Scotland to Australia: An adventure by land and sea
Scots traveller is taking a trip to Australia by only land and sea.
A man from Edinburgh has embarked on a journey of over 20,000 miles from Perth, Scotland to Perth in Australia – travelling only by land and sea.
Turning a childhood dream into reality, Liam Cavanagh is backpacking his way to the land down under to study abroad, seeing as much of the world as he can along the way.
The 41-year-old began his journey at Perth railway station in Scotland in late September and is due to reach Australia by train on November 30.
Exploring new places has always been a love for Liam, being inspired from a young age by the adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Veren – a book he read often as a child
“I guess the whole Phileas Fogg inspiration was always in the back of my mind, as well as the likes of Michael Palin, who travelled great distances without aeroplane; to me this feels more like travelling because it takes a lot of time and is much more complex than getting on a plane [which takes you] from a to b.”
It has always been in Liam’s nature to do things differently, he said: “One of my teachers once told me I was a ‘rugged individual’ – I never really understood what that meant.
“But I do like doing things my own way and I believe less people should follow heard and play it safe in life.
“People are always telling me things can’t be done, and I like to challenge that!”
As he says himself, Liam is not your stereotypical student backpacker.
Having already undergone years of studying at the University of Glasgow and progressing into a successful career at the National Records of Scotland, he is taking a career break to study IT in Australia following a realisation that ‘life is short’, he says: “Turning 40 and looking at what I’d achieved in my life, recovering from a long period of ill health and being in lockdown during the pandemic were catalysts that lead to doing this.
“I could have done this studying in Scotland but I felt it was best for me to go abroad, to broaden my horizons and really challenge myself and meet different people.
“It’s allowing me to go to places like Glasgow, Montana which I didn’t even know existed and only discovered it by looking at a map when trying to plan a route that would take me from Eastern America to the West.”
Despite only being in the early stages of his journey, Liam has already encountered some unexpected challenges, the most significant being caught up in hurricane Milton, the storm which ripped through Florida at the beginning of October.
When the category 5 hurricane hit, Liam was on a cruise ship which was due to dock in Fort Lauderdale but instead stayed afloat in the atlantic until the storm passed; he recognises that his experience was only a minor inconvenience compared to the devastating damage Milton caused for those on land, he said: “I am grateful to the crew of the ship for keeping us out of harm’s way.”
The storm has taught Liam to ‘expect the unexpected’ when continuing with his journey, he said: “I guess the world is both a scary and wondrous place.”
As his travels continue, Liam is sure that many of the best moments are still to come, he is looking forward to reaching Pacific islands such as Hawaii and Fiji, as well as taking the Amtrak train across the US.
To document his trip, Liam has set up a blog called Perth2Perth where he shares daily updates on his whereabouts accompanied by selfies in front of blue seas.
Liam started blogging so he could share his travels with friends and family back home but it has since gained a following of people from around the world who check in with the Substack site every day.
“I have a great time travelling on my own but I do miss being able to share these experiences with others back home.
“It gives me something I can look back on in years to come.”
To follow along with Liam’s journey, you can visit his blog at: https://perth2perth.substack.com/
