Brendan Cullen frequently swims the length of the now-flourishing Lake Menindee, as he inches closer to taking on the challenge of a lifetime.
Mr Cullen from Kars Station, east of Broken Hill, has been training to swim the English Channel.
"After training for a period of time I had a bit of a light-bulb moment and thought, 'I might give this a go'."
After countless pandemic-fuelled disruptions, he has finally qualified to attempt one of the world's most historically significant and iconic marathon swims.
Six-hour swim to qualify
Only three years ago the Far West grazier would swim across what was the last-remaining body of water in the Menindee Lakes system, Copi Hollow.
But widespread rains and northern inflows in 2021 saw parts of the system reach 100-per-cent capacity for the first time since 2012, and now Mr Cullen trains across the abundant lakes system.
To qualify, Mr Cullen swam 11,260 strokes, or 16 kilometres, across Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay on April 29.
"Mentally, for me to be able to swim six hours in 16-degree [Celsius] water gave me a little bit of confidence to know that I might be able to stick it out for the duration of the channel swim," he said.
The full English Channel swim stretches 33km and can take anywhere from seven to 27 hours to swim.
'It's now personal'
Inspired by his brother as well as endurance swimming legend Michael Gregory, the Lifeline ambassador hopes to not only conquer the Channel, but advocate for men's mental health and the benefits of swimming.
"There's one thing I love doing and that's being able to help people out. It's been ingrained in my whole life."
Mr Cullen said swimming became a way for him to improve his mental health, after suffering from his own battle with depression during years of severe drought.
"I watched my brother do a swim — Bondi to Bronte — and it was inspiring to be quite honest, and I thought, 'I got to jump in the water and swim'."
"It's just something that's now got personal and now it's a matter of trying to tick that box."
The road to the UK within reach
Mr Cullen said the unpredictability of the swim meant he did not feel overly confident for his swim at the end of July, but coaching from the Broken Hill Aquatic Stingrays team, and Gregory — one of Australia's most experienced open-water swimmers — has left him feeling well-equipped.
"On the day anything can happen, and there's plenty of stories so all I can do is keep bashing away at it and come out the other side with a successful crossing," he said.
"Michael [Gregory]'s credentials are quite something else. He's swum the channel four times, he swam Loch Ness one of only 12 people in the world to ever swim that."
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