Australian Geographic Lecture a Success!: (Feb 21) Phew! we got through our Aust Geo lecture without stuffing up! It was an awesome evening, and our lecture was very well received! We even had one of our PACs in the foyer, being 'hauled' by a manakin in one of our Gore-Tex drysuits. Good fun! ..Read some reviews... Our Australian Geographic Lecture SOLD-OUT!: (Feb 06) Well here's something we didn't expect to have to worry about.... Australian Geographic just told me they have sold every last ticket to our upcoming lecture!! But.. but... 1/2 my friends haven't even got around to booking seats!!! Fear not - we are running a 2nd lecture in the not too distant future. Let us know if you want pre-public access to tickets! ..Read the plug... "Australian Geographic promotes our Lecture": (Dec 05) The latest newsletter from Australian Geographic features a plug for our upcoming lecture evening / slideshow on 21st Feb 2006 at their HQ in Terrey Hills. Booking details included. "Chris Bray, 22, and Clark Carter' 21, are back from the high Arctic bursting with stories... They'll keep you frozen to your seats." Haha. ..Read the plug... Air Canada Cocktail Party: (23 Nov 2005) Clark and I were the guest speakers at a very fancy party thrown by Air Canada in Sydney. The winter theme made us feel right at home, the bar was even made of solid ice!!! It was a fantastic night! ..Read the article... Visit our MEDIA page for latest news! Well, we're back, alive and in one piece! What an experience! Plenty of news - take a look at our MEDIA page for all the stories and more. Copies of articles, newsletters, shots from TV interviews, magazines, newspapers...Click here to go to our media page. Expedition Updates Keep checking this page for the latest updates – text & photographs – direct from the High-Arctic as our journey unfolds! Sent from our small laptop via satellite, we will keep you posted on our adventures as often as we can. Go to updates. This is it - we're off (6 July 2005) Well, 9 months of planing, organising, kayak building, phone calling, note taking, hunting sponsors and getting awesome gear has finally brought us to tonight. It's midnight, we've said most of our thankyou's and good byes, we just need to.. pack, and other minor details. We leave for the airport in 5hrs! Thanks to all who helped us get this far! Details... Carrying Historic Explorers Club Flag! (2 July 2005) To our great delight our expedition has been granted the honour of being an official Explorers Club Flag Expedition - Flag #49, an historic flag, carried on expeditions for the last 73 yrs, arrived by FedEx today!! This same flag was carried by ledgendary Capt. Robert Bartlett in 1932 (Captained the 'Karluk' on Stefansson's ill-fated voyage to the Arctic in 1913, read the book 'The Ice Master' - Awesome!) Details... Awesome VideoMics! (29 June 2005) Quality audio is as important as quality video for a documentary. We know this and Rode Microphones do to, so they kindly sponsored us two brilliant shotgun 'VideoMics' to complement our HD video Cameras. Thanks! Details... Arctic Email access! (25 June 2005) Global Marine Networks is hosting the communications for our expedition! Providing us with email compression software to enable us to efficiently send & receive Emails live from the expedition via satellite. Details... Happy Birthday To Me! (21 June 2005) Today's Chris's 22nd Birthday! We were presented with the Australian Geographic's Society flag to carry with us, and invited to sign their prestigious Explorers Wall - Chris's 2nd time! We also demonstrated our bear tripwire to AG management. Details... Hauling in Style! (14 June 2005) The demanding conditions and perpetual sunlight and UV we will face in the Arctic will meet their match with our stylish Dirty Dog eyewear. Today Dirty Dog eagerly agreed to provide us with a few pairs of sunnies and snow masks for our journey. They look awesome! Thanks! Details... We have a naming sponsor! (12 June 2005) We are very pleased to announce that Don & Margie McIntyre, through their company 'Ocean Frontiers', has taken up the naming rights to our expedition! The Ocean Frontiers 1000 Hour Day Expedition is now in top gear as the final weeks 'till departure race past! Details... Spending Money!! (9 June 2005) Well today Clark and I spent more money than we've ever had in our lives. We're now kitted up with 2 of these Sony High Definition video cameras, tripods, rain covers, HD tapes, expedition batteries... And we got home without being mugged! Camera Specs.. Just a brief one: (8 June 2005) Northern Sydney's newspaper 'The Manly Daily' popped in a piece today, announcing that our PACs have been "declared watertight and manoeuverable, and dispatched by sea to Vancouver." Full story... They're on their way! (6 June 2005) Well for better or for worse, our 2 kayaks are bubble wrapped, strapped and cling-wrapped to 3 pallets, marked 249kgs and on a ship on their way to Vancouver! It's all happening! Details... Exped - Ortlieb - Karrimor! (5 June 2005) Wow! We are still staring in awe at the pile of gear we just got sponsored - Exped tent, waterproof sleeping bags, dry bags, camera bags, Karrimor backpacks, hiking poles... Fantastic! Details... We did it! (2 June 2005) They are finished! Our two aluminium kayak/sled/carts are complete! Wheels down for rock and solid ground, wheels up for water, ice and snow... This is quite a new concept - lets hope it works as well in the Arctic as they did on our driveway! Details... Thanks Dick Smith! (2 June 2005) Through his company 'Dick Smith Foods', now an Australian Icon - 'As Australian as you can get' - we are thrilled to have such a name behind our expedition! Details... They float!! (25 May 2005) After months of full-on work building our two bizarre kayak/sled/cart combinations we tested them in a neighbours swimming pool, and.. they float!! Bingo! That's a relief. The wheels actually make it a very stable craft. Now to finish them, paint them, and get them on a ship to Canada in a few days! Details... Sponsored by Australian Geographic (10 May 2005) I am very proud to have the Australian Geographic Society again backing me on this - my next expedition, this time in a very big way! It is a huge honour and Clark and I are both absolutely delighted! Details... Leatherman ~ "Now we're ready"(TM) (5 May 2005) Weight is all-important for us, as is the ability to repair on the go. So we needed to bring quite a toolbox - until Leatherman (makers of a versatile pliers/Swiss-arm-knife combination), donated us two of their CHARGE XTi's - made from titanium! Details... Interviewed by an Inuit radio station! (26 April 2005) Our reputation is to proceed us. Chris just did a taped radio interview about the expedition for Cambridge Bay Community Radio, on Victoria Island! www.cfbi.fm Sponsored by Gore!! (20 April 2005) We were thrilled today to hear from W. L. Gore & Associates - makers of the world-famous GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® Fabrics - who have enthusiastically agreed to be a major sponsor this expedition! What an honour! Details... Icebreaker Sponsorship! (19 April 2005) Icebreaker - makers of the world's best insulation & thermal wear - phoned us up out of the blue today having seen the article in the newspaper (below), to let us know that we would now be snug and warm up in the Arctic! Details... Air Canada Sponsorship! (19 April 2005) Today Air Canada confirmed that they will be supporting this expedition, providing free flights to & from Canada! Thankyou to Ben Charlton for organising this partnership! Details... "Arctic Adventure to Break New Ground" (16 April 2005) Sydney's Manly Daily Newspaper just ran a 2-page article on our preparations: "Avalon adventurer Chris Bray's name is listed alongside some of the world's most famous explorers. Last month the 21-yr old was admitted .. Full story... More Local Media Coverage: (7 April 2005) Sydney's 'Northern Beaches Weekender' magazine published their story today after a phone interview with Chris earlier in the week. "Pacing up and down the beach with a tyre tied to your waist..." Full story... RAYMARINE sponsors GPS Chartplotter! (5 April 2005) Thanks to OceanTalk, RAYMARINE has sponsored us the latest in handheld GPS chartplotters - the RayChart 400. Submersible to 1m, it packs big navigation features into a compact and portable GPS! Can't wait to test it! Details... University of NSW helps out! (23 March 2005) The vice-chancellor, Professor M. Wainwright, and the head of Electrical Engineering, Professor B. Celler, from our university UNSW, have individually made very generous contributions towards this expedition. Details... ALCOA Sponsorship! (9 March 2005) Spanning 42 countries, Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminium, fabricated aluminium, and alumina. Alcoa is generously providing us with the aluminium with which to build our 2 PACs Details... First contact with media! (7 March 2005) We’ve finally got things organised to a level where we can unleash our plans upon the confused public. So why are these two guys dragging truck tyre’s up and down the beach? Well now they know… Read the Article... Accepted into The Explorers Club! (6 March 2005) 1000HourDay leader Chris Bray has just been given the honour of being accepted into this exclusive international club. The youngest of 30 Aussie members, of only 3000 worldwide. Other members include 1st man on the moon, to summit Everest, to conquer the poles, bottom of the ocean... Details... Finished P.A.C Design (2 Feb 2005) Just finalized my design of our P.A.C (Paddleable Amphibious Container) - cross between a kayak/cart/sled which we will fill with 130kgs each and paddle/pull/haul over 1,000km. Now to build it!... Details... Hauling Harnesses Arrive! (2 Feb 2005) 'Atlas' harnesses made for us by Eric Philip's 'IceTrek' (First Aussie to both N and S poles). Now for training we haul a large truck tire along local beaches. It's harder than it looks, & we get some rather amusing looks! Surely there must be an easier way to flatten the sand?... Details... Maps Arrive! (1 Feb 2005) A little worse-for-wear after their trip from Canada, our topographic maps came in the post today! Stunned at the number of lakes - there's more water than land! Amazing landscape. We fine tuned our route... Details... World First! (20 Jan 2005) After talking to various organisations including the exclusive 'Explorers Club', it seems that should we complete the crossing of Victoria Island, it would be a world first!! The excitement mounts... Details...