Headed to New Zealand

Let me first say, Happy Holidays. I hope everyone has had time to relax and enjoy the company of some fine friends during this festive time of year!


The past semester I have been living back in Charlotte, NC, my hometown, working at the US National Whitewater Center. (This is a picture of me working really hard out there!) The previous two years had been spent in Boonetown, NC studying geography at Appalachian State University. (Yes, the same App State who just became the first college to win THREE consecutive National Football Titles in a row, that's right!) The move back to the Car-lot wasn't for my love of paddling in a cement ditch, or for my love of road-rage-infested-SUV-driving-soccer-moms. The purpose was to save money for a grand adventure to the far away paradise known as New Zealand.


I will be arriving in New Zealand the 1st day of the New Year. I will spend just under one year there studying abroad at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch (on the South Island.) This is a part of the world I have always dreamed of visiting, so when the opportunity came up to do so, I pounced...like a ninja.

I will be bringing three Riot Kayaks of choice (Magnum, Boogie, and Astro 58) down to continue my adventures in the realm of paddlesporting. I am very excited to go to one of the sikest places on earth!!! Please keep checking on the Team Riot Blog as well as this blog to find stories, pictures, and videos documenting my travels on the water.


I'd like to give a very special THANK YOU to Spencer Cooke of Effort.tv for hooking it up with a video camera to shoot footy on the trip! Thanks duder!!! Effort Inc. is your headquarters for grassroots kayaking porn, check out the Video Archives page to find some of the most awesomest kayaking footy on the world wide web.


For adventures OFF the water I am starting another blog...Coop's New Zealand. This will be a very informal random report of what I've been up to down there. I really can't even begin to forecast what will appear on this new site, but it could be entertaining, so check it out!

http://coopsnewzealand.blogspot.com/

Check ya' next time from the Southern Hemi!!!