Three years ago, when Dan Watson’s mother was diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer, the pair had not spoken for 10 years.
Mr Watson had been struggling to cope with mental issues for decades and had lost his zest for life.
It was then he decided to attempt a 5,000-kilometre trek from Fremantle to Bondi, spreading hope and raising money for others affected by cancer and mental health issues.
Part of Mr Watson’s desire to complete the arduous journey was to clear his head and reclaim his self-esteem by “doing something worthwhile”.
That sense of accomplishment will come when he finishes the last leg of his cross-country journey in Bondi today. The trek started in Fremantle last October.
The journey took Mr Watson through extreme conditions in different regions and terrains, with some of his favourite destinations including Cape Le Grand national park in Esperance, Western Australia, the Adelaide Hills and Jervis Bay on the New South Wales coast.
Mr Watson is currently on his eighth pair of runners and has changed the tyres on his custom-made trolley 11 times (every 100 kilometres for the first 1,000 kilometres) all while dodging trucks in his high-visibility vests.
He had suffered from mental health issues since childhood but they had reached a peak by the time he was in his 30s.
“I let it mutilate into something quite grotesque,” he said.
“I couldn’t see any meaning in my life, I didn’t see the point of why I existed.”
Throughout this struggle, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and asked to see him again after 10 years without contact.
Mr Watson said the reason for the breakdown in their relationship was mainly due to selfishness on his part.
“When I went to see her that made me realise what my existence is about,” he said.
He said he suddenly realised his power to ease someone else’s suffering.
“I can’t go and nurse her better, I’m not that kind of bloke so I’m helping indirectly,” he said.
Mr Watson has been raising money for Cancer Council and SANE Australia on his journey and by Friday morning had raised $28,000 for both charities.
Epic journey brings people together
Mr Watson said the central message he wants to spread through his epic charity trek is that everyone has the power to lighten someone’s load and by doing so you can help yourself.
“My mum is doing well with the chemo and has a good quality of life and now I am in a better place and have a better quality of life,” he said.
During the trek he has connected with many people on the road who are also suffering with mental health issues, family trauma or even physical disabilities.
He said the trek’s ability to bring people together solidified what he was doing.
“There’s solidarity in that suffering, there’s connection there,” Mr Watson said.
“They are giving some of themselves to me just by talking about it, and what I can do for them I hope is give them a little bit of hope by finishing this walk because it’s about them at the end of the day.”
Apart from the thousands of flies across the unforgiving Nullarbor Plain and eating baked beans and beef jerky for weeks, he said his biggest challenge was overcoming his own ego.
“Even those times when I was in pain, physically exhausted and losing the will to put one foot in front of another, the only way I got through that was realising it’s not about me, realising who I am doing this for, and that was the motivation to keep me moving,” he said.
He said the biggest lesson he had learnt on his journey was simply about having the self-control to perceive things in a different light.
“People who are terminally ill, those who have lost family members, kids in wheelchairs, the power that people have to give when they themselves are suffering, in the face of their own mortality, should make everyone feel really grateful,” he said.
“The only way you can start living a good life, is just by being grateful for what you’ve got.”
Watson to turn attention to study
Mr Watson is planning similar projects for the foreseeable future, but first he wants to complete his MBA at the University of Sydney.
He said he was relieved to be close to finishing his trek as he was physically exhausted, underweight and short on money.
“I’m ready to just get on with life now and more than anything else, I don’t want to be walking ever again,” he said.
Mr Watson is not looking for personal glory as he walks into Bondi today and finally puts his feet up.
“It’s not really about having a party or anything at the end, that’s not the purpose of the walk,” he said.
“But I won’t say no to a beer, I’m sure my friends will shout me a few.”