New York State Division of Tourism’s UK office has teamed up with British expeditioner Richard Harpham and fellow adventurer and photographer Glenn Charles who will together embark on an epic journey of more than 500 miles by kayak across the beautiful landscapes of New York State.

The expedition which starts on May 1, 2012, will take approximately a month to complete and will focus on the heritage, culture, wildlife, iconic locations, communities and waterways along the route. The journey begins at Buffalo and will take in world-renowned beauty spot Niagara Falls. Richard and Glenn will then kayak along the picturesque Erie Canal with its 35 locks, before reaching Albany and joining the Hudson River. They will then paddle south to Manhattan, completing the expedition at the iconic Statue of Liberty.

The expedition is entitled ‘The New York State Spare Seat Kayak Expedition’ as both Richard and Glenn will kayak the route in doubled seated kayaks, inviting community members along the route to join them. They will meet the communities, hold talks, coach about kayaking, and attend community generated events that will help promote local efforts to enjoy and protect New York state waterways.

The spare seat on one of the two kayaks will be made available for local personalities, leadership and representatives of the media to be part of the trip, and those participants will be interviewed and videoed/photographed.

The entire expedition will be photographed and filmed and followed on the dedicated website www.thespareseat.com  and social media feeds will allow you to follow Richard, Glenn and all those that join them every stroke of the way.

A competition is also running offering two lucky winners the chance to join the team for three days in the spare seat followed by two nights in New York City. The money-cant-buy prize is courtesy of New York State Division of Tourism, Delta Airlines and Travelbag. Runner-up prizes include Vango rucksacks, Paramo Clothing and Olympus Cameras.

Richard has completed 5,000 miles of human power, kayaking, canoeing and cycling.  He has kayaked The Inside Passage (Seattle to Alaska), canoed the Yukon River and kayaked and cycled from London to Marrakech via Gibraltar’s Ocean Village. He also managed the Ghana Ski Team to the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Ever wanted to know your true potential? Get involved in an incredible adventure by joining us in the Spare Seat…!  We have thousands of pounds of prizes and the chance for one lucky winners (with a friend) to join the expedition for this once in a lifetime opportunity.