SOARING temperatures are making life tough for a 79-year-old Bamawm farmer, now approaching the half-way mark of his trek around Australia.
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Peter Tripovich again braved temperatures of about 40 degrees Celsius yesterday as he walked into Derby in the Western Australian outback.
He will rest in town for the next few days before walking to Broome next week.
While the fiercely determined retired farmer has vowed to continue his effort, his one-man support crew, Ray Price, yesterday told The Advertiser his mate was finding the heat hard to handle.
"The air temperature up here is about 40 to 45 degrees every day and the tarmac temperature must be 65-70 degrees," said Mr Price, who has driven behind Mr Tripovich since the walk began in Melbourne on February 28.
"It's so hot that it's just impossible to walk during the day: we take off about midnight each night and Peter walks until about 9pm.
"By ten past nine, Peter is usually asleep on the floor of the caravan and then he wakes up at times during the day for lunch and dinner.
"At the moment it is simply a matter of eating, walking and sleeping."
Mr Tripovich has now walked about 8500 km in what is expected to be a 20,000 km trek around the Australian mainland.
Inspired by the Boxing Day tsunami, his walk has raised almost $15,000 for non-profit aid agency International Children's Care.
Although Mr Price said Mr Tripovich had lost a noticeable amount of weight during the journey, he said his friend was still in healthy shape.
"He is still walking about 40km each day.
"His next goal is to get to Perth; he's pretty determined to be there by his 80th birthday (February 25)."
Anyone interested in finding out more about International Children's Care's Peter Tripovich Fund should visit www.iccaustralia.org.au, e-mail iccap@dcsi.net.au or phone 5622 0703.
