Tyral Dalitz has just alighted from a bus and he has never been more stoked to arrive anywhere.

Like the cat that got the cream, Ty knows not even sodden London Town could rain on his parade

“Nothing could wipe the grin off my face,” he recalls.

“Making it to London was the closure of a massive chapter in this journey and my life. 

“It was originally the end goal and before I left Australia I really didn't know if I was capable of pulling off such a massive challenge. 

“Somehow after years of talking about it and over two years on the road I finally bloody did it though!”

Ty, 29, had completed a more than 60,000-kilometre journey from Australia to England without catching one flight.

He sailed, hitchhiked, rode motorbikes and caught trains and buses throughout the 845-day voyage.

He travelled through 40 different countries, admittedly getting sidetracked as he zigzagged over Europe for 12 months.

“It took me a fair bit longer than I originally thought it might,” he says.

“But I finally made it, somehow surviving over 40 different countries with only two near-death experiences, one almost forced deportation and one border crossing bribe.”

Ty set sail from Darwin for Indonesia in late July 2014 as part of the Sail Indonesia Rally.

Having spent the previous three years on the road around Australia, the Oaklands native wove around the Indonesian islands with a group of boats on a “slightly chaotic, organised schedule”. 

They went to places that foreigners only visit once or twice a year and experienced warm hospitality and fascinating festivals.

“There were 25 of us yachties greeted by 20,000 school children dancing solely for us,” he recalls.

“It was the most mental thing I have ever experienced, something to rival an Olympic opening ceremony. 

“As I was the youngest there, everyone else being retired couples sailing the world, I was invited to dance with them at the end. 

“It will be the closest thing I will ever feel to being a pop star or celebrity; I was absolutely mobbed by screaming kids for photos, something I will remember forever.”

After Indonesia Ty dodged freighters crossing the Singapore Strait, one of the world’s busiest commercial routes. 

“I spent Christmas on the tropical Island of Langkawi, a tax-free island where cheap beer is even cheaper,” he says. 

After riding a motorbike across Vietnam, Ty took the Trans-Mongolian railway through China, Mongolia and Russia.

In July 2015 he reached Europe where he spent 18 months criss-crossing the continent before catching a bus to England.  

With a background in farming and a science degree under his belt, Ty committed to a no-flying trip to London four years ago after small talk with mates evolved into something much bigger.

Having never sailed before, Ty’s biggest challenge was getting out of the country.

“The weight of such a long journey with so many variables, crossing so many countries I knew nothing about, knowing I’d have to do things I had never done before was honestly a pretty daunting and overwhelming thought,” he recalls. 

“It was fun and exciting to fantasise about but honestly I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off; if I was outgoing enough and confident enough to take on the big world and all its unknowns.”

Despite being shipwrecked in Indonesia, Ty’s closest calls came much later in his European jaunts.

In Bulgaria he wound up in a car with a drunk driver after hitchhiking at night.

“He was swerving all over the road, at some points I was grabbing the wheel, keeping us on the road,” he says.

In Belarus he was a day late on his visa registration and risked immediate deportation.

“I spent over five hours in the main police centre of Minsk with some very scary looking Russian types,” he says. 

“Luckily we had an awesome couchsurfing host who saved the day and smooth-talked them, saving me from being deported and potentially being forced to fly.”

Ty’s Oaklands-based parents Michael and Kathy Dalitz and younger brother Hayden, of Berrigan, are proud Ty has stayed his course. 

Mrs Dalitz, who backpacked with Ty for a month in Asia in early 2015, said Ty always followed through on his ideas.

“He made me step out of my comfort zone,” she said.

“I backpacked and hitchhiked with him, we got on local buses and even slept on local buses with a chook next to me and a motorbike in the aisle!”

Buoyed from having reached London, Ty has now committed to doing a full lap of the globe without flying.

He joined the crew of the support boat for The Longest Swim, French-American Ben Lecomte’s attempt to be the first man to swim the Pacific Ocean. They planned to leave the Canary Islands on Thursday.

Ty saved $30,000 before the trip and budgeted to spend $1000 a month.

“To survive and keep the travels alive I’ve had to stretch my funds as far as they could go,” he says. 

“These money saving measures usually resulted in some of the more memorable adventures and experiences. 

“From hitchhiking I’ve met some of the nicest people and even been invited into people’s homes. Wild camping has resulted in me camping on pristine beaches, in abandoned hotels, under bridges, on top of mountains, sometimes being spooked by wild animals and one time even being moved on by some nudists.”

Despite initial doubts about the trip, Ty is grateful he stayed on track.

“I’ve certainly gained a lot more random stories,” he jests.

“I can almost rest easy knowing that I am safely on my way to one day becoming some town’s drunk eccentric, rambling in the corner of the pub for hours.”