“Rudi is an interesting character. Firstly because of his steady, slow 73-year old marching style. He doesn’t stop, except for lunch. He was born in Berlin in 1942, son of a father who got shot by the nazis. His mother took him to France when he was very young. Rudi was a mountaineer but now only walks due to his age. He doesn’t carry a tent, heavy sleeping gear, nor a burner. Sleeps and eats out every night in cabans, mountain huts, or in the villages en route”

Every day after finishing his trek, Geert would stick his feet in a pond, a creek, a river, a cattle trough, or wash them under a pump. The pain that shot through him after pulling the feet out of the water rated high on his pain tolerance scale. Like someone stuck 15 knitting needles in them. Then over the next few hours the pain slowly eased and his plavuters got back to normal. But after they’d been in rest, it flared up again. After wobbling around with this injury for three years or so, it finally got healed after excellent shock wave therapy back home in Adelaide.