Simon Harvey, aka Captain Australia, passed through Horsham this week on his lap around the nation, a lap that has challenging self-imposed rules but for a cause dear to his heart.
But there's a more profound and more personal story behind the story about his lap around Australia.
Mr Harvey is a cancer survivor, after a diagnosis of six months to live in 2016.
A stage four carcinoma in his neck and head amazingly responded to chemotherapy and radiation, and he eventually received the words, "You are free of cancer."
He now walks in character for the theatrical benefit so people will chat, and he can tell them about the cause of the Kid's Cancer.
"I didn't have cancer as a child, but I believe through my experience as an adult, I understand and don't want children to have cancer, so I'll do what I can to raise money for research and treatment to help make kids free of cancer," he said.
This lap of the country is not his first walk, but his longest, and some self-inflicted conditions include the walk must be done hard, not wise; he must be alone and unassisted; he must sleep rough, but he has the added condition now that he can give and accept kindness along the way.
"I was walking along the road one day, and a farmer on his tractor yelled out, hey, you look like you could do with a cup of tea."
"I said, yes, I could. I sat on the verandah with him and his wife and had a cup of tea, and they offered somewhere to sleep, a chance to wash some clothing, and I accepted this, so I added the kindness factor to the conditions."
Mr Harvey said pre-COVID-19, his travel insurance business did not survive the pandemic, so he looked further afield for a purpose in life and began his walks.
His wife and three young sons are home in Brisbane and travel to see him during the school holidays.
Technology keeps him in touch with home but he misses the human touch of his family.
He left Horsham Wednesday, November 15, on his way to Adelaide before hitting the stretch to Port Augusta and the Nullabor into Western Australia.
From there, he will head up to Broome, across to Darwin, and then home to Brisbane.
He'll swap out his 25-kilogram back for a cart when he reaches Adelaide to carry sufficient water supplies for the Nullabor in Western Australia.
He said that hope can fix a broken life, which alone is reason enough to walk around Australia.
"If I can share the hope, that means a lot, and the kindnesses I receive give me the kindness to giveaway to the people I meet, so it is a pilgrimage of sorts," he said.
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