On December 10, 2006 I set off from Melbourne, Australia with a scant kit of basic necessities, a world map and an open itinerary, on a solo expedition to circumnavigate the planet by bicycle and sail. In the spirit of exploration and discovery I am sailing the high seas and cycling overland on a series of transcontinental and oceanic journeys bound for some of the most remote and interesting environments on the planet.

In addition to the physical and mental challenges inherent in sustainable travel through an extreme range of climates and terrain, this journey will take me into the lives of people the world over, enabling me to gain grass-roots insight into the ways of exotic cultures and societies far removed from the western consciousness.
Over the course of the journey I will cycle approximately 70,000 kilometers through six continents and 50 plus countries, and sail 22,000 plus nautical miles cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The journey will take several years to complete.

View Earth Odyssey in a larger map

THE ROUTE

Due to the nature of the expedition and the countless variables on the ground, it is impossible to predict an exact route and therefore the actual route may differ substantially. The following description represents one preferable route.

STAGE ONE: Oceania & Eastern Asia (10,000 kilometers) / The Coral, Arafura, Timor, Banda & Flores seas (3,500 nautical miles)

Departing form Melbourne, I head north up the East Coast of Australia, sail over the top end to Indonesia and cycle through Southeast Asia and China to Japan. COMPLETED!

STAGE TWO: China, Central Asia, Russia & Europe (18,000 kilometers)

I head back into China and west to the Himalayas and onto the roof of the world, across the Tibetan Plateau and down through the Taklamakan Desert. From northwestern China I cross into Kazakhstan on my way to Russia and Europe. (Siberia, Mongolia, Nepal, India and Pakistan are other possible destinations on this leg.)

STAGE THREE: Africa (18,000 kilometers) & The Atlantic Ocean (4,000 Nautical Miles)

Entering Morocco, and pedaling through the Sahara to Senegal then east to Kenya and down through Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, via Madagascar to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Then I sail across the Atlantic to South America.

STAGE FOUR: The Americas (25,000kms)

From wherever I land on the east coast the South America I pedal south to Tierra del Fuego before beginning the long road north, follow the line of the Andes through Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. I then pick my way through Central America, Mexico, the USA and western Canada to Alaska.

STAGE FIVE: The Pacific Ocean (14,000 plus Nautical Miles), Australia & back to home to Melbourne

The home run takes me south again along the western seaboard in search of a yacht for the passage home to Australia across the Pacific via French Polynesia, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.