Documentary Australia Foundation

Alone Across Australia

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Synopsis

On the 18th May 2001 Jon Muir and his dog, Seraphine, began an odyssey to cross Australia on foot, from Port Augusta in South Australia to Burketown on the North Coast of Queensland. 128 days and 2,500 kilometres later, on the point of starvation and exhaustion, Jon arrived in Burketown, becoming the first person to walk solo and unassisted across the continent of Australia.

Jon Muir OAM is no stranger to extreme adventures. He has climbed Mt. Everest, walked to the South Pole, paddled alone in a sea kayak from Port Douglas to the tip of Cape York; but this solo walk, which takes him across four of the driest deserts in the world, was to be his toughest challenge to date. His only equipment was two trekking poles and a home-made cart – his 'arid-zone cruiser' – containing a few essentials, which he pulled behind him. The bulk of his food comes from what he can find or hunt along the way.

Many of Australia's top adventurers have described this walk as one of the greatest achievements of human endeavour in the history of Australia. This was Jon's fourth attempt at a crossing. His previous attempts, like those of other explorers, some dating back to the mid nineteenth century, had failed. Pushed to his physical and mental limits – all of the 128 days were harder than Everest summit day, Jon says – he shows us how he survives total 'burnout' to tell his remarkable tale.

Alone Across Australia is more than a quest to see if 21st century man, travelling light, can survive in the most harsh and arid zones of the planet today, without any outside assistance. Jon's greater mission was to highlight how far contemporary society has shifted from its homo sapiens roots and in the process lost its fundamental connections with the earth we inhabit. We have to a great extent forgotten how to live simply, we have forgotten what survival in nature is and we have forgotten that we are, in essence, just another animal sharing this fragile planet.

Using his camera as a confidante and a diary, Jon not only documents the ups and downs of his trek through this harsh but beautiful landscape, but provides an engaging and articulate commentary. Other than his little canine companion, Seraphine, we see that, as each day goes by, the camera and even features on the landscape, such as hills, increasingly become his only friends. He tells a compelling story about his adventure, and the wealth of knowledge he has of the continent is strongly evident.

By immersing himself alone in the outback for such an extended period of time, we learn how it is possible for someone, with bush knowledge, to survive entirely off the land. In addition Jon provides us with a deeper insight into the lives of the traditional Aboriginals and the early explorers. The result is a challenging introduction to the landscape's natural riches and history, which overturns any preconceptions about the lifelessness of this remote centre of the continent.

Impact

The documentary has screened at over 70 film festivals around the world and has won over 25 festival awards. With an extensive study guide it has been seen and discussed at hundreds of schools throughout Australia. It has been used in history studies when discussing the early explorers, in environmental minimal impact lessons, and in motivational sessions relating to the art of adventure and the importance of heroes and mentors in our lives.

Statement by Jon Muir:

I like filming. I have been filming my expeditions since the mid – eighties. It is a way to share what I do, what I think and what I believe.

In the case of "Alone Across Australia", this was particularly important, because I was on my own, in my element, using the camera as a diary as well as a way to show people what an amazing place the real Australia is.

I have reached a time in my life and experience where it is important for me to share my ideas and philosophy with other people. Filming allows me to reach a wider audience than any other means. I have a simple message about a simple animal, Homo sapiens. The message is: we should learn more from our history and our past. It is there to be learned from, but we keep on repeating the same mistakes through the millennia; the mistake of destroying the very things that sustain our lives.

For the last ten years, I have thought of us as going down an evolutionary blind alley. We have lost sight of what it is to be human. When I filmed "Alone Across Australia", I was the closest I ever got to our long history. And our long history stretches back several hundred thousand years. For most of that time, we've survived by travelling simply and purely across the landscape, and treading lightly.

Extinction is a very real possibility for humans in the centuries ahead. Perhaps this would be the best thing for all the other life on earth! But if we survive, it will be as a harmonious part of the planet's eco system. There is just no other way.

I think that's what motivated me to film. But this is different from why I was out there. I was there to challenge myself in a way I had never before, and to melt in the Australian landscape. I have succeeded in the latter two. I hope we will succeed in getting my message across as well.

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