At 34, Torbjørn Pedersen embarked on a seemingly impossible journey that would take 10 years – and involve cerebral malaria and being held up at gunpoint. He reflects on the highs, the lows and the joy of getting married en route
orbjørn Pedersen has always dreamed of being a famous adventurer. He spent his childhood building dens in the woods, pretending to be his hero, Indiana Jones. Even as an adult, he couldn’t shake the sense that he was destined for greatness.
‘The high from entering a new country was the best feeling in the world’ … Pedersen in Ethiopia in 2017.Pedersen was already obsessed with world firsts: “The first to go to the north pole, the south pole, the deepest sea, the highest mountain, the longest river.” Now he had a chance to set a world record himself. “It was right in front of me,” he says, eyes gleaming.
‘We are far more similar than anyone would ever believe. But we are so quick to see the differences’ … Pedersen in Sri Lanka in 2023.He started to work all over the world: in Bangladesh, Greenland, the Arctic Circle, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as Florida and a number of European countries. He also trained in humanitarian aid and volunteered at a homeless shelter.
‘I can definitely say that I had help and support from someone in every country in the world’ … pictured in Hong Kong in 2020.As he ticked off countries, moving into Central and South America and to the Caribbean, his “no flying home” rule began to bite. “My grandmother died and I couldn’t come back for her funeral,” he says. A close family friend also died. “He was on his bicycle and his heart stopped. That was someone I wasn’t expecting to lose.” Then there were friends who were struggling.
But if the highs were dizzying, the lows were devastating. “I was living a nightmare at times. There were hundreds of difficult checkpoints; I had to recover from cerebral malaria; I was held up at gunpoint many times,” he says. “I should have been dead. I should’ve quit even more times.” Pedersen had been travelling for more than six years when he and Le set a date to marry in New Zealand. He was on his way to their wedding, via four days’ transit in Hong Kong, in March 2020. You can guess the rest: Covid hit, the territory locked down and he didn’t leave Hong Kong for two years. She was back home in Denmark, but after they married online she managed to get a spousal visa and visit for 100 days, after restrictions had eased.
It’s unusual for someone completing a flight-free challenge to talk so little about the environment. Was he conscious of travelling sustainably? “The environment wasn’t a motivation, but I am very proud to look back at a project like this and say my carbon footprint was at a minimum,” he says. “In 2013, the climate debate wasn’t at all what it is today. I think people should definitely limit flying when they can.
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