A man set out from a remote location in 1998 to return home: he has been traveling for 28 years and has covered 30,000 miles without using any means of transport

In November 1998, Karl Bushby set out from Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, with a goal that seemed almost impossible: to walk all the way back to his hometown of Hull, England. Nearly 28 years later, the former British Army paratrooper is still on his journey, known as the Goliath Expedition, and has already covered more than 30,500 miles.

When he began the adventure, Bushby set himself two main rules: he would not use any form of transportation to make forward progress, and he would not return home until he had completed the journey under his own power. What he originally expected to be a roughly 12-year trip has turned into an expedition lasting almost three decades because of visa problems, border restrictions, international conflicts and the coronavirus pandemic.

Along the way, the Briton has traveled through 25 countries and some of the most extreme environments on the planet. His route began in Chilean Patagonia and continued through Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before reaching the United States and Canada. He later crossed Russia, Mongolia and several countries in Central Asia and the Middle East before continuing into Europe.

A journey filled with obstacles

One of the most difficult moments came in 2001, when Bushby had to cross the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous stretches of his journey, between Colombia and Panama. Five years later, he took on another extreme challenge by crossing the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia on foot over the ice during winter.

The expedition has also been forced to stop for long periods. In 2020, visa problems and restrictions caused by the pandemic brought his journey to a halt in Central Asia. These obstacles extended the trip far beyond its original timetable and forced Bushby to change his plans several times so he could continue without breaking his own rules.

One of his biggest challenges came in 2024. To travel from Kazakhstan toward Europe, Bushby wanted to avoid Russia and Iran, two routes he considered too dangerous. His alternative was to cross the Caspian Sea. To stick to his principle of not using transportation to make forward progress, he decided to swim 179 miles to Azerbaijan. The crossing took 31 days, with a support boat used only for rest and sleep, while Bushby covered the actual distance by swimming.

The finish line is in sight

Bushby is now on the final European leg of his journey. After traveling through countries including Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, his goal is to reach Calais, France, in 2026. From there, he will have to overcome what could be his last major obstacle: the English Channel separating France from the United Kingdom.

The Briton intends to maintain his commitment to avoiding transportation and is seeking permission to use the Channel Tunnel. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether authorities will allow him to cross on foot. If he ultimately cannot obtain permission, Bushby has even raised the possibility of swimming across the English Channel, a distance of approximately 21 miles.

The scale of the Goliath Expedition is also reflected in the numbers. In nearly 28 years, Bushby has covered more than 30,500 miles and taken around 75 million steps. He has crossed deserts, jungles, mountains, Arctic regions and some of the world’s most difficult borders, while spending long periods away from his family and dealing with financial difficulties along the way. Now, with more than 98% of the journey completed, Bushby is about 560 miles from reaching the United Kingdom.

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