On Saturday, 14 September I rolled into Darwin, the capital of the North Territory of Australia. It marked the end of a 4027km journey from Melbourne Airport in Victoria, in the south of Australia. For 25 days, I battled north on my bike on a solo mission to cycle through the heart of Australia.
This is not a full report of that adventure but I wanted to let those who follow my adventures that the fourth adventure of the year has been successfully completed and within the time frame I set before I started.
This adventure was always going to be hard and it didn’t disappoint. The challenges included huge daily mileage, long stints on the bike, no rest days, headwinds, relentless sun and a continual obsession about water. A obstacle I did not factor in was divebombing magpies in South Australia. I think I was attacked 8 times and this can be very dangerous when on a busy road. (very sadly a mane died this week due to this).
As mentioned above, the adventure began in Melbourne Airport. I arrived at 6am on 21 August and immediately rebuilt my bike as soon as I was cleared through customs. From there, I cycled 110km south to Torquay where I began my cycle all the Great Ocean Road. I then veered through Adelaide and then headed north to Port Augusta. This is where the adventure really began and the land changed from green to red. The Stuart Highway starts here and I would be on it for over 2800km passing through Coober Pedy, Alice Springs before finally arriving in Darwin.
Not many people know then but Australia is all up hill to Alice Springs and then downhill from there to Darwin. Admittedly, the highest point is only about 800m!
To put the distance into context, it is nearly three times the length of Lands End to John O Groats in the UK and 600km more than the 2019 Tour de France (and they take 23 days to complete that!)
Thank you to everyone who supported me on this adventure and I look forward to sharing videos, images and stories over the coming weeks.
Now I have to turn my attention to Running Madagascar – an adventure I am truly scared about.
