Englishman Karl Bushby returns home after 28 years walking 30,000 miles around the world

CBS News · Ramy Inocencio · 2026-11-02 14:50 UTC

Karl Bushby began what came to be known as his "Goliath Expedition" in Chile on Nov. 1, 1998.

Hull, England - For 28 years and one day, Karl Bushby took the long way home on an epic odyssey of human endurance back to northern England.

His adventure was made even more difficult - physically and mentally - with his two self-imposed guiding rules: he could not advance his journey with the help of any machine and he could not return home during the entire time, even if family or friends died.

It was also hardly a direct route. His journey was delayed at various times for months, if not years, by illness, visa restrictions in Russia, Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and having to swim massive bodies of water. His life was also threatened by armed gangs in the lawless Darien Gap in Central America, jail in Panama and a polar bear in Siberia.

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