As an explorer/adventurer, Kate has cycled 106,000km – two and a half times the Earth’s circumference – on her major journeys. On 16 August 2010 she became the first person in history to cycle an unbroken line from Africa’s most westerly to its most easterly points; from Pointe des Almadies, Senegal to Cape Hafun, Puntland, Somalia.
Cycling 22,040 km over ten months, Kate’s Breaking the Cycle in Africa Expedition was not only a physical quest but an odyssey to highlight the development needs and activities of war-torn and poverty-stricken nations.
Cycling through twenty countries, Kate aimed to find out what is being done to give a ‘leg up’ rather than a ‘hand out’ – to shine a positive light on the issues, cultures and geography of Africa.
In June 2019, Kate completed another original expedition when she became the first person to cycle the entire Namibian coastline, a 1621km sand cycling expedition from the mouth of the Kunene River on the Angolan border, along the Skeleton Coast and through the Namib Desert to the Orange River mouth on the South African border.
Kate has two earlier world firsts under her belt – the Trans-Siberian Cycle Expedition (1993) when she became the first woman to cycle across the ‘new’ Russia unsupported (aiding the children of Chernobyl), and the 25,000km Great Australian Cycle Expedition (2004/05) which included the first bicycle crossing of the Canning Stock Route by a woman.
Kate’s latest challenge, Breaking the Cycle South Pole, will result in the first bicycle crossing of the Antarctic continent via the South Pole (2026/27). To prepare, polar expeditions have been completed in Svalbard (Arctic Norway), Northeast Greenland and Arctic Canada and since 2018, a preparatory expedition – in either polar conditions, on sand or at altitude – has been performed on every continent. These include: the Baja Divide in Mexico, Iceland, the Finke River (Larapinta) in Australia, the Indian Himalaya, Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, the Andes, the Altiplano & the Atacama in South America and Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
On 19 September 2023, Kate completed Breaking the Cycle Across Australia, an 8617km fatbike expedition from Australia’s most easterly point, Cape Byron, to its most westerly, Steep Point. The voyage of discovery was to gain a close, grounded perspective of the outback while connecting with and listening to the stories and aspirations of First Nations elders and their remote communities.
On 16 August 2025, Kate completed her Breaking the Cycle Central Asia expedition, a 9001km, 149-day journey through the heart of Central Asia. Her route followed the Syr Darya (Jaxartes River) from its source in the Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, to the Aral Sea, and then traced the course of the mighty Amu Darya (Oxus River), concluding with a geographical “first,” the discovery of its true source. Kate’s team* named the glacial lake, a 100m x 150m permanent feature in the landscape, after their esteemed guide Malang Darya, the first Afghani to climb Afghanistan’s highest peak, Mt Noshaq. Lake Malang lies at the head of the West tributary of Chelab Stream in the Little Pamir, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan.
The Oxus was the last major river in the world of which the ultimate source was unidentified. Discovering its true source solves a 3000-year mystery of Central Asia’s greatest river. The importance of finding the true source had been heightened during the time of the Great Game (mid-1800s – early 1900s), when the British and Russian empires vied for control of Central Asia.
*The team included Rupert McCowan (Geographer, Director of the Royal Geographical Society – Hong Kong), Malang Darya and filmmaker Adrian Dmoch. In 2007 an expedition led by Bill Colegrave had identified the Chelab stream as the source of the Oxus, but no one had since explored the Chelab’s own source.
Breaking the Cycle education aims to help prepare our future leaders to make informed decisions to create a better world. Students across the globe can follow Kate’s preparatory activities and Antarctic expedition and partake in the Breaking the Cycle Education learning modules and lessons with the end goals of creating their own projects.
2023 was a big year for Kate. On 26 January, she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to adventure sport and on 1 November she received the Australian Geographic Society’s prestigious Spirit of Adventure award (presented to those whose efforts reflect courage, strength, determination and the ability to overcome obstacles in pursuit of their goals). On 8 March 2016, The University of Western Australia awarded Kate an Honorary Doctor of Education degree for services to education and community. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (UK), a member of The Explorers Club (New York) and an Honorary Advisor for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. Kate’s Australian and African expeditions were Official Activities for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNESCO).
In 2014, Kate’s documentary ‘Njinga’ won two awards at the Action on Film International Film Festival in Los Angeles – best cinematography and best documentary (sport). ‘Njinga’, Kate’s second book, complements the documentary; her first, Out There and Back, chronicles the Australian expedition. Kate’s latest production, a 4-part TV series about the Namibian expedition, Diamonds in the Sand, has been broadcast around the world (eg – National Geographic Asia, CNBC, Outside TV) and received more than 25 million views.
In between expeditions, Kate works as a real tennis professional. She has won 5 Australian Open singles and 6 doubles titles and been ranked as high as world number 2 woman.
Australian Open Doubles 2019
Kate grew up with her two sisters and two brothers on a wheat and sheep farm near Northam in Western Australia, about 130km east northeast of Perth. After attending Northam Primary School, she boarded at Perth College during her secondary schooling and went on to study for a Bachelor of Physical Education and Graduate Diploma of Education at The University of Western Australia before beginning her travels. After spending 11 years living in the UK and France, Kate returned to Australia, this time to Melbourne where she now lives, working part time as a senior professional at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club.
