Brando Yelavich has completed Expedition Dust after pedalling 5555 kilometres from the west coast of Australia to the east on his pushbike.

Taking off from Steep Point – Australia’s most western point – he spent 130 days crossing through the centre of the continent to Cape Byron, New South Wales – the country’s most eastern point. 

After hauling all of his equipment across the outback with no support crew, spending nights camping alone in the desert and later being joined by his Dad and other expedition partners along the way, Brando’s arrival in Byron made him the first person to complete the ride through the dusty deserts of Australia. His plan changed pretty dramatically early on, after his expedition partner Loren had to tap out one week in.

Although he’s not fussed on firsts, Brando said the expedition was to create mental health awareness and he tells those who follow his updates: 

‘If I can cross one of the most inhospitable continents on earth on a pushbike you can do anything. Including looking after the universe between your ears. For me it has been one of the most life-changing experiences to date.’

The Aussie crossing adds to a growing list of gnarly expeditions that Brando’s completed. He’s the first person to circumnavigate the 8700 km New Zealand coastline by foot, has crossed the Greenland Icecap, circumnavigated Vancouver Island on a 70-day kayak trip, taken part in an aid expedition in the Nepalese Himalayas and completed a 33-day, 70 km trip around Stewart Island.

What’s next? According to his Instagram, ‘absolutely anything I want because I am the creator of my own destiny!’ Classic Brando.

 

In the meantime, Aussie filmmakers Ain Raddik and Ben Savage enter the editing phase for a film about the expedition, the importance of mental health and having a relationship with nature titled: Dust.

 

Photo by Ben Savage

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