Torbjørn "Thor" Pedersen has travelled to almost every country on the globe with one important caveat: he's never once arrived by plane.
The Danish adventurer is on an ambitious mission to become the first person to traverse the world in an unbroken journey without the use of air travel.
"About 200 people have successfully managed to reach every country in the world, but then I worked out that no-one's been able to do it completely without flying," he said.
Mr Pedersen arrived in North Queensland on Friday after more than two weeks onboard a cargo ship from Hong Kong.
He plans to spend about a month in Australia — his 196th destination — before visiting the final seven countries on his list.
The Red Cross ambassador, who left his home in Denmark in October 2013 and has not returned since has spent the past eight years on an average budget of $US20 a day.
"Some days I spend $100, some days I spend no money whatsoever."
Pandemic problems
Like the rest of the world, Mr Pedersen's travel plans were brought to a standstill in 2020.
"Before I knew it, it was declared a pandemic, and I was stuck in Hong Kong," he said.
He decided to wait it out and ended up spending two years living and working in Hong Kong.
"It's been tough mentally, thinking that it's just one more week … maybe it's just one more month, and pushing and pushing and pushing for something I believe in," Mr Pedersen said.
He eventually negotiated a trip to Palau and now Australia, where he will be visited by family, including his wife.
The kindness of strangers
Mr Pedersen was collected from the Townsville port by Kara Pendergast, who has offered him her spare room during his time in North Queensland.
She has never met the Danish traveller but has spent the past five years following his journey on his Once Upon a Saga page on social media.
"I just saw him on Facebook. He said he was heading to Townsville, so I sent him a message, and here he is," Ms Pendergast said.
Mr Pedersen said he expected to return home to Denmark next year after the experience of a lifetime.
"The motto of this project is that a stranger is a friend you've never met before," he said.
