My manuscript, Desert Walker, is a journey from my childhood through to my adult years. It is a true story of my many and varied exploits into the Australian Outback, interspersed with chapters of my personal life. I have walked remote deserts, boated and canoed mighty flooded rivers, conquered the outback in 4x4 wheel drive vehicles and a solar powered car, retraced the journeys of early explorerers and ridden camels across some of the harshest terrain in the world.
The Press at various times have labelled me a contemporary Australian explorer, one of the quintessential characters of Australia's inland, an Australian adventurer and an outback legend.
Some of my ventures were attempts to break records, others were undertaken to address personal problems, all were to reach higher goals and fulfill long held dreams, while two of my journeys raised considerable money for worthwhile causes.
I have always had a great interest in and empathy with the early explorers. Having personally retraced the footsteps of many of these courageous men, their ventures have been woven into some of my own adventure stories. Although generally brief, it is hoped that readers will be encouraged to delve more deeply into their lives and our past history as a whole, both Aboriginal and European.
In 1989 I was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and The Australian Geographic magazine awarded me their Adventurer of the Year Gold Medallion.
Over the years via the Press, TV and radio, I have tried to encourage the young to get out and experience our great outback and our heritage, to challenge life in general and to be participants of life and adventure, not just spectators. For the not so young and the middle aged, I have endeavoured by example to show that age is not a barrier, it is merely an excuse and that dreams and aspirations can become a reality if one is prepared to give it a go.
