Great and incredible journeys in an incredibly large country

Travel across Australia is often necessarily travel on a striking scale.

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australian office. Subscribe to receive it by email. This week's issue is written by Melbourne-based journalist Natasha Frost.

Earlier this year, my colleague Hikari Hida and I reported on an incredible and unlikely journey underway on the east coast of Australia.

Ryokei Mifune, a young Japanese backpacker going through college, was traveling from Melbourne to Cairns, via Sydney, on a fragile non-motorized child scooter, a journey of over 2,000 miles.

He was, in every way, underprepared - camping in urban parks, losing his nails on the tarmac (he wore sandals everywhere) and communicating with strangers via Google Translate and the universal language of smiles and grateful nods. Its ride, which was woefully inadequate for Australian gravel roads, broke several times.

"I don't think I prepared anything special for this trip," he said. us in February. "If I think too much, it will only complicate things and it will be difficult to take a step forward, so I thought: if I jump straight in without a plan B, I will somehow figure things out."

Almost four months later, Uni has done just that. As his trip became more publicized, strangers began watching him on the road, offering him meals or lodging. In 124 days, he learned far more English, saw more Australia than many Australians and drew attention to his story to raise thousands of dollars for refugees.

On Saturday, Uni entered Cairns, holding a Japanese flag signed by his supporters above his head. He jumped off his scooter, smiling and bowing, and thanked the waiting and cheering crowd.

ImageRyokei Mifune passing by Uni on his trip through Australia.Credit...Ryokei Mifune

Later , in a post on Instagram, he wrote: my journey, I once again felt that I was supported by many people. I will keep running towards my goal with your thoughts in the wind. He plans to return to Japan later this month, he said.

Uni's journey is an incredible story. But the vastness of Australia - which is only slightly smaller than the United States - can often fit unusual trips into everyday life.

January , from Broome to Kununurra, Chris English took a 3,000 mile detour through the hinterland after a bridge was closed due to severe flooding.

"I'm a seasoned driver," he told me at the time. "As far as traveling through central Australia, off the beaten track and so on, I've done that all my life. So for me personally, it's just another trip. "

His son, Craig, posted updates of his dad's trip on Twitter, and thousands of people started following his progress across the country , along a path greater than the distance between Moscow and Gibraltar.

"I received a phone call from one of the children, or from my wife , saying 'You're famous!'” Chris English said. "I said, 'What do you mean?'"...