More and more people are trying to find alternatives to flying due to the environmental cost of air travel.
Climate change activist Greta Thunberg, 16, refuses to fly and sailed from Britain to New York in a zero-carbon emissions boat to take part in the UN climate summit.
Others are choosing pedal power, like Cody Moir, who's recently arrived in New Zealand having cycled from the UK – albeit being forced to take an airplane trip to Australia and New Zealand in the end.
Moir told First Up’s Lydia Batham he didn’t want to fly to New Zealand for environmental reasons and from there it branched out into “a crazy idea”.
Cody Moir Photo: supplied Cody Moir
“The original crazy idea just came on the whim of me and my environmental beliefs of trying not to fly," Moir says.
“I considered hitchhiking or taking a bus and then kind spontaneously, somewhere from deep in my subconscious, I thought about cycling long distance.
“And I realised quite soon that it would be possible, it’s just a matter of cycling all day, every day, for many days, and then eventually you’d get there to the other side of the world.”
For a couple of months, he mapped out his route – taking note of any geopolitical or visa issues and careful to avoid any warzones.
In total, he crossed over 20 countries including France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and through the desert of Stan countries - Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and then back to Kazakhstan – and then finally to China, South Korea, and Japan.
“Ironically, I did have to fly eventually from Japan to Australia but that’s because a boat would’ve taken 28 days and cost me an arm and a leg so I was kind of forced into that in the end.
“But I did cycle to Japan from England, just by bike and boat.”
After cycling from Cairns to Melbourne, he again had to resort to flying, against his initial plans.
“There’s absolutely no commercial boats, I thought the two countries were a lot closer than they actually are. And a cargo would’ve taken me eight days and cost 800 pounds which I also just didn’t have those funds.”
In the end, the trip also highlighted the challenges to those who want to take environmentally friendly options and how the infrastructure doesn’t adhere to these vital choices, he says.
“Even that boat from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan it was only about one day voyage, but it wasn’t a commercial boat by any means. It was a cargo ship for trucks, so the service was horrific. We waited for 10 days in the port … in a carpark.
“And every day they’d tell us it’ll come tomorrow, and that just happened for 10 days.”
The other problem, he says, is some of the cruise ships that are offered as “alternative” options to flying are arguably just as bad, if not worse, than flying.
“It takes longer [in a cruise ship] so therefore more resources, and it still uses fossil fuels so when you weigh it all up sometimes it’s more ecologically friendly to fly [than travel by cruise ship].”
He now hopes that his voyage back to England will bring him full circle, and that he’ll be able to at least cycle from California to New York and from Ireland through Wales to England.
“I don’t think it’s a necessity, but I think it would tie it up quite nicely … I can kind of be happy with that, put it in the trophy cabinet and then move on.”
*Cody Moir documented his travels in blogs and vlogs and now hopes to write a book.
