My Next Big Adventure
It all begins with the inkling of an idea - a seed that gets sown, and begins to germinate and take root in your mind.
That’s how this began. When it comes to big adventures, it felt like I’ve been trying to chase my first hit, with the Nile being that first ‘hit’. I’ve had some incredible adventures since, but I hadn’t managed to come up with the next big one. One that I gave me that visceral response and knowing with every cell in my body that I have to do everything I can to make this happen.
They say that ideas come to us when we’re not trying to solve the problem - when we’re in the shower, or out walking, and we let our mind wander. My trip to Oman back in 2024 - space for my mind to roam. And that’s when I got the idea for this - Pole to Pole. The first spark for this was watching a documentary a while back about Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ Transglobe expedition. It was like a connection in my brain was made between the problem and the solution that had been sitting there, dormant.
Slowly the concept grew and evolved. The charities to support, the message to share. It went from my mind to a spreadsheet (which is borderline overwhelming now). Then, creating an introductory deck (you can read it here), and conversations began. It started getting momentum, like it was getting its own life force, and it gives me tingles of excitement.
This expedition will cover in excess of 23,000km, through 15 countries and across 4 continents. This journey is split into 7 segments. As much as possible will be human-powered. It is due to kick off in July 2027 and take approximately 18 months.
Section 1 - travel by ship to the North Pole
Section 2 - bikepack from Norway to Spain
Section 3 - kayak the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco
Section 4 - bikepack from Morocco to Senegal
Section 5 - ocean row from Senegal to French Guiana
Section 6 - bikepack from French Guiana to the bottom of South America
Section 7 - (after flying to Antarctica) ski from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole
The mission behind this trip is two-fold:
COMBAT MODERN SLAVERY - it’s estimated that 50 million people are living in modern slavery. This expedition aims to raise $1 million for organisations combating this growing global issue.
IGNITE 1 MILLION DREAMS - I want to create a movement, encouraging 1 million people to go after their biggest dream. And if they haven’t found it yet, to help them uncover what it is.
All of this excites me and scares me. I go from being delusionally confident to overwhelmed and questioning it all! In February, I officially shared my plans on socials and LinkedIn - that was a Gulp! No going back now, eek. Pole to Pole is going to involve activities I’ve never done before, specifically polar adventures and ocean rowing. This means extensive training is required.
In March I headed to Norway to begin my polar training (my Gulp for March). I was a tad apprehensive coming into it, unsure physically how challenging it would be. In preparation, I had been dragging a tyre (aka Wilson) up and down Maroubra Beach, but unsure if this would be enough for what lay ahead.
After flying into Oslo it was a scenic 4.5 hour train ride to Finse where the training was based. It was a bit of a shock, coming from summer and 30 degrees in Sydney to sub zero temps! I was met by the incredible Hannah McKeand of Polar Expedition Training who was leading the training. Joining me were my fellow polar trainees, Noah and Lucy. We were a small group as three others unfortunately had to pull out.
The first week was learning all about what’s involved with polar expeditions, such as the clothing, camping, navigation, nutrition, risk management and much more. It was full on – with lessons beginning at 8am, learning theory and then the afternoon putting it into practice. More theory before dinner and then a related movie or webinar after dinner. We then had a couple of days preparing and packing for week two, which was a mini-expedition putting it all into practice.
As we set off I was still a little nervous – what would it be like pulling a 40kg pulk (sled) – would my tyre dragging be adequate – how would the body hold up? Then what were the practicalities of camping, the food, and dealing with the cold?
It turned out there was nothing to worry about. For one, we were in the best hands. Hannah is highly experienced - she’s a Guinness World Record holder and has over 20 years of experience in the polar world through her own expeditions, guiding others and managing the camps in Antarctica. Generally, we were up at 6:30am – have breakfast, pack up and be underway by 8:30am. We would then do 1-hour sessions (marches) followed by a 15-minute break. That would be repeated 5 or 6 more times. For each march we’d take turns in leading, practising the navigation and learning the best way to find a path through the terrain. Then we’d set up camp – putting up the tents and getting dinner before sliding into our sleeping bags, very ready to sleep.
Before heading out on the mini-expedition, we created a series of success factors. The first was that we stayed safe. The second was having fun. And that we did – I haven’t laughed so much in a long time. For me, it’s an important part of adventuring – it can be full on, physically demanding and uncomfortable in many ways – laughter is a wonderful antidote to it all.
After seven days, we’d covered 108km, eaten a lot of snacks, seen some spectacular scenery and built our confidence. It was an incredible experience, definitely very challenging, and a good reality check on what’s involved in polar expeditions.
So here I am at the start of an exciting (and slightly terrifying) journey toward the start line of the biggest adventure I can imagine. What I know from the Nile expedition is that this time to the start line will be hugely rewarding, informative and challenging. There is much to learn, new people to meet, money to raise, support to find and a monster to-do list to work through. The focus now is on getting a professional website done and finding sponsors needed to make this all happen.
If you’d like to find out more, might be interested in helping out, know web developers you can recommend, or want to follow the progress in more detail, let me know (I have a separate email for updates).
Sarah x
