Karl Bushby did not slow down the pace as he completed his 28-year mission on Monday, walking from Hull City Hall to his mother’s house in Sutton Park. Here are some of the people who joined him:
Dimitri Kieffer
Dimitri, from France, took part in the daring Bering Strait crossing between Alaska and Russia with Karl, after they met in a cabin in Alaska. The pair had not seen each other for 19 years, but Dimitri wanted to be there with Karl as he completed his journey.
Dimitri said: “I was doing a race across Alaska and in a cabin I came to meet Karl. It was just the two of us in that specific emergency cabin. He mentioned that he wanted to cross the Bering Strait and I thought ‘OK let’s go’. He said ‘hold on, it’s going to take a year of planning’. So through the year we discussed. I was based in Seattle, he was based in Alaska.
“Then the following winter we proceeded. We thought it would take us three years to succeed, but we were able to make it across the first year. We are the first two men in modern times that have crossed from east to west, going from Alaska to Russia. After that we spent a few more months trekking together, then we split.
“He wanted to take a northern route and I wanted to take the southern route. He continued by foot and I continued by human power, which is bicycle, foot, canoeing, rowing. We exchanged notes quite often. We haven’t seen each other for 19 years but when I heard he was finishing I said I want to see that.
“I know he has gone through a lot of hardships on this journey but I’m very glad he has pushed through it and now he is finishing in his home town.”
Graham Hughes
Graham sees Karl as a “massive inspiration” to his own journey. According to the Guinness World Records, Graham has visited the most countries in one year by scheduled surface transport. He travelled in from Liverpool on Monday and a delayed train almost made him miss Karl’s welcome at Queen Victoria Square.
Graham said: “Having these ideas of being able to travel on the cheap, on a shoestring, under your own steam or using public transport, you think that it’s just for people with bags of money but it’s not. If you’re determined enough and you’ve got enough grit, you can do it.
“It’s so inspiring. Karl inspired me. I know that my journey has inspired people to go out and see the world. It’s an incredible place.
“And I just want to say it’s an absolute testament to the inherent goodness of the people on the planet that Karl got all this help. Everywhere he went, people got behind him. He might have had a few troubles with bureaucracy here and there, but he is here now after 28 years of walking through some of the most dangerous places in the world apparently.
“The fact that he is here, now, in Hull, walking to his mum’s, gives me a bit of faith in humanity. I’ve been planning on meeting him for years.”
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Lauren, Harrison and Julie
Three generations of one family turned up to accompany Karl from the city centre to his Sutton Park childhood home. Harrison, his mum Lauren and grandma, Julie, all walked behind Karl on Monday.
Lauren said: “It’s just incredible what he is doing, absolutely amazing. It puts Hull on the map and shows if you put your mind to it you can do anything. I was undecided whether to keep Harrison off school and bring him but I’ve ok-ed it with the school. They know he is here, he wasn’t going to miss this. It’s a very historical event.”
Chad Thomas
Chad, who describes himself as an “avid traveller” saw Karl on his social media about 15 years ago and has followed his journey ever since. Chad said Karl is a huge inspiration in his own mission to visit every country in the world – he is currently at 84.
Chad said: “I heard about him about 15 years ago but it’s just one of those distant memories. The closer he has got home the more the story has accelerated. When he got into Europe his visa restrictions got a lot easier. He’s come through Europe a lot quicker than he did through Russia.
“He got to the English Channel and this was the final stretch. I just thought “I’ve got to be here.” It’s quite a historic moment. Nobody else has done it. They started walking and someone said it’s only two miles up the road and I thought: ‘If he can walk for 28 years, what’s two miles?’”
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