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ECOLOGY &<br />
SURF TRAVEL:<br />
NATURAL<br />
ENEMIES?<br />
CAN YOU REALLY LEAD A GREEN LIFESTYLE<br />
AND STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT TRAVELING IN<br />
SEARCH OF THE PERFECT WAVE? AND IF WE<br />
WANT TO BE GREEN, DOES THIS MEAN WE<br />
HAVE TO GIVE UP THE GIFT OF SURF TRAVEL?<br />
As surfers, we love to travel. Most of us<br />
dream of finding that perfect, uncrowded<br />
wave and enjoying the ocean on a different<br />
part of the earth than our regular break.<br />
Surfing endless tropical barrels, venturing<br />
deep downunder to the chilly waters of NZ<br />
or living the Californian dream – it doesn’t<br />
really matter, if there are new waves on<br />
offer most of us will jump at the chance to<br />
ride them.<br />
So does the inevitable plane trip to<br />
reach these oceanic wonders come at an<br />
ecologically unfriendly price? Well, yes<br />
if your alternative is to stay at home and<br />
walk or bike to the beach. But put into<br />
perspective your conscience will be relieved<br />
to discover that recent findings suggest it’s<br />
not all bad. The aviation industry has now<br />
been overtaken by the IT industry in terms<br />
of their CO 2 output. So even just turning off<br />
your computer daily when it’s not in use can,<br />
over a year, help to counteract the negative<br />
impact of an annual surf trip.<br />
Reports also show that an aeroplane gets<br />
about 20.4km to the litre per seat. Longer<br />
flights are more efficient, newer planes are<br />
better, but on average it’s 10.4k/l. Thus,<br />
traveling solo in an SUV is more harmful in<br />
terms of emissions than buying a plane ticket.<br />
Of course, there is also the more touchyfeely<br />
aspect to global surf travel... We<br />
can help educate the masses and expose<br />
pollution, before it becomes irreversible.<br />
So go forth and enjoy that next trip to Indo,<br />
but counter your ecological footprint along<br />
the way by boycotting polluted areas and<br />
visiting places that embrace eco-tourism<br />
and sustainability - the waves will be just as<br />
good and you’ll not be eating plastic within<br />
the walls of the green room either.<br />
Nicola O’Reilly is the better half of<br />
the nice folks from Surfing Green, a<br />
couple passionate about providing<br />
sustainable surfing products.<br />
www.surfinggreen.com.au<br />
POINTS<br />
OF VIEW<br />
STOP THE<br />
SCREAMING<br />
& SHOUTING<br />
AND GET WET<br />
The other day I visited my local surf (dog)<br />
beach with my trusty Labrador Lizzy who is<br />
teaching my wife to body surf. Yes that’s<br />
right. The black two-year-old lab loves the<br />
surf and chases after the frisbee, turns<br />
around when the wave is about to break, and<br />
bodysurfs her way into the beach.<br />
Further along the beach I was curiously<br />
watching a young personal trainer take his<br />
clients for a beach session. Two things really<br />
struck me: Firstly, it’s about time he dropped<br />
the army screaming and yelling technique,<br />
which is not only old hat, but disturbing to<br />
think that he didn’t know that most of us - the<br />
rational ones at least - don’t want or need to<br />
be yelled at or bullied to get a good workout.<br />
As I continued to watch I noticed a woman<br />
who looked about forty-five years old huffing<br />
and panting her way around a wooden<br />
boardwalk out of sight of the personal<br />
trainer. She was carrying a lot of weight,<br />
particularly around her waist, and looked<br />
like she was about to have a coronary. She<br />
was obviously far too heavy to be running, as<br />
her joints and connective tissue would have<br />
been taking a pounding. No doubt she was<br />
working hard and doing her best, however I<br />
thought I would have to give CPR any minute.<br />
I’m not a big fan of this type of training as<br />
many people are at such a different level<br />
of fitness. It’s hard to manage these larger<br />
groups effectively. If you were a nineteenyear-old<br />
male who’s fit and just entered the<br />
army you may just get away with this.<br />
I’ve watched trainers push people above their<br />
ability level and inevitably they leave, never<br />
to return to fitness ever again. It’s our job to<br />
effectively assess our clients’ fitness, coach<br />
them slowly at a comfortable level, encourage<br />
them, and build a good rapport with them so<br />
they feel safe and happy to return.<br />
It’s really important that personal trainers<br />
have the ability to work and understand<br />
the needs of the very young to the very<br />
old. Personal trainers need to know how<br />
our bodies change as we age and what is<br />
appropriate for these different age groups<br />
and also have an understanding of rehab in<br />
relation to those coming back from injury.<br />
So perhaps ditch the khakis and don the<br />
boardies. It’s fun, makes you feel great. You<br />
don’t feel like you’ve just enlisted and it’s<br />
relatively low impact.<br />
John Hart is a qualified fitness<br />
instructor and personal trainer with<br />
a Masters in Education who writes<br />
books, trains and rehabilitates people,<br />
takes photos, directs movies and is<br />
happy to share what he’s learned.<br />
www.johnhartfitness.com<br />
Nose & Paddle Guards,<br />
Rail Tape & Leash Plugs<br />
Pro Teck Fins<br />
Travel Safe Repair Kts<br />
SURFTECH AUSTRALIA<br />
www.surftechaustralia.com.au<br />
02 4226 1322
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