We are Lucy Graham and Mathilde Gordon, two close friends who met at university in 2013 through a shared passion for the environment and adventure. We both call Australia home and are passionate explorers, delving deep into the beautiful sights that our country has to offer, adventure is the key. Camping, walks, multi-day hikes, rock climbing trips, skydives, kayaking, snorkeling and scuba-diving fills every moment of our spare time. In our own time, we have extended our exploration to different parts of the world, living, working and saving in between, to be able to travel to new places.
Over the past few years, our involvement in local conservation groups and participation in beach cleanup events led to our decision to live a single-use plastic-free life, which we have both successfully been doing since March 2016. We hope our adventure will inspire others to pursue their own, and also encourage people to begin their journey to protecting our beautiful oceans.
We have completed our 2042km kayak expedition!
In 2018 we kayaked over 2000km from Juneau, Alaska to Vancouver Island, Canada! Our 3 month kayaking expedition through the Inside Passage was not only to fulfill a dream of exploring the west coast of Alaska and Canada, but also to raise awareness of marine plastic pollution and promote women in adventure. We completed the entire journey without using single-use plastics, to encourage people to reduce their waste at home. We also fund-raised over $20,000 for the Living Oceans Society and the Tangaroa Blue Foundation.
Having never completed a kayaking trip together longer than 7 days before launching on this trip, our journey was destined to be full of new challenges, laughs and long-lasting memories.
Alongside AKEMI Media and Anna T Fabulous, we have created a documentary titled ‘Changing Tides,’ which details the transition from 2 years of planning from the tropics of Australia, to leaping into a wilderness beyond what we could imagine. The documentary is currently being entered into film festivals around the world, and will soon be released for educational purposes.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/336715063
Click Here to see what we are up to now!
Lucy Graham
At 17 I completed a certificate IV in outdoor recreation and started my career as an outdoor educator. I led multi day trips in a variety of adventure sports, including kayaking. I spent time as a program director for outdoor education programs and these experiences gave me the kind of organisational skills needed to put together a trip like this. In 2009, I traveled to Vancouver and laid eyes on the islands in the southern part of the Inside Passage for the first time. Since that moment, kayaking the Inside Passage has been a dream of mine.
I have completed multiple kayaking marathons in Australia and have learned huge amounts about myself and the determination, planning and training needed to complete the kind of challenge that we are undertaking. I truly believe in the importance of challenge provided by adventure, and I know what connection with nature can teach people about the environment, ourselves and the true responsibility we have. I have a Bachelor of Sustainability, majoring in Social Science, an interdisciplinary course focused in the areas of society, environment, economics and law. I have a deep understanding of both the social and environmental challenges our world face and I will continue to do everything in my power to learn, share and fight for a more sustainable life on earth.
Mathilde Gordon
Growing up with a family of outdoor enthusiasts, I have always had a strong passion for the outside world and every living creature in it. My adventures have taken me around Australia and overseas, holidays that are often packed with as many outdoor activities as possible. Throughout my explorations, and during my university studies of Zoology and Ecology, I developed an even stronger passion for the protection of the environment. This has led to a career in conservation, and a keen interest in scientific research in the fields of ecology and environmental management. Although I have been sea kayaking before many times, these experiences have not exceeded single day trips of longer than 4 hours to tropical islands and beaches. The beginning of 2018 marked the first time I did a multi-day trip! However, I am determined to train and challenge myself to another level. So when I heard that Lucy wanted to go on a three month kayaking expedition in a totally different part of the world, I embraced the opportunity to take an exciting leap out of my comfort zone.
Passage Adventures 