7 fun things you can do this Earth Hour

Five more sleeps until one of my favourite nights of the year: the night the world joins hands and turns off its lights - not to go to bed, but to wake up to the urgency of using less energy and protecting the Earth.

Here's a newbie's guide (or a refresher) on the whole Earth Hour thing:

What on earth is Earth Hour? Earth Hour is a one-hour event during which people interested in protecting the planet turn off all their lights. It was created by WWF-Australia in Sydney in 2007, when two million people and more than 2000 businesses got involved. Now Earth Hour is all grown up: it's a worldwide grassroots event embraced by people in 154 countries around the globe. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?

When is it? Earth Hour 2014 will be on Saturday 29 March, 2014, at 8.30pm local time wherever you are.

Why turn off the lights? WWF can answer this one: "Earth Hour aims to encourage an interconnected global community to share the opportunities and challenges of creating a sustainable world."

What does turning off the lights actually achieve? Turning off the lights is a powerful gesture, a beginning, a seed. As well as reminding us that we're all connected, and connected to the Earth, Earth Hour has led to big changes, such as increasing protection for the world's forests and oceans. Watch this 60-second video on the 60 minutes that change the world, every year:

The beauty of Earth Hour lies in its simplicity. To get involved, all you have to do is turn off all non-essential lights for an hour, wherever you are at 8.30pm next Saturday. Of course, it's more fun if you do that with friends or like-minded strangers, and there are thousands of Earth Hour events around the world.

Here are 7 more ways to "do" Earth Hour this year:

1. Lights out for the Reef: In Australia, the focus of Earth Hour 2014 is saving the Great Barrier Reef from climate change and other man-made threats. Earth Hour is joining with Channel Ten to screen a documentary about the Reef and why it is in danger, and this will be screened at Earth Hour events all over the country. See earthhour.org.au for more info.

2. Stretch your legs: Go for a walk and see how different (or not) things look in darkness: your street, the city skyline, local landmarks, your neighbours' houses, the night sky.

3. Salute to the moon: Yoga centres and hotels all over the world - from Yogatree in Canada to the Ritz-Carlton in Dubai - will be holding candle-lit Earth Hour yoga classes. Here in Sydney, Qi Yoga will be having a candle-lit kirtan (meditative chanting) class from 7pm to 9.30pm on Saturday night.

4. Starry, starry night sky: Make the most of the darkness to view the night sky in all its glory - by looking up, or by visiting your nearest observatory. Sydney Observatory, for instance, is hosting a "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" Earth Hour event with poetry and star-gazing.

5. Candle-lit Scrabble: Have a candle-lit night in with people you love: play Scrabble or read by candle-light, host a candle-lit dinner party, take a candle-lit bath...

Happiness is enough candles
to read by

6. Give some candle-love: Inspire someone else to turn off the lights by giving them a beautiful beeswax candle (soy candles are not as eco-friendly but are still better than regular, petrochemical-based candles). Byron Bay-based Northern Light is having a factory seconds sale right now. Or donate a candle ($5 each) to help WWF spell out a "Lights out for the Reef" message on the front lawn of Parliament House, Canberra.

7. Embrace your dark side: Vow to have a regular "electricity-free" night - perhaps once a week or once a month - when your entire household forgoes all devices, screens, tv, phones and electricity from dusk to dawn. I did a weekly electricity-free night during my No Impact month when I started this blog three years ago, and it was the most surprisingly enjoyable part of the whole project. So peaceful, fun and calming.

What will you be doing this Saturday night at 8.30pm? I'm stocking up on candles and joining the Earth Hour gathering at Manly beach, in Sydney, where it all began. Maybe I'll see you there.