my application video on youtube if you have a problem watching it on this website

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr5fQYbTBek

Short version: (I am actually a man of few words – I believe “action speak louder than words”!

Hi!

I am a - happy, active, friendly, sunbleached surfer dude from the southern tip of Africa

Loves - the ocean, volunteering as qualified lifeguard, endurance events, water sports, extreme conditions, raising money for charities, mountainbiking, adventure books, catch & release fishing, hiking along coasts, African safari’s, campfires, photography, friends & family!

Cares about – ocean pollution, eco-friendly sport events, sharks, enjoying nature responsibly , safety of ocean users

Studies – Maritime (Navigation) Studies @ university, LIFE !

Plan to – explore the world’s oceans, learn from mistakes & experience, apply new knowledge

Supports- Ocean & Shark conservation, beach clean-ups, YEP!

Admires – adventurers-with-a-cause

Wish to – join Mike Horn on Nunavut expedition & learn about more ways to Act!

Cheers!

Henko

‎`·.¸¸ ><((((º>.·´¯`·><((((º>><((((º> ·...><((((º>·...><((((º>

Long version: ( for those of you who prefer detail…)

Hello! Goeiedag! Lotjhani! Dumela! Sawubona!  Avuxeni! Ndaa! Molo!

Welcome to my YEP profile!

I am an ordinary *Happy * Fun-loving *Colourful * Enthusiastic *Social *Team player *Sporty  *Adventurous * Determined * Goal setter * Safety conscious guy from an extraordinary country at the most southern tip of Africa -South Africa. My home language is Afrikaans, but my academic language English & I am trying to learn greetings & phrases in the other 9 official langauges of South Africa (we have 11!)

Currently I am a 1^styear university student doing Maritime Studies with subjects like Marine Environmental Studies, MarineScience & Maths, Maritime Law & Navigation. I love going to campus as it is right next to the ocean & we can watch the dolphins & whales swim past every day! My dream is to combine a surf charter business with environmental education projects all over the world’s oceans. So basically I want to Explore, Learn from others & Act by teaching others !

I love the ocean! I have lived in Cape Town all my life. I just l-o-v-e all water sports & aquatic creatures & spend as much time as possible in or near an aquatic environment . The ocean is my playground. I love bodyboarding, surfski, malibu , swimming, snorkelling or K1 kayaking down dams or rivers if I cannot be @ the sea. Recently I started to windsurf as well. I also do bass fishing & have started flyfishing as it is such a challenge . For fun I mountainbike through Majik Forest or up the farm hills surrounding us. I also do shooting – target shooting with my airrifle & photo shooting (especially underwater ) with my cameras!

So I guess you can say I love playing in nature! That’s why I actively participate in Beach Clean-up’s & also teach others how to respect and enjoy the ocean safely & responsibly. I also like to support Ocean Conservancy as well as Save Our Seas Foundation’s efforts . Participating in water based sports exposed me to the real threat ocean & river pollution have on our lives. Africa is a dry continent & we need to conserve our water sources! Since I joined YEP, I was inspired to start my own projects - combining my love of the ocean & sport events.

Currently I have 2 projects up & running with 1 more to follow soon:

* Shark safety tips & raising public awareness on shark behavior to beach goers

http://www.mikehorn.com/en/yep/young-explorer-act-projects/pangaea-shark-project/shark-smart/

* Eco-friendly boating tips to all skippers & crew @ ocean sport events http://www.mikehorn.com/en/yep/green-boating-tips1

* Swim4Sharks - with my swim friends joining me in the cold west coast ocean waters we swam 10km to raise funds for DYer Island Conservation Trust (they do a lot of shark research) !

I also like meeting up with other YEPs & organised a fieldtrip to the Save Our Seas Shark Centre & Kalk Bay inter-tidal Marine Reserve recently.

http://pangaea-yep.com/blogs/entry/Happy-about-3-new-YEP-Shark-Ambassadors-after-Cape-Town-YEP-Explore-Learn-Meeting

http://www.mikehorn.com/en/yep/16-apr-2011---kalk-bay,-south-africa

Books4Buddies Project:

http://www.mikehorn.com/en/yep/young-explorer-act-projects/books4buddies/

2011 Arctic Ice Swim  to raise public awareness on Climate Change :  http://pangaea-yep.com/blogs/entry/YEP-Arctic-Ocean-Ice-Swim-to-raise-awareness-on-Global-Warming

5 year ago I qualified as a Senior Lifeguard with Level 3 First Aid Award and now I work as a volunteer lifeguard at Big Bay Beach over weekends & summer holidays. To be part of a committed team who all have the safety of tourists & beachgoers @ heart, is great! We put a lot of effort into our training & have to get up early on weekends to do extra fitness work on the soft sand dunes before going on duty.

Other social projects that I am involved with are lots of charity swims where we raise money for different needy causes such as AIDS orphans, abused kids & streetchildren. I am also a member of the International Ice Swimming Association after succesfully participating in the 2010 & 2011 Speedo Africa Ice Swim (swimming a mile in 3- 4degree C water wearing a speedo) . Our preparation ( lots of xtra cold water swims & also sitting in ice filled tubs to acclimatize our bodies) & physical condition before & after the event was monitored by a medical team who used the statistics in their research on the treatment of hypothermia. Brrrrrrr, but lots of fun & great team work!! It really is amazing what you can do if you use the power of your mind to control your body’s reaction!

My main sport as an endurance athlete is open water swimming – the further the distance, the more I like it! My favorite ocean swim is considered by experts to be the world's most extreme cold water ocean swim - the 7,5km "escape" from Robben Island across Table Bay to Big Bay Beach. It is a big mental & physical challenge as the water is very cold, there are strong currents, you don't see land for miles & all kinds of creatures join you in the water ! I have completed this swim for the 4th time on 7 May 2011- in an attempt to raise money for children with Cerebral Palsy, Physical Disabilities and other barriers.

I enjoy participating @ Surflifesaving competitions & the Iron Man event is my favorite. When I am not in the ocean, swimming, studying or spending time with my friends & family, I love to read. I prefer adventure sports magazines & books like Mike Horn’s “Conquering the Impossible”, Achieving the Impossible by Lewis Pugh, Around Africa by bicycle - Riaan Manser (funny how they are all from SA… ) & everything about people who do strange but exciting things!

I also believe that the modern youth needs to be inspired by extra-ordinary adventures in order to capture their imagination & motivate them to enjoy nature responsibly . Only then will we succeed to inspire & involve others with saving our planet for future generations. I know, because I was also inspired by adventurers-with-a-cause such as Mike Horn!

I am a proud Cape Town citizen & think everybody should try to visit South Africa & experience our exciting & beautiful country & its colourful people! Every year our family explore a different part of our sub-continent & learn from our traditional cultural communities such as the Xhosas of the Wild Coast, Zulus, Namas & San people. We regularly go on bundu safaris to study our wildlife & experience the wild open spaces of Africa - lying in your little tent with lions roaring outside is very humbling!

I hope to hear from you all & you are welcome to read more thoughts from the southern tip of Africa in my “Blog”

Warm African greetings

Goodbye! Totsiens! Usale kuhle! Sala hantle! Sala gabotse! Sala sentle! Hamba kahle!  Salani!  Kha vha sale zwavhudi! Sala kakuhle!  Hamba kahle!  (good bye & go well!)

Henko

Cell 073 898 1993

Tel +27 (21) 976 6103

fb http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=553660944

PS : ACTION SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS !