# Anyone following Freya Hoffmeister's circumnavigation of South America? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 5, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185 "2011-12-05T21:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/1 "2011-12-05T21:43:28Z")
A friend of mine is an avid sea kayaker, and his hero (heroine?) is [Freya Hoffmeister](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freya_Hoffmeister), who is currently involved in kayaking around the entire continent of South America, planning to complete the journey before her 50th birthday. She previously set the record for circumnavigating Iceland, and became the first woman to circumnavigate Australia solo. Anyway, you can follow her journey [via her blog](http://freyahoffmeister.com/freyas-blog/), and [with this map](https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S317833SgEl). ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/2 "2011-12-05T23:37:05Z")
First I’ve heard of it - thanks for the info. Brian ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/3 "2011-12-06T00:06:35Z")
You’d think this would be more well known. Former Miss Germany contestant, gymnast, body builder, skydiver. One would think there was an amazing documentary film here, especially as she closes in on rounding Tierra del Fuego solo in a fricking kayak! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/4 "2011-12-07T22:17:25Z")
Nobody else? I mean, this is a pretty astonishing athletic endeavor - paddling solo around a continent (she’d already done Australia). ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/5 "2011-12-07T23:09:59Z")
I searched the local papers but could find only the one [reference](http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/female-kayaker-circumnavigates-australia-20091215-kst7.html). So it doesn’t look like she made much of a splash here back in 2009. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/6 "2011-12-08T00:36:11Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I searched the local papers but could find only the one [reference](http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/female-kayaker-circumnavigates-australia-20091215-kst7.html). So it doesn’t look like she made much of a splash here back in 2009. That’s a crying shame. One would think that 13,000km would impress people. Thanks for the link, I’ll add it to the article. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/7 "2011-12-10T18:11:38Z")
She’s closing in on Tierra del Fuego, paddling like stink, covering 83 km on her 102nd day. I should have posted this on MPSIMS, but I know some mod would have immediately moved it here. But at least it would have had a link where more people would have seen it. Ah well. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/8 "2011-12-10T23:28:47Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > That’s a crying shame. One would think that 13,000km would impress people. I suppose, but there seems to be someone in the paper every week who has just completed some ‘first’. I think people just gloss over it all now. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/9 "2011-12-11T00:53:05Z")
How hard of a pace is that? Like a marathon a day? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-freya-hoffmeisters-circumnavigation-of-south-america/605185/10 "2011-12-11T04:41:36Z")
I followed her Australian circumnavigation and, I tell you, that woman is a machine. She is the second person of only two in history to achieve Australia (but 28 days faster). Many have tried. Included in that feat was an approx. 575km open water crossing to cut off the Gulf of Carpentaria. 575km in a piddly little kayak in waters festooned with great whites, box jellyfish and such. So insane. I am really looking forward to when she paddles the south coast of Chile, between Tierra del Fuego and Puerto Montt. That 2000km stretch is a sea kayaker’s paradise as it is stunningly set with countless inlets, islands, channels and mountains. However, it is very, very challenging, with it’s brutal conditions and in its remoteness. Take a look on Google Earth, the geography of this little-known area is amazing and surprising. If she makes it, Holy Crap!