Following in the footsteps of Burke and Wills

Departing St Kilda and travelling through Docklands late last year, French couple Sebestian Guesney and Lara Jaillon began retracing the expedition of Burke and Wills.

The Hong Kong-based couple, whose longest expedition to date is three weeks, plan to walk the journey first completed by Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills 150 years ago.

Walking more than 4500km unassisted, the pair hopes to complete their journey from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria in nine months.

Mr Guesney said the journey was planned in order to explore climate change and the depletion of natural resources.

“The trip isn’t about sport or breaking records. It’s about getting back to a human pace and meeting people. It’s about making human contact,” Mr Guesney said.

According to Mr Guesney and Ms Jaillon, the most difficult part of their trip will be travelling through the Strezlecki desert.

“We will have to carry about 10-12 days of water and food. It is a very critical part of the trip but if we make it through that then we are confident that we can make it through the rest of the journey,”  Mr Guesney said.

While travelling Mr Guesney and Ms Jaillon will document their journey and hope to later produce a book and film documentary of their experience.

Since beginning their expedition in St Kilda they have travelled more than 500 kms.

For more information on their journey and to follow their progress you can visit http://www.terraincognitatrek.com