‘I'm still in that shocked phase’: British adventurer reflects on emotional homecoming after 28 years on foot

British adventurer Karl Bushby completed an epic 28-year, 50,000-kilometre walk from South America to the UK, reuniting with his family in Hull after traversing four continents.

The 57-year-old former paratrooper adhered to his journey's rules of avoiding all transport and not returning until finishing, despite facing logistical challenges and dangerous moments.

His trek, followed by cheering crowds, inspired many, including filmmaker Werner Herzog, who is creating a documentary about it.

Now focused on adjusting to regular life, Bushby expressed pride in his achievement but announced he would no longer embark on long walking adventures.

KINGSTON, Nov 3 — British adventurer Karl Bushby enjoyed an emotional reunion with his mother and family on Monday as he arrived back home after a 28-year, 50,000-kilometre (31,000-mile) trek from South America, crossing four continents on foot.

Cheers erupted as the 57-year-old former paratrooper was greeted in the street outside his mother’s house in the northeastern UK port city of Hull.

Bushby, who set off on his odyssey from Chile in 1998, had two golden rules for his journey—avoid all forms of transport to advance and not return until he completed his challenge.

He was met in the centre of Hull by a crowd of up to 1,000 cheering people before being reunited with his mother, Angela, 36-year-old son Adam and a 12-year-old granddaughter he had never met.

Speaking after the reunion, Bushby paid tribute to the kindness of the strangers he had met, from hotel owners to the “poorest of the poor” who had given him bowls of rice and something to drink along the way.

”And that would happen throughout the world,” he said adding that the world had been his “support network”.

‘Indiana Jones’ moments

The route back to his home city has seen him walk the length of the Americas, across the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia and then through parts of Central Asia and Europe covering jungles, mountains, and deserts.

The journey had been full of logistical headaches and scary “Indiana Jones” and “I think I’m going to die moments”, he told reporters.

Bushby had already been applauded Sunday as he crossed the iconic Humber Bridge near Hull in thick mist, ahead of his final push into the city centre and then on to his mother’s home where he grew up.

”So many people have followed Karl on his epic journey. We have all felt inspired by his spirit, tenacity and dogged determination,” Hull Mayor Maria Coward said ahead of his arrival.

”It’s quite emotional. I’m proud of him and what he’s done. What an achievement,” neighbour Laura Chaplin, 47, told AFP as he returned home.

British leader Andy Burnham’s spokesman said it was “an extraordinary achievement and the prime minister welcomes him back to the UK”.

Bushby began his adventure when he was 29, after his marriage broke down and his wife returned to Northern Ireland with their son.

He was forced to pause the journey several times, including when Moscow refused him a visa. The 2008 financial crisis and then the Covid-19 pandemic caused other hold-ups.

At those times, he stepped away from the journey, living notably at a base in Mexico, then once the situation had been resolved, he would resume from the exact spot where he had left off.

Erin Anderson, 28, a theatre marketing officer among the crowd in Hull, said she thought Bushby was “amazing”.

”I’ve been following him for the last eight years. He’s been walking for as long as I’ve been alive. It’s brilliant”.

Bushby swam across the Channel from France in early October to arrive back in the UK.

Legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog and a film crew accompanied Bushby on his homecoming, making a feature-length documentary about the journey entitled “Walk of Life”.

The production company behind the film has been supporting Bushby’s progress for the past 16 years, providing financial and logistical assistance.

Bushby said he would now be focusing on the documentary as well as writing a book and making the adjustment back into normal life.

”I’m still in that shocked phase,” he told AFP . “Over the last few days it’s been the last time I’ve been camping in my tent... last time spending all day on the road.

”Each one of those has been an emotional event and then walking down my childhood street into my childhood home with mother (there), that’s been quite something,” he said.

He added that he still had the drive for adventure but ruled out any more big walks.

”I think I’m hanging my boots up -- 28 years is a good run,” he said. — AFP

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英国探险家卡尔·布什比完成了史诗般的 28 年、50000 公里徒步之旅，从南美洲走到英国，在穿越四大洲后，最终在赫尔与家人团聚。

这位 57 岁的前伞兵严格遵守旅程规则，避免乘坐任何交通工具，直到完成旅程才返回，尽管他面临着后勤方面的挑战和危险时刻。

他的徒步旅行，以及随后欢呼的人群，激励了许多人，其中包括电影制作人沃纳·赫尔佐格，他正在拍摄一部关于此事的纪录片。

布什比现在专注于适应正常生活，他为自己的成就感到自豪，但宣布他将不再进行长途徒步探险。

金斯顿，11 月 3 日——英国探险家卡尔·布什比 (Karl Bushby) 周一回到家乡，与母亲和家人激动地团聚。此前，他历时 28 年，徒步跋涉 5 万公里（3.1 万英里），从南美洲出发，横跨四大洲。

这位 57 岁的前伞兵在英国东北部港口城市赫尔的母亲家门外的街道上受到热烈欢迎，现场爆发出欢呼声。

布什比于 1998 年从智利出发，开始了漫长的旅程。他为自己的旅程制定了两条黄金法则——避免使用任何交通工具前进，并且在完成挑战之前绝不返回。

在赫尔市中心，他受到了多达 1000 名欢呼者的迎接，之后与他的母亲安吉拉、36 岁的儿子亚当以及他从未见过面的 12 岁孙女团聚。

重聚之后，布什比发表讲话，感谢他遇到的陌生人的善意，从酒店老板到“最贫穷的人”，他们都曾一路给他送来米饭和饮料。

“这种情况在世界各地都会发生，”他补充说，全世界都是他的“支持网络”。

《夺宝奇兵》时刻

返回家乡的途中，他徒步穿越了整个美洲，从阿拉斯加横穿冰封的白令海峡到达俄罗斯，然后途经中亚和欧洲的部分地区，穿越丛林、山脉和沙漠。

他告诉记者，这段旅程充满了后勤方面的难题，以及令人胆战心惊的“印第安纳·琼斯”式的“我觉得我要死了”的时刻。

周日，布什比在浓雾中穿过赫尔附近标志性的亨伯桥时，已经受到了人们的掌声。随后，他向市中心发起最后的冲刺，然后前往他母亲的家——他在那里长大。

“卡尔的这段传奇旅程吸引了无数人的关注。我们都被他的精神、韧性和顽强的决心所鼓舞，”赫尔市市长玛丽亚·考沃德在卡尔抵达前说道。

“这太令人激动了。我为他以及他所做的一切感到骄傲。这真是一项了不起的成就，”47岁的邻居劳拉·查普林在他回家时告诉法新社。

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆的发言人表示，这是一项“非凡的成就，首相欢迎他回到英国”。

布什比的冒险之旅始于他 29 岁那年，当时他的婚姻破裂，妻子带着儿子回到了北爱尔兰。

他的旅程被迫数次中断，其中包括莫斯科拒绝向他发放签证。2008年的金融危机以及随后的新冠疫情也造成了其他延误。

那时，他会暂时离开旅程，主要居住在墨西哥的一个基地，然后一旦局势得到解决，他就会从他离开的地方重新开始。

28 岁的 Erin Anderson 是赫尔的一名剧院营销官员，她当时也在人群中。她说她认为 Bushby 的表演“非常精彩”。

“我关注他已经八年了。他走路的时间和我活着的时间一样长。这太棒了。”

布什比于 10 月初从法国游过英吉利海峡，返回英国。

德国传奇电影制作人沃纳·赫尔佐格和摄制组陪同布什比踏上归途，拍摄了一部名为《人生之旅》的长篇纪录片。

这部电影的制作公司在过去的 16 年里一直支持着布什比的成长，提供了资金和后勤方面的援助。

布什比表示，他现在将专注于纪录片的拍摄、书籍的写作以及回归正常生活。

“我仍然处于震惊之中，”他告诉法新社。“过去几天是我最后一次在帐篷里露营……最后一次整天都在路上。”

“每一次都是一次激动人心的经历，然后和母亲一起走回我童年时的家，那感觉真是太棒了，”他说。

他还补充说，他仍然渴望冒险，但已经排除了再进行长途徒步旅行的可能性。

“我想我该挂靴了——28年的职业生涯已经很不错了，”他说。——法新社

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