Karl Bushby Completes 28-Year Walking Journey in Hull
It took a world to get me here. I didn’t do this alone,
British adventurer Karl Bushby told the crowd gathered to welcome him home.
After a 28-year global trek that spanned roughly 58,000 kilometers and an estimated 75 million steps, 57-year-old Bushby arrived back in his hometown of Hull, nos.nl reported. Bushby departed Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 1, 1998, with just $500 in his pocket and two strict rules for his Goliath Expedition: no motorized transport allowed, and no returning home until the route was finished.
British man Karl Bushby has finally returned home after setting out to walk around the entire world in 1998Walked nearly 36,000 miles across 29 countries, been threatened at gunpoint, been deported, chased by polar bears pic.twitter.com/MUy7z4Svxt
The Goliath Expedition Across Four Continents and Extreme Obstacles
Bushby’s journey took him through 30 countries across four continents. Along the way, he navigated the notorious Darién Gap, survived a guerrilla war in Colombia by swimming among crocodiles, and encountered an ice bear in the Arctic.
In 2006, Bushby and French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer walked across the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia, a rare feat for explorers without prior arctic experience. That crossing led into Russia, where he was held after being accused of illegal entry. When Russia denied him a visa in 2012, Bushby walked 5,600 kilometers in protest from Los Angeles to the Russian embassy in Washington to secure the necessary paperwork.
Financial hurdles also stalled the expedition. After the 2008 global financial crisis stripped away his sponsors, Bushby spent two years in Mexico. Chinese authorities detained him as a suspected spy while he attempted to enter Mongolia, and the COVID-19 pandemic later caused further delays.
Overcoming Border Closures With Unconventional Crossings
Geopolitical conflicts in Russia and Iran ultimately forced changes to the final legs of the journey. In 2024, Bushby crossed the Caspian Sea—the world’s largest inland body of water—over 31 days. Because he does not consider himself a strong swimmer, he used a technique he calls “floatimming,” moving backward through the water wearing a wetsuit and buoyancy vest.
Bushby swam across the English Channel to reach the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, he crossed the Humber Bridge exactly 28 years after he started, walking into Hull on Monday to a civic reception in Queen Victoria Square. Director Werner Herzog, who is currently working on a documentary about the expedition, joined him on stage.
Despite the triumphant homecoming, Bushby expressed uncertainty about the future to the Associated Press. My life’s purpose and the reason for which I live are about to end,
he said. It will be difficult to re-immerse yourself in a society you don’t really know anymore.
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