Some people call Australia “The Island Continent.” Others call it “Down Under.” 48-year-old IT man Stuart Trueman can call Australia his bitch. On July 28, Trueman paddled onto the sands of Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia to an ovation of cheers from strangers amassed to welcome him back. 16 months and 16,000 kilometers earlier, he departed in a kayak from that very same beach. Trueman is the only man to ever circumnavigate Australia in a kayak. The voyage was anything but leisurely. Trueman fought illness, extreme weather, crocodiles and a tiger shark attack that left a tooth in the rudder of his 5.2 meter sea kayak. Most challenging were the treacherous stretches along Australia’s cliff-lined southern coast. At least once, Trueman had to paddle non-stop for 35 straight hours. Today, Trueman is back in Sydney. He might be at home with his kids or back behind a desk. Today, he’s a national hero and one of the only humans to ever see every inch of the country’s vast coast.