UK family spend four months travelling 10,000 miles to get to wedding
A family have spent four months travelling 10,000 miles overland to a wedding, all to minimise their carbon footprint.
Shannon Coggins, Theo Simon and their daughter Rosa have finally arrived in Australia, after an epic adventure that began in August.
The eco-conscious trio’s journey began at Castle Cary railway station in Somerset and ended in Sydney in time for Shannon’s sister’s wedding on December 28. On the way, they travelled through Europe, Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia and got as far as Dili, East Timor without flying. But there, they had to take a 300-mile flight as there was no boat service linking East Timor to Australia’s Northern Territories.
The family's route (Google / SWNS)Shannon, whose sister Ellie was the bride, said: “Me and Theo decided to stop flying in 2002 because of its effect on the world’s climate. And then my sister moved to Australia in 2007. Although we live far apart, we’re very close because our mum died when we were young – but I’ve never been to her home, taken her son to school or even met the man she was marrying. I wanted us all to be there on her wedding day but I am also trying to do my bit to reduce my carbon footprint.”
Arriving in East Timor (Buckle Up Dorothy / SWNS)Because of Shannon and Theo’s decision not to fly, Rosa, 19, had never been on a plane – until the family had to take the short flight last week. Shannon said: “We had hoped to hitch or hire a ride to Darwin with a cargo ship or yacht, but we arrived too late in the season for that. So, sadly for us, we had to take a Qantas flight from Dili to Darwin. But from there, we were able to take Greyhound buses through Alice to Adelaide and Melbourne, and a rental car to Sydney. It’s a shame we had to fly at some point, but I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved. It hasn’t been easy and after a few months in Australia, we’ll be trying the same journey in reverse.”
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With elephants in Laos (Buckle Up Dorothy / SWNS)“It’s been a fantastic journey and a really good way to experience so many diverse places and people, before I start my animation degree course in Falmouth next year.”
Flying from the UK to Australia produces roughly 3.5 tons of CO2 per economy passenger. The family calculate that their journey, by contrast, has emitted 0.9 tons of CO2 per person. They spent years of savings on the trip, which has cost them much more than air tickets would have done. In August, Shannon quit her job as a school administrator and Theo left his at a sports product factory.
Theo on a train across Kazakhstan (Buckle Up Dorothy / SWNS)Theo said: “All three of us have campaigned for action on climate change, but we’re realistic. We know that people can’t necessarily find the time to do this.”
Shannon added: “The demand for low carbon travel will only increase. It would be really helpful if some smart entrepreneur set up a regular passenger route across the Timor Sea – preferably before our return journey in April.”
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