TERRA Lalirra has a medium-sized plan trip today, and one extremely long walk starting on Tuesday.
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The Bonny Hills resident is flying to Perth this afternoon to commence her overland trek to Melbourne.
The 8,250 kilometre is the next step in Ms Lalirra's Happy Walk, which hopes to cover approximately 32,000 kilometres over seven years around Australia.
Her continent-spanning walk aims to generate greater awareness of depression and prevent suicide through understanding, community support and discussion.
In addition to awareness, Ms Lalirra also hopes to raise $1 million for Lifeline Australia.
Having previously trekked through Victoria, Tasmania and NSW, tomorrow marks her second attempt to cross the Nullarbor Plain on foot.
"I attempted to walk across in 2004, but I chose the wrong season," Ms Lalirra said.
Since then she has become familiar with the terrain in numerous ways.
She has completed volunteering stints, caught the Indian Pacific and even hitchhiked across the Nullarbor.
It has given her a greater sense of the mental health issues which plague isolated communities.
"This time I'll be zig-zagging my way to Melbourne and visiting a lot of smaller places, so that I can get the word out about mental health," she said.
The Camden Haven local has set flexible parameters for the crossing: she's given herself between eight and 18 months, but if a pace of 40km per day is not sustainable, she'll take a break.
Perhaps most impressively, Ms Lalirra is going it alone. Her support crew, she explained, are the people she meets along the way.
"I take enormous hope from the support I get," she said.
"We support each other, which is what it's all about."
Another source of inspiration has been meeting fellow extreme walkers in recent months.
She met father-and-son duo Jay and Luke Hawkins as they trekked up the Pacific Highway in January.
And on Saturday morning she met Jimmy Harrington, a 20-year-old who has almost finished walking around Australia to raise money for The Brainchild Foundation.
"These people they just keep me going," she said.
"Whether it's rowing, running, riding or even skateboarding across the Nullarbor, it's all about the effort that people put in.
"That's what makes it all worth it."
While she currently has no plans to skate around Australia, Ms Lalirra said she is considering an epic Segway voyage through the desert in the future.
Keep up-to-date with Ms Lalirra's journey on www.thehappywalk.com/
