Alexander Campbell, 31, of Australia is more than three years into a 40,000km journey on foot, beginning and ending in Sydney. He set off on February 12, 2023, and has already walked 20,000km over 1,177 days. His route spans Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He is flying over the ocean sections.
This isn’t his first major hike. Campbell has previously completed the 800km Colorado Trail and trekked the full 1,600km Great Himalaya Trail across Nepal. Most recently, he completed a 3,750km walk from the Flinders Ranges back to his home in Sydney.
The route
After crossing the Middle East and the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan and Georgia, the Australian entered Europe, where he is currently in North Macedonia. From here, he plans to continue across the continent, aiming to finish Europe by the end of 2026.
Campbell’s overall planned route.
Looking further ahead, his route will take him through the Americas before heading to New Zealand, where he intends to walk the full length of the country, then return to Australia to complete the final stretch back to Sydney.
Campbell’s route so far. He has flown over the ocean sections.
Earlier in the journey, Campbell followed Australia’s east coast before heading to Southeast Asia, traveling through Thailand and Malaysia. He then continued into South Asia, hiking through India, Nepal, and Pakistan, before tackling a long and challenging crossing of Central Asia, including the Uzbekistan desert in summer 2025.
Into Nepal
As mentioned above, Campbell previously crossed the Nepalese Himalaya on foot, but on this second journey, he combined both lower-altitude routes and high-mountain trekking to comply with Nepal’s regulations on unguided solo hiking. This restricts independent travel in certain remote regions.
Despite these constraints, the Australian still spent significant time at altitude in the Khumbu region in the spring of 2024. He summited Gokyo Ri at 5,357m, crossed the high pass of Kongma La at 5,540m, and reached Everest Base Camp. On day 419 of his journey, he also climbed Kala Patthar, a prominent viewpoint offering panoramic views of Mount Everest and the surrounding peaks.
Desert crossing in Uzbekistan
In February 2025, Campbell crossed from Pakistan into China. He then continued west into Tajikistan and the Pamir Mountains toward Uzbekistan. Campbell arrived in Uzbekistan last May after traversing some of the most remote terrain of his journey.
Here, he undertook a 120km trek through the desert between Navoiy and Bukhara, an trading hub on the ancient Silk Road. Walking along a remote, unpaved road, Campbell camped by the roadside as temperatures frequently dropped below freezing.
After completing the crossing and after nearly two years on foot, he opted for a break. He traveled by car to Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he spent several months resting, socializing, and editing footage from the expedition.
Resumes walking
It is not entirely clear when Campbell resumed walking after his extended break in Almaty, as his social media updates have continued throughout, often appearing out of chronological order. What is known is that earlier this year, he traveled through the mountains of Georgia before entering Turkey, a nation that straddles Asia and Europe and has historically served as a bridge between them.
He crossed into Europe via Istanbul, then continued on foot into Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Campbell is currently walking through the town of Probistip in the country’s eastern region.
The Australian adventurer appears to be traveling with minimal gear, alternating between tent camping and accepting offers of accommodation from people he meets along the way. His route combines long roadside stretches with off-road trails.
It remains unclear how he is financing the journey, though he maintains a presence on platforms such as YouTube, where a steady stream of content and subscriber support may help sustain the expedition. As well as having 500,000 followers on Instagram, he also runs a Patreon account, allowing paid subscribers further content on the walk.
Campbell has previously suggested that the full 40,000km journey would take around four years to complete. However, with more than three years already elapsed and only half the distance covered, that timeline now appears optimistic.
