Title graphic by Martin Budd
 
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Do you live on the route?
It will be cooold in June in the places Mark is going! If any kind soul that lives along the route that Mark is following would like to accommodate Mark for a night during the walk, please contact Mark.
 
Fancy a stroll?
I am more than happy to have people join me for a day or two as I walk. If you feel like a day's walk through the  countryside, check out the route, pick a day that suits you and contact Mark.

 

A Stroll Up Australia

This is the home of A Stroll up Australia, a one-man fundraising walk from the lowest point in Australia (the bottom of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel) to the highest point in Australia (the top of Mount Kosciusko), a distance of over 560km (350 miles) and a vertical height of 2255 metres (7398 feet).

It will begin at 5am on June 19th, 2000 and culminate at the summit of Mt Kosciusko three weeks later. Mark Virtue (right) is walking to raise money for Sydney's homeless via Mission Australia (the Sydney City Mission).

Mark
Click on the picture for a full-sized version This site has been created to promote this walk to the general public, in the hope that more sponsorship monies may be raised.  If you would like to contribute with a donation or with sponsorship, please visit the Sponsor Mark page.
 

Please, SPONSOR MARK!  No amount is too small, donations are tax-deductible and can even be accepted from overseas sponsors, and all donations are going to a worthy cause - the homeless.

 
 What's New? (last update Thursday, 17 August 2000)

Well, I've been home for a couple of weeks now, and I guess you could say I'm no longer homeless.  I've moved into a house in Willoughby (a Sydney suburb) with a couple of friends.  It's great to be no longer living in my van.  If only the real homeless had such a choice.

If anyone still wants to contribute to the homeless, I am still accepting pledges on my Sponsor Mark page.  I received pledges for nearly $8,000 over the last few weeks. I'm still waiting on about $2,000 to come in before I can send the money off to Mission Australia, so if you're one of those people, please send your money off very soon.

In my guestbook there's a message from a fellow called John Henzell, who is doing a similar kind of thing to me, only much harder.  He's walked from sea level to the top of the the highest mountains in Europe, South America and New Zealand, and is tackling Australia (Kosciusko) this September.  I proposed that I join him on his final day to the summit, thereby finishing my own trek and seeing the completion of two epic journeys in one day. John writes very engagingly - check out his Sea to Summit web page.  If we do indeed do that together, I'll put an update about it here.

I have added a couple of photos to my photo collection.  These were taken by the Sydney Morning Herald photographer at the top of Mount Crackenback.

For all those people who have wondered about the "emotional turmoil" that I referred to on the walk (and that made me return to Sydney as fast as possible on Sunday evening) was indeed a matter of the heart. Thankfully, it's all resolved now, and my emotional roller coaster ride is over (for the moment, anyway).

I'm still planning to write a sort of epilogue/summary to this web site, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I never will.

That's all for now,

Mark.

P.S.  As usual, all the updates that I wrote while I was walking can be found on the progress page.

 
 Sponsor's Corner

Kathmandu Outdoor Equipment have made a generous contribution of quality outdoor equipment towards the safety and comfort of this adventure.  Visit them at http://www.kathmandu.com.au
RSL Com Australia are my mobile phone service provider. I used my mobile on my walk to keep in contact with the world, to organise accommodations, to talk to radio stations and newspapers and to collect my voicemail messages. They generously waived my considerable phone bill during my walk.  Visit them at http://www.rslcom.com.au
Pacific Internet Corporate is my Internet Service Provider (formerly Zip World). I have had nothing but excellent service from them. They have graciously agreed to host this web site for free as a form of sponsorship. Visit http://www.zipworld.com.au
eStaff & Search, a technology recruitment consultancy based in Sydney, has made a generous contribution to this walk.  Visit them on the web at http://www.estaff.com.au
The Palmtop Shop sells and supports handheld computers such as the one I am using to update this web site. They have generously donated palmtop-related equipment to me for my walk.  Visit them at http://www.palmtops.com.au
Special thanks to the RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW) for granting me permission to walk through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the Domain Tunnel.  Visit them at: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au

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The Cause

All monies collected on this walk will be donated to Mission Australia to care for the homeless.  To learn more about their work, visit www.mission.com.au
 
Spread the word
The more people that know about this walk, the more successful it will be.
Please TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

 

 

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This site copyright Mark Virtue 2000.  All Rights Reserved

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