What started as a big personal challenge ended with a New Zealand man praising Canadians as the highlight of a 216-day canoe trip across the country.

Tom Hudson arrived in Montreal this week after launching from Saskatchewan River Crossing, Alta., on May 23, 2024, and paddling solo through Canada’s waterways after a winter pause. He said the trip changed what he thought it would be about.

“When I started out it was a selfish adventure, you know, I was going to do this because this is going to be fun and cool,” Hudson said. “I thought my journey was going to showcase nature and the landscape. But what it really showcased was how incredible the Canadian people are.”

Hudson said he chose Canada because of its size and natural beauty, despite having no paddling experience before setting out.

“I chose Canada because of the sheer size of the country and the nature and the beauty,” he said. “I had never paddled before in my life. I wanted to do something I had never done and then I wanted to do it in a big way. I didn’t want to train, I didn’t want to research. This was about learning from my mistakes.”

He said one of those mistakes came early. On the fourth day, he capsized.

“There was a rolling wave. I capsized and my whole canoe went down the river,” Hudson said. “There was nothing I could do about it, and it was just me standing on the bank, with nothing but wet clothes.”

Hudson said he found a bush track and started jogging. About 25 minutes later, he met a man named Josh, who was camping nearby and walking with his children.

“The first words he said to me were: ‘Don’t worry, we are not going to leave you out here.’ And just those simple words made me know that I was OK,” Hudson said.

Hudson said Josh took him in, bought him dinner, gave him dry clothes and let him stay for a week.

“He could have dropped me down the road at some accommodation and I would have appreciated that. But he didn’t. He invited me to stay at his house, and he bought me dinner and gave me dry clothes. I stayed with them for a week.”

Hudson documented the trip on YouTube and Instagram under the handle @whatintheworld_tom. In one video posted online, he said: “Canadians I tell you what, I frickin’ love you guys.”

He said the trip to Canada was part of a change he made 12 years ago in New Zealand. Hudson said he had worked in construction, owned a house with a mortgage and looked successful from the outside, but was unhappy.

“On the outside, I looked successful,” Hudson said. “Until one day, I woke up with my alarm to go to work, and at that moment, it just hit me very hard: you are not following your heart, you are not following your journey.”

He sold his house, gave away his possessions and decided to make decisions based on joy. He financed his travels through his YouTube channel, though he said money became tight in Manitoba and he considered pausing the trip.

Then he found Ivy, a 14-year-old dog stuck in the mud.

“I heard whimpering,” he said. “I ended up getting out of the canoe and trudging through the mud, up to my knees, and got to her.”

Hudson said he found Ivy’s owner a few hundred metres away. The owner had been looking for the dog for a few days and was relieved to be reunited with her. Hudson said the moment brought more attention to his posts online.

“That video put my journey in front of a lot of people,” Hudson said. “So yeah, as much as I helped, I received very much help, as well.”

Hudson said the trip brought mental and physical challenges, and changed how he sees nature.

“I learned that nature is humbling. It can absolutely destroy you, and you have to respect it. You have to adapt to it, because you can’t beat it,” he said. “And so, it is scary and loud, but when it wants to be beautiful, it leaves you speechless.”

On the 216th day of paddling, Hudson reached the Port of Montreal, where some followers gathered with a Canadian and a New Zealand flag. Some people he had met along the way also travelled to greet him.

“I wanted to thank them, and I wanted to thank the whole of Canada,” he said. “They have been incredible to me.”

Now he is planning his next adventure, hoping to travel through Mongolia on horseback.

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