Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2024 Award Winners Have Been Announced

 

Australian Geographic has announced the winners of the Adventurer of the Year awards for 2024. These four inspiring people have walked, biked, rowed, and filmed epic adventures around the world. They’re each living a life of adventure and deserving of the accolades.

As the longest-running and most prestigious accolade within the Aussie adventure community, the Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year awards are a damn big deal. This year the awards are a little different, as the conservation component has been made into its own set of awards, the Australian Geographic Awards for Nature, the adventure awards now focus solely on achievements in exploration.

Adventurer of the Year Award 2024

The Adventurer of the Year is Lucy Barnard. Lucy is determined to be the first woman to walk the length of the Americas, from Ushuaia in Argentina to Utqiagvik in Alaska. Lucy’s journey started in 2017 and in March 2023 she became the first woman to walk the length of South America. That’s 11,100km across five countries.

Read more: LISTEN: Lucy Barnard is Walking the Length of the World With Her Dog

Lucy isn’t alone on this epic journey as Wombat, her loyal Australian cattle dog, is right beside her. Together they’re known as ‘Tangles and Tail’ on social media. Wombat’s enthusiastic character provides friendship, and security and helps Lucy connect with people she meets along the way. Wombat’s undying dedication is also deservedly recognised in an award by the Australian Geographic Society.

By the time the pair complete the journey, they’ll have walked 30,000km through 15 countries. Up to now, the intrepid pair have navigated through Central America and Mexico, passed the halfway mark of the walk and reached the United States of America.

Lucy is taking a break from the trail to return to Australia in January 2025 for the Australian Geographic Awards Roadshow speaker event in Sydney.

Lucy Barnard, accompanied by her dog Wombat, stands at the centre of the Nevado de Toluca crater in the State of Mexico | Australian Geographic

Lifetime of Adventure Award 2024

Michael Dillon certainly deserves the Lifetime of Adventure Award. In 1969, Michael began his life of adventure as a documentary filmmaker. His inspiration? Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s summitting of Mt Everest in 1953. Through Scouts and the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Michael fostered a love of adventure and the outdoors. Following his first forays into filmmaking during a Himalayan trek in 1969, he’s accumulated an inspiring body of work.

In 1977, Michael joined Sir Edmund Hillary to make a documentary about exploring the Ganges, titled From the Ocean to the Sky. Michael teamed up with legionary mountaineer, Tim Macartney-Snape in the making of the 1990 film, Sea to Summit, about his Everest expedition.

Michal’s latest work, The Great White Whale, is a documentary on Warwick Deacock’s 1965 climb of Big Ben on Heard Island, Australia’s highest mountain.

Michael Dillon will answer questions at the screening of The Great White Whale in Melbourne on the 6^th of February 2025.

Lifetime of Adventure winner Michael Dillan AM | Australian Geographic

Young Adventurer of the Year Award 2024

In July 2022, Australian, Tom Robinson started rowing from Peru in a seven-metre wooden rowing boat he designed and built himself. Tom’s goal, at 23 years old, to become the youngest person to have ever rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean. In the boat he named Maiwar, Tom faced monumental life-threatening challenges. After being blown off course, Tom limped into the Cook Islands where the Guinness Book of Records recognised his massive achievement as the youngest person to row solo across the Pacific Ocean.

After spending time exploring the islands, Tom continued rowing to Australia. That goal came to an abrupt end when his boat capsized near Vanuatu. He’d missed closing a hatch on the boat and, ‘If the hatch had been closed, the boat would’ve self-righted’, Tom said. After 14 hours clinging to the hull naked, he was found by a cruise ship.

Tom rowed for 15 months and 5,000 nautical miles, showing his spirit of resilience and curiosity.

‘It’s not about the record – it’s about the experience. The journey was far more adventurous, enjoyable, and terrible than I ever imagined.’

Young Adventurer of the Year Tom Robinson | Australian Geographic

Spirit of Adventure Award 2024

Steph Devery spent COVID working as a paramedic in London. She needed a change so bought a gravel bike and began a journey of bikepacking. For five years she dreamed of cycling through Europe and Africa. On the 14th of January 2024, she reached the Cape of Good Hope, having completed a 24,000km journey over two and a half years.

With minimal bike mechanical knowledge or bikepacking experience, she headed off from southern Spain, crossing into the Middle East and Africa. Civil war in Sudan caused a break in the adventure. Recommencing in Tanzania two months later, she encountered all manner of challenges like African wildlife, scorching deserts, and brutal roads. It was the hospitality and connection with locals that were the highlights of the trip.

‘Reaching the end, surrounded by new friends, I had a moment of overwhelming pride. This journey was everything I hoped for and more’, Steph said.

Spirit of Adventure winner Steph Devery | Photo by Laura McMillan

Feature image thanks to Australian Geographic