desert walker : explorer
I’ve been walking and exploring the Australian deserts since 1995 and so far, have journeyed over 20000 kilometres across all of Australia's nine major deserts either as a solo explorer or as leader of commercial camel expeditions with my trekking business, the Outback Camel Company.
In 1999 I brought to fruition a 17 year dream of walking across Australia along The Tropic of Capricorn, a 229 day, 4637 kilometre journey raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Stage 2 of Capricorn Expedition, a two-stage walk across South America began in October 2017, and I hope to continue the walk in 2022. More information here - www.capricornexpedition.com.au
In 2007 I founded Australian Desert Expeditions, a Registered Australian Charity that partners with leading universities and national research institutions to conduct scientific & ecological surveys in the far reaches of the inland deserts.
I believe that Australia's long cameleering exploration heritage can successfully partner with modern science to further our ecological knowledge of Australia's great arid wilderness.
Since 1995 I’ve walked across the Simpson Desert - the worlds largest parallel sand ridge desert - 12 times in various directions, the latest solo journey being reconnxpedition, a 35 day, 700 kilometre crossing in 2012.
On Australia Day 2015, I was honoured to be awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for service to environmental science, research and adventure tourism.
"The desert deserves to be approached gently, so its mood is revealed. The way people have always approached the desert was on foot, as we have done today. That reveals the country - the continuum of country."