Arrived Bondi, 18th May 2009

 

 

On schedule, Mark completed his solo walk on Monday morning:

“Exactly 5200km to Bondi Beach where I was greeted by old classmates Celia and David and the three of us went blissfully swimming in the sea until we were ushered from the water by a life saver for being in an area too dangerous to swim in. He then proceeded to erect a sign to that effect which is just as well because I walk a lot better than I swim. This was followed by coffee on the beach and then taken by car to North Sydney for a mayoral reception and BBQ organised by North Sydney Rotary Club. Will visit Randwick Children’s Hospital at 10am tomorrow.”

3 days to the finish line!

On Saturday 16th May, Mark says: “Everything’s going well with only 3 days to go.
Hope to arrive Bondi beach 10am Monday 18th then a civic reception at North Sydney followed by a Rotary BBQ in the civic park. Will now go to Randwick Childrens Hospital 10am Tuesday for Australian Cancer Research Foundation welcome.”

PHOTOS FROM SA TO NSW:

Thanks everyone for your ongoing support and make sure you meet Mark at the finish line if you’re in the Sydney area!

Nowra (aka the 5,000K Mark!)

On Thursday, Mark was on schedule between Ulladulla and Gerringong:

Day 69: 12 more to the finish line

Mark’s staying at Lakes Entrance tonight, on schedule, and in comfort courtesy of Rotary Club contacts. He’s redecorated his giant motel accommodation with his drying laundry and was making himself a hot cuppa when we talked.
Amongst his recent adventures on the road, Mark reported a noticeable increase in roadside bakeries, an unexpected encounter with a barrage of law enforcing agents who had no interest in either weighing or searching his buggy (despite Mark volunteering) but donated to the cause instead, and a lovely ‘church’ stay in Sale, where Marist brothers fed Mark a copious dinner including red wine and double desserts! This may or may not have led to the ‘day of bad decisions’ (as Mark puts it) that followed: he took a wrong turn, adding 2km to the journey, had a bad lunch, then had to change a tyre on the buggy.
Nights of camping haven’t felt as chilly as they’ve actually been (down to -2 degrees). Only 2 more days before Mark reaches the NSW border, then 10 more up the coast to Sydney. In the meantime, he’s still gratefully receiving nominations and donations, thanks for your support everyone!
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=lakes+entrance+VIC&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.28862,67.675781&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.588119,148.933411&spn=0.911936,2.114868&z=9

Past the 4,000 Mark!

Greetings one and all from Mark who is about to arrive in Melbourne tomorrow, a little wetter than usual after three days of wet and wild weather.
Also a little more tired than usual having walked from Terang all through the night to Geelong, a distance of some 140km, from 7:30am to 11am the following day. Yes Mark is a little crazy but he also promised to be in Geelong by 4:30pm for a civic reception at the Geelong Town Hall, instigated by the local Lions’clubs.
Mark has certainly been humbled by his wonderful experiences at Football Park and now the Town Hall, but would remind people that these events are only a means to raising awareness for Cure Cancer Challenge and the potential for more donations to boost research into finding cures for Cancer. So if you haven’t donated yet check out the website for details on how you can contribute to cancer research.
Mark is also extremely grateful to those friends who braved the loss by the Crows to Geelong in order to collect donations at the end of the game.
He is also pleased to announce that as of arriving in Geelong he has now walked over 4000km and is still going strong thanks to all the wonderful support he has been receiving.


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Perth to Sydney… via Football Park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark ended up walking his lap around AAMI Stadium just before the game between Adelaide and Geelong. He was cheered along by the crowd and even received donation after donation as he strode past with the buggy, stopping to pick up the cash then running along to make up time so he didn’t take too long to complete his lap! Have a look at the video footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziPxt_pUYXM

SA & Adelaide

Mark arrived in Adelaide, well, Bolivar to be precise, last Wednesday 8th April. No trees to provide tempting shady spots, no mobile phone connectivity to provide tempting chatty breaks, and ever cooler weather all combined to speed up the first part of his South Australian journey… till Mark had somehow made up two days’ worth of walking and turned up ahead of schedule, many kilos thinner and several shades of complexion darker. .. and with photos of the trip (Perth-Adelaide)!! [now available in Photo Gallery]

 

Mark and some of his ‘support crew’ touched base with SA charity the McGuinness-McDermott Foundation for a morning tea on Tuesday, in preparation for Mark’s walk around AAMI Stadium at half time during the Crows-Geelong game on Saturday18th April, to raise awareness and funds.

Mark’s back on the road already, though, walking the Bolivar to Stirling leg today then heading South and East, except for a quick return trip to the footy game on Saturday night. Watch this space for further updates!

PHOTO GALLERY

Mark's trip so far...

still no trees in sight!

 

 

 

Eucla and beyond

Day 30: Mark’s made it to Eucla, WA, running the last 5 kms up the hill (revived by a roadside donation of $175, from his good looks no doubt)! The walk is going smoothly, albeit continuously dotted by flies (photo of dotted buggy to follow), and the view’s included a few unexpected trees (Nullarbor says who?!), some coastline, and roadkill aplenty (roos, emus, eagles…). 

Good Samaritans at Balladonia Homestead provided him with a bed and meals (including a special delivery of a bacon and egg sandwich by the local postie the day after his departure!). Mark’s running low on food supplies, but he’s found Weetbix and tinned spaghetti to keep him going over the next few days’ walking and camping through the Nullarbor National Park. By sunrise tomorrow, he’s hoping to have reached South Australia, and if he can stretch tomorrow’s walk to 72km he will reach the big 2,000km mark.

The weather’s been mostly kind, ie. overcast and cool, with peaks of temperatures around 40 in direct sun. If as the name keeps threatening there really are NO trees in the National Park section of the Nullarbor, Mark may resort to lying under his buggy for shade… he’ll be out of mobile phone range again for a few days so all we can say is that the next update will come from SA!

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Australia&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.095278,130.578003&spn=1.952086,4.0979&z=8

Across the Nullarbor plain

Nullarbor plain, here we come!

Day 21 and onwards: walking in a straight line. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullarbor_Plain

See also http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/maps/euclaM.html (from Balladonia on…)