The queen of long distance paddling, Freya Hoffmeister, has announced her next challenge, which will be a considerable one to say the least. After spending 332 days paddling around Australia, covering more than 14,000 km (8700 miles) in the process, she'll next turn her attention to South America. Yep! Freya is now going to kayak around the entire continent of South America.
This time out, Freya plans to make the paddle in three different stages, setting off on the first stage around September or October of this year from Santiago, Chile. She'll then proceed east through the Magellan Strait and around Cape Horn, before turning north, ending the first leg of the journey in Buenos Aires, Argentina some 7 to 8 months later. After that, she'll take 4 or 5 months off to rest and prepare for the second and third legs of the trip, which will take place in September or October of 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Freya roughly estimates the trip will take about 22 months of time on the water to complete and she'll cover more than 22,000 km (13,670 miles). She also has set a goal of finishing up the entire expedition in May of 2014, right before her 50th birthday.
Pretty impressive follow-up to the Australian paddle. One thing is clear, Freya just can't seem to stay home. :) Find out more about the expedition on Freya's Facebook Page.
Thanks to the Belgian Adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke for sharing this scoop with me. Sorry it took a few days to post it mate!