Geoff Whitty has crossed difficult terrain and seen some amazing sights on his journey so far.
Former local Geoff Whitty is exploring his adventurous side, and is embarking on an 18 month overland trip across multiple countries.
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Geoff set off on the trip in April this year, after first visiting the Southern Riverina to farewell his friends.
The trek will take Geoff from China to Tibet, through the Stans to Turkey, across to Morocco down the West Coast of Africa (by overland truck) and to Cape Town.
He will then continue on to Brazil and Patagonia, up the Pan American Highway to Anchorage, down through Canada and the USA.
He will them make his way to the UK and Europe, returning to Australia via Asia by Christmas next year.
Having just crossed the land border from Turkmenistan into Uzbekistan, Geoff contacted the Southern Riverina News on Monday afternoon.
He provided the following update on his journey to date.
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It's 21.22 and I am watching the sun set (on time) as it burns and bursts its way through the snow-white clouds that sit atop the Kopet Dag mountain range which form the political demarcation between the Iranian and Turkmenistan land borders.
By their very nature these great ancestral lands cloak themselves in the same desert dust, as do their peoples share the same genes that have been passed down through the millenniums
I am two months into a two year travel adventure odyssey that will take me around the world, overland, using public transport. Oceans and land border closures are the exceptions.
Civil wars ... well let's wait till I get to the West Coast of Africa.
I flew from Melbourne into China and chose Chengdu as a starting point, for no other reason that it facilitated a Chinese visa requirement and a convenient gateway into Tibet. It had nothing to do with panda bears.
Now having made my way through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, I have arrived at the Gates to Hell, central Turkmenistan.
This part of the journey along the ancient silk road commenced with a land border crossing from the old slave trading city of Khiva, Uzbekistan to the border village of Shavat-Dashoguz, Turkmenistan.
To get to the Gates of Hell is a nine hour road trip from hell, through the vast Karakam desert steppe - the home to nomadic camels, sheep and disused and discarded machinery left by the Russians while having some wild adventures of their own drilling for oil and gas in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Another five hours through the Karakam desert will bring you to the White City of Ashgabat - the capital.
Before entering the capital, all cars have their car washed. Driving a dirty car in the White City will incur a dirty car fine by the dirty white car police.
And all the cars and all the buildings are yes, you guessed it white. Most of the marble which this city is built on is imported from Thassos, Greece and Vietnam, due to its purity.
An overnight stop in Ashgabat will see you on yet another desert adventure, this time a five hour, not-so-gruelling drive through the Kar-Kum desert to the border town of Farab, Turkmenistan side, and then another 120km to Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
So, if anyone tells you to go to hell, now you know how to get there.
And why am I here? Don't ask. Best time to travel - after you've had a near death experience.
What to bring - A sense of adventure.
The mercury in this part of the world reaches 40 degrees so don't forget your slip, slop slap.
22°C