German cyclist Sebastian Hiller has spent seven months using his gap year to ride 13,000 kilometres from Germany to Altona.
He started in Salzburg, an Austrian city on the German border, and cycled through Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
“Then I started in the north of India again, in the Kashmir,,” Mr Hiller said.
“Then I went to Nepal, to Kathmandu … the last part was in Asia with Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia.”
Mr Hiller flew from Kuala Lumpar to Perth before cycling to Melbourne across the Nullarbor Plain for the final stretch.
“Maybe not the best option, to cycle from Perth to Melbourne,” he said.
“Such long distances and the landscape – for the first week it was nice … everything was new but it never changed.”
While in Altona, Mr Hiller gave a talk to children at Somers Parade Kindergarten with the aim of inspiring them to pursue their dreams.
“I think with a bike you travel much more close to the local people and that was actually my goal,” he said. “It’s not my goal to cycle as much as I can – I wanted to see the people and the culture and the land.
“In this journey, I can learn a lot – much more than in school.”
