Alexander Campbell on round-the-world hike for Fred Hollows Foundation

When most people think about travelling around the world they would imagine going by plane but probably never dream of going on foot.

But one 27-year-old man who grew up in Sydney has embarked* on a four-year hike that will see him walk 40,000km across 30 countries and four continents*.

And the reason?

Because Alexander Campbell or Zan, as he is known to his family, simply says “I really like walking”.

The trip will raise much-needed funds for the Fred Hollows Foundation, which treats and prevents blindness* and other vision problems across the world.

Mr Campbell started his epic* journey from the Opera House in February and made his way through western Sydney to Penrith and onto the Blue Mountains.

“I love the lifestyle. I get nice views,” he said.

“I am now on the national trail which goes up north and then I will cut across to Darwin.”

Mr Campbell said he did not get blisters* or soreness because he was a seasoned* walker.

He loves long-distance hiking and has already completed the 800km Colorado Trail, 1600km Great Himalaya Trail and a 3750km hike from the Flinders Ranges to Sydney.

“I wanted to do something bigger than I had done before, across multiple years and it snowballed* from there to the point I said ‘why not do the whole world’,” Mr Campbell said.

“I was looking at different long distance hiking trails to do on the walk and I had to plan when to go to countries in the best seasons.

“By the time I am in far north Queensland and the Northern Territory it will be winter which is a good season to visit.

“Once I get to Nepal and India I won’t be able to go through those countries in winter.”

Mr Campbell said the longest he has ever walked in a day was about 74 kilometres but had been averaging* about 40 to 50 kilometres daily before he sets up camp.

The rough schedule* will see him walk for four years but he will adjust if he gets injured*, has severe* weather or “gets tired of walking”.

Mr Campbell said he saved up before embarking* on his journey, but would be living on the “bare minimum” throughout the walk.

He also received a grant from Australian Geographic.

Mr Campbell, who grew up in southern Sydney’s Yowie Bay, said he was still unsure how he would travel between continents* but would love to go via boat rather than by plane.

He chose the Fred Hollows Foundation because he wanted to raise money for a charity* that worked in the countries he was travelling through.

“I wanted to give back to the communities I was passing through,” Mr Campbell said.

There are currently 43 million people in the world living with blindness* but more than 90 per cent of vision loss is preventable* or treatable*.

Asia, where Mr Campbell’s journey will cross, has the largest number of people with blindness* in the world.

Mr Campbell has raised more than $5500 for The Foundation.

GLOSSARY

• embarked: to make a start
• continents: a very large area of land, such as Africa or Asia, that consists of several countries
• blindness: being unable to see
• epic: unusually long or great in size or scope
• blisters: a painful swelling on the skin, often filled with a watery liquid, caused by a burn or by rubbing against something
• seasoned: having a lot of experience of doing something and therefore knowing how to do it well
• snowballed: increase rapidly in size, intensity, or importance
• averaging: result in an even distribution; even out
• schedule: arrange or plan to take place at a particular time
• injured: hurt, damaged, or impaired
• severe: very serious and worrying
• charity: an organisation set up to provide help and raise money for those in need
• preventable: can be avoided or stopped in its tracks
• treatable: able to be healed or cured, especially medically

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How many years is it expected to take Alexander Campbell 40,000km to walk?
2. Describe what the Fred Hollows Foundation does.
3. What form of travel will Mr Campbell try and use first when moving between continents?
4. Where did Mr Campbell’s ‘epic journey’ begin?
5. The largest number of people with blindness in the world live in what continent?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

1. Create a Plan
Zan is using something that he loves to do to raise money for an important cause. Think of something that you love to do. Create a plan to use this to raise money for something that you think is important in your community.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity.
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability

2. Extension
What do you think Zan would need to carry with him on his walk? Write a list of the items that he would need to pack for his journey. Remember that he can only take what he can carry with him.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity.
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Exercise the body and the mind
Exercise is not only important for the body, but it’s a lot of fun as well. Let’s bring more exercise into classroom learning by creating a VCOP PE game.

You can add a VCOP challenge to pretty much any game, and it’s a great way to encourage the teacher to let the class play more games.

Here is an example to get you started, then you create one of your own.

VCOP dodgeball
The normal rules of dodgeball apply. Two teams throw soft balls at each other and if you get hit, you have to sit out. The team who knocks out all the players on the other team, wins.

VCOP challenge: when you get eliminated, collect a mini-whiteboard and a basic clause from the sidelines. Up-level the sentence (make it better) by adding VCOP. When you show the teacher your completed sentence, you can return to the game.

Play for a set amount of time and the team with the most players left on the court wins.

Support: use the “Up-Level It” card set – players have to complete one card from the set instead of completing all VCOP challenges.

What can you come up with?