Joachim Lanham: Norwegian rollerblader skates 5500km from Sydney to Perth

A journey from Sydney to Perth — for most travellers — involves a five-hour flight or a long haul behind the wheel.

But, Joachim Lanham did it on rollerblades.

The 23-year-old Norwegian arrived in Perth on Saturday. The 5500km trek across some of the country’s most isolated highways took Mr Lanham 53 days.

To celebrate reaching the finish line, he treated himself to two litres of chocolate milk.

Mr Lanham said the cross-continental challenge was the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious journeys that began when he was just a teenager.

“It started as a bet when I was 17 to skate across Denmark,” he said.

“And then it was kind of like what’s next.

“I did Norway to Prague, and at that point it started getting cold.... I thought well, it’s snowing here, so why not go to Australia, It’s warm there.”

What awaited him was more than just warm weather.

“The best part was the people, coming from Europe, no one talks to you,” he said.

“You could be doing the most crazy thing on the side of the road, they will not stop or slow down, they might honk at you because you’re in the way but that’s about it.

“So the idea of people stopping and asking why you’re doing this or giving you a beer was just magical, it just hit me crazily.”

Mr Lanham said the physical toll was significant, but it was the mental challenge which often loomed larger.

“Being lonely is the biggest battle,” he said.

But it was the “gorgeous” Australian terrain which lifted Mr Lanham’s spirit each day.

“You see something different every day, from bushes to dust and just sand and then the clear skies,” he said.

“I got to end every day on a clear night sky, you just get to see the stars and stargaze.

“At some point I gave up on using a tent and just laid on the dirt on a sleeping mat and just looked up because it’s just gorgeous.”

Mr Lanham first took up rollerblading at 15 after stepping away from the ice rink.

“I started rollerblading when I was 15 because I used to ice skate and I missed the feeling of ice skating,” he said.

Having reached Perth, he is already considering what comes next.

“Maybe I’ll do a celebratory lap around Rottnest,” he said.