Voyeurs Of Our Own Lives

 After many days of not fun paddling, which included pitch poling the kayak down a wave (stoked to get my very first combat roll), one of our friends organised a “social paddle,” on the day that summer weather arrived. Warm and sunny, only a light easterly, a low swell, and 12 friends out for a paddle around the Bay. It was glorious and my reward for many days of slogging into the wind in the past and in the future.

We had a lap around the Tollgate Islands, where it was bumpy as usual on the east side, as well as a cruise along the northern beaches and lunch on a quiet beach that was pretty much empty because it is about a 15 minute walk. Yes, that is the state of affairs in Australia, 10 to 15 minutes easy walk is, for most folks, a marathon effort.

On the way home, we were treated to viewing the latest atrocity in tourism, a high speed jet boat that whips around the Bay burning fossil fuels and scaring any wild life that might be around. Little penguins, seals, gannets, shearwaters, whales and dolphins are all frequent visitors to the waters of the Bay and I am sure that they also will enjoy being run over at high speed.

This type of tourism encapsulates – for me at least – so much of what is sad about the state of the modern world. We have become voyeurs of our own lives. Tourism has become so passive. Sit in this car and drive around, take this tour and have someone drive you around, even tours which require some physical effort, such as sea kayaking, are, to a large degree, passive as the tourist pays someone to guide them around and ensure their safety. While our world still contains great opportunity for adventure, the masses want adventure to be sterilised, sanitised, comfortable and safe. That is actually not adventure, which most dictionaries define as “an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature.”

When Shackleton wrote “Men Wanted: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success” he was not advertising an “adrenaline fuelled adventure” where the “cabin is sealed and air conditioned so that thrill seekers are as comfortable as possible.” Surely, I am not the only one that sees the irony in advertising this as anything even remotely resembling adventure.