Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke is preparing for his first kayak expedition, during which he'll cover more than 600km (373 miles) of rivers in his home country. The project will begin this month and run through September, with most of the travel being done on the weekends.
The project, which has been dubbed the Belgikayak, has three goals in mind. First, to paddle the 600km of waterways between Brussels and Ostend. Secondly, to document the beauty of Belgium, as seen from the rivers, in photos and film, and finally to spread an ecological message of how important it is to protect the country's waterways. That last objective is especially important this year, as the U.N.'s topic for World Water Day was "Water for the Cities."
The entire journey will also be the subject of a documentary that will show the joy of paddling Belgium's waterways and how scenic the country can be from that unique perspective. The film will also serve to as a vehicle to spread the message of how pollution is effecting the rivers and how important it is to preserve them.
At each stop along the way, Loncke will meet with citizens in the various cities where he'll further spread his message and try to impress the importance of clean water on the children that live there. He also hopes to inspire them to be active, outdoor explorers themselves, encouraging a healthy lifestyle.