We’ve never been any good at bringing things to a close. We’ll put off a big decision until the final moment. We’ll hem and haw and shuffle our feet in the dirt before saying good-bye. We left organising our flight out of Beijing – during the height of tourist season – to a week before the day we were due home.
So it’s only fitting that we managed to delay completing our Great Wall adventure almost as long as humanly possible. What we expected to take six months took 13; the 3000 kilometres we planned to walk somehow became nearly 4000. But even the longest set of structures ever built by humans eventually comes to an end, and that means our trip has as well.
From the desert to the sea – the end of the Great Wall at Laolongtou
At two o’clock on July 7 (07/07/07 – auspicious!), we reached our destination: Laolongtou, or Old Dragon’s Head, the eastern end of the Ming Great Wall. And in a nice bit of symmetry, we were welcomed at the end by the same people who gave us a fantastic send-off from Jiayuguan a year ago, Dong Yaohui and Yan Daojun of the China Great Wall Society.
The moment we walked through Laolongtou’s gates, Mr Yan grabbed us by the elbows, escorted us to a meeting room to collect ourselves and wipe the sweat from our faces, then took us to a courtyard, where we were met by Emma’s parents Di and Mike, representatives from the local government and members of the local media, and even Mr Li and his family.
An achievement of his own – Emma’s dad, Mike, made the journey to Shanhaiguan not long after being seriously ill
Celebrating with Mike and Emma’s mum, Di. Is there anywhere on the wall she can’t go?
And how could we forget that smile? Mr Li, his wife and daughter were even there to welcome us back.
And at that point, with microphones thrust before us and a crowd of curious onlookers waiting for . . . something, it all became real – we were finished!
You go first … Mike, Mr Dong, Di, Emma, Brendan, and Mr Yan
Each of us spoke briefly and Mr Yan translated. Mr Dong said some gracious words on behalf of the Great Wall Society about our trip, the Great Wall exhibitions at the Powerhouse and Melbourne Museums, and our website. We were presented with some lovely bouquets, and everything became blurry – there were pictures for the press, pictures with tourists, pictures with kids. It was exciting, and tiring, and a bit chaotic – in other words, it was just like walking the wall!
Mr Dong and a young wall-walker in the making
So, who’s going first then? Mr Yan, waiting for one of us to talk so he could translate
When the short ceremony was over, Mr Dong took each of us by the hand, and just as he had accompanied us on our first few steps from Jiayuguan Fort 13 months before, walked with us, hand in hand, to the point where the wall meets the sea.
As we’ve talked over the past few weeks about what we might say in our final post, we’ve struggled to come up with a suitable title – we had wanted something that would capture the exhilaration and sense of completion we had imagined we might feel. And of course we do feel those things – you can’t imagine how excited we are to be done and heading home – but in the couple of days since we’ve been back in Beijing, packing up and seeing friends, we’ve also thought a lot about the things we’ll miss as well – walking into a dusty village to a stunned crowd for a five-minute drinks break that turns into an hour, the rhythm of our walking sticks swinging as we move along the path, all the sights and sounds (and smells) of rural China.
So it feels slightly bittersweet to have come to the end of the line – we’ve reached our destination and we’re enormously proud and relieved to have done so, but also just a tiny bit sad.
It’s all a bit much for Emma. Just because no one caught it on camera, doesn’t mean Brendan didn’t cry too.
But putting on his pack for the last time makes it all start to feel a bit real
We want to thank all of you for taking this journey with us, for sticking by us as we trundled through the broken foot and other injuries, for putting up with us as we dealt with technical delays, and for being there for us when we needed you the most. You can’t imagine how important it was to us to know there were people following our blog – it was to you we ran when we’d seen something amazing and had to tell someone, where we turned when we were lonely and exhausted and needed a reason to go on. This blog was our connection to the outside world, and every comment, every personal email and every message passed on was received with love and enthusiasm.
Several people have asked about our future plans, and of course we’ve discussed them endlessly as we walked, but for now we feel the best thing for us to do is to go home, rest a bit, and gain a little perspective in the context of our normal lives. We will compile final trip statistics and post them in the next several days, but this will be our last regular post on the blog. The blog itself, however, will stay up indefinitely and we’ll continue checking it for comments.
We don’t plan to leave Walking the Wall behind entirely, though. We may do some talks, write up a few articles, and who knows, we might even write a book. If you’d like to keep up with our future Great Wall-related plans, please send us an email at WalkingTheWallinfo@gmail.com (a blank email is fine), and we’ll keep you updated. Thank you for all your interest and support. It’s been a great journey and we’re going to miss it.
A big, happy, raise-a-pint-in-the-air congratulations to you both! I know I haven’t been leaving a lot of comments for you over the past year, but I’ve been in awe from afar. Can I place my order now? I’d like 5 signed copies of the book as soon as they’re off the press.
HIP HIP HURRAY!!
Will Bailey need hiking boots when you next take her for a walk??
Well done guys. This is an epic and amazing journey. It is quite incredible to read about so I can only imagine what life has been like for the last 12 months. What an opportunity! Congratulations on your completion. Lots of love Sophie and Andrew Paterson
Congratulations Emma and Brendan,
I’m a tiny bit sad too! I’ll miss being able to vicariously piggy back on your adventures in China. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such a wonderful, tangible way. And well done for making it to the end of the journey together!
It’ll be lovely to catch up with you both on Oz.
Your admiring cousin, Nataliex
It has just occurred to me, while reading your final post, what a truly wonderful thing you have done….that is, besides “WTW”. You have been “Good Will Ambassadors” for Western cultures. With your open arms, big smiles, and
good manners YOU have demonstrated to many Chinese that perhaps we can all get along. Who knows…..there MIGHT be a Nobel Peace Prize in your future !!
Every realization has probably begun with some fantasy….
Let the dreams continue !!!
It has just occurred to me, while reading your final post, what a truly wonderful thing you have done….that is, besides “WTW”. You have been “Good Will Ambassadors” for Western cultures. With your open arms, big smiles, and
good manners YOU have demonstrated to many Chinese that perhaps we can all get along. Who knows…..there MIGHT be a Nobel Peace Prize in your future !!
Every realization has probably begun with some fantasy….
Let the dreams continue !!!
It has just occurred to me, while reading your final post, what a truly wonderful thing you have done….that is, besides “WTW”. You have been “Good Will Ambassadors” for Western cultures. With your open arms, big smiles, and
good manners YOU have demonstrated to many Chinese that perhaps we can all get along. Who knows…..there MIGHT be a Nobel Peace Prize in your future !!
Every realization has probably begun with some fantasy….
Let the dreams continue !!!
What wonderful, happy pictures!!!! Your adventure has come to an end , but your lives will never be boring. Congrats and Love on a goal completed, Mom and Dad
Dear Brendan and Emma – congratulations on what must feel an amazingly satisfying achievement! It seems like only yesterday when you were explaining to us at the Powerhouse what you intended to do – though your blisters and memories will tell you otherwise. Thank you for the fabulous contribution you made to the exhibition: it added a totally up-to-date dimension that would otherwise have been sadly lacking. All the best, Paul (curatorial)
Dear Ones — congratulations!! Just seeing you both so jubilant — and mom and dad there of course (hi, Mike & Di:-) — warmed me all over. What an amazing journey!! Mahalo for sharing it all with us.
Now go home and recoup…and get ready for your next.
Fondest Aloha,
Karen J
Maui, Hawaii
Tremendous!
Read the article in SMH travel section and logged on to your site. What an amazing adventure, could not believe how rough the terrain was at times. Fab photos.
Well done!
Angela, Bondi
Congratulations!!!
I’ve been following you the last year, and thank you ever so much for sharing with us your impressions, pictures and sometimes suffering.
I plan to do a similar trip in a years time, and hope it is OK that I ask you a few questions in a while when your life has settled down a bit.
All the best,
Stephen
NORWAY
Smart couple of buggars setting a great pace for us layabouts.
KJSPJTand L
Fantastico! Gongxi gongxi!!
Jane & Torrey
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Loved the blog and your wonderful photos.
Thanks for everything.
Amazing guys!! I’ve really enjoyed your Blog’s, photo’s and even your triplog! I can’t wait to read your book!! YES, I really do expect you to write a book about this!! Who wouldn’t want to read it!!
One journey ends as another begins eh? We’ll be leaving around 20th August!
I’ll mail you guys for some last Q&A if I may. And offcourse I’ll pass on a blog of my own once it’s airborne.
Matt
great wall of china is aboslutly huge and i wouldnt ever walk it becoz it is sooo big !!!
Congratulations Emma and Brendan on completing your walk. Great site too. What an epic adventure! What’s next?
Marstie and Jenny Nicholas
Hey Matt,
Please let me know what your site address is! I’ve been searching for it, but without any luck. Could you send me a mail? Can’t find your e-mail address either.
Cheers!
Stephen
NORWAY
job well done…..
much love,
molly
Hey great job guys and nice pics!
Best wishes and greets
from Germany!
Hey great job guys and very nice pics!
Best wishes and greets
from Germany!
Emma & Brendan — Big congratulations on the successful conclusion of your amazing and wonderful trip — amazing and wonderful for those of us who followed your trip online, too. Love, Cousin Terry in San Jose.
For new adventures on the Great Wall of China:
http://www.daydreamer-entertainment.com
with Matt Sanders!
Hi Guys
A fantastic trip and the best website on walking the wall I can find. You have been an inspiration to me and my girlfriend Simone. We are planning to spend 3 months walking part of the Great Wall from next May. Apart from the great information in your website – I have a few more questions – just to get a bit more detail. I would appreciate it if you could help us out.
We are both from Melbourne and very capable bushwalkers but we see this trip as a real challenge mainly due to the length of time walking and being in a foreign culture.
Hope to hear from you soon.
John & Simone
Greeting from Holland. Congratulations on making it all the way. I Loved the blog and your wonderful photos. You should be realy proud of yourselves.
Mike
I am greatly impressed. I would dearly love to walk the wall – however, 13months is too long (I’ve got bills to pay!) STILL – I AM IMPRESSED. WELL DONE (trival question – did you wear a pedometre and how many steps did it take? !!)
Congratulations to you both! The photos are beautiful. What an adventure. What were your favorite BRAND of shoes to wear on this hike?
It’s over now.CHEERS!
Peace to you both!
Debby
Congratulations on making it all the way. I Loved the blog and your wonderful photos. You should be realy proud of yourselves. once again Big congratulations on the successful conclusion of your amazing and wonderful trip
Prakash from india…..