Community & Business
6 January, 2025
BEST OF 2024: Gavin’s Wheelie Bin Walk, raising dough for doctors working in a troubled world
Article as seen in The Narromine Star, by Hannah Morley and David Dixon.
First published May 28, 2024.
Taking the rubbish bin out for weekly kerbside collection, is a chore that most people do on a weekly basis, with little to no thought.
Yet 67-year-old Sydneysider, Gavin Kleinhans is going much further for a very important cause, trekking a total of 1150km, much of through towns in the central west, pushing his yellow wheelie bin from Bondi all the way to Broken Hill.
Stopping to take a well-earned rest and a sip of water, Gavin explained that his walk is “a little crazy”, but all for a good cause — raising money and awareness for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
He’s hoping to raise up to $30,000 for the medicos who volunteer in some of the world’s worst-hit and poorest countries, providing vital medical care to those most in need.
Reflecting on the courage and commitment of doctors and nurses entering high-conflict areas, Gavin is quick to add: “we don’t realise how truly lucky we are”.
Going cross-country is nothing new for Gavin, however, who previously completed a giant lap around Australia on a 110CC postman’s motorbike in 2022, again raising funds for Médecins.
This Wheelie Bin Walk is more a physical and mental challenge, rather than the mechanical and logistical issues of his previous odyssey, he adds.
“I’ve supported them for some time, purely in fund-raising terms, I just admire their courage and spirit,” he said of Médecins.
“A few years’ ago, I rode a postie bike around Australia for the group, it was a different type of challenge, trying to coax this little machine around this huge country, it took three months and I covered about fifteen and a half thousand kilometres,” the native South African recalled.
Gavin commenced his most-recent trek on Anzac Day, and was spotted rolling into Geurie last Sunday after completing a “casual” 21km walk that morning, and is now in Dubbo for few day’s rest, before heading-off again Friday. This is potentially Gavin’s last opportunity to grab spare wheel bearings and parts, and possibly an additional pair of shoes, before he resumes his journey.
This trip sees Gavin bundling all of his supplies in his customised yellow wheelie bin — cleverly equipped to carry his clothing, tent, repair kit, communications devices, along with food and water.
When asked how much weight he is pushing, Gavin quips: “it’s better I don’t know”, however some parts of the trip require him to carry five days’ worth of water and food, a minimum of 25 litres of water alone.
“The bin is actually full, it has all my camping gear, clothes, food, water, as there’ll be stretches of 100km with no stops, I’ve got the lot in there,” Gav explained.
“I have a background as an ultra-marathon runner, but I’m now 68, so that’s way behind me, but I am hoping to do it in 38 walking days.”
The wheelie bin trek seed was sown on New Years’ Day after speaking with a friend, Les Bryce, who had an initial idea of pushing a bin from Turramurra to Temora, but was physically unable to undertake the journey.
Inspired by Les, and with the incentive to challenge himself by walking a longer distance, Gavin set about plotting a different journey, carefully inspecting routes with adequate roadside shoulders for him to safely walk.
With the gruelling Blue Mountains behind him, Gavin has walked through some torrential rain in recent days, (the previous day’s soaked “Hokas” hiking shoes are strapped precariously to the front of the wheelie bin to dry).
“I’ve got wet a few times, but I just keep going,” Gavin said.
“When you’re camping on the side of the road, you don’t want to just sit there in a tent, and wait for the rain to stop.”
Gavin is looking forward to the flatter terrain ahead as he heads further west and, although he has a good library of audiobooks, the friendly beeps and waves of passers-by, and the NSW countryside, also keep him company.
He hints that he is most looking forward to the stretch from Nyngan to Cobar, as he will be joined on the road by his daughter, who is making the trip from the United Kingdom to walk with him.
Gavin aims to roll into Broken Hill mid-way through June, but has not set a specific finish date.
“Even if I only walk 5km in a day, as long as I am moving forward, that is the main thing,” Gavin says determinedly.
Gavin passed through Narromine over the weekend and stopped to visit Norma Reid at The Plaza Deli. You can read more about his visit in Norma’s Deli-cious Gems column in this week’s issue.
People can learn more about Gavin’s journey, and donate to Doctors Without Borders by going to his fundraising page: https://fundraise.msf.org.au/fundraisers/postiegeezer or by checking-out his Youtube channel: @postiegeezer, where he posts updates about his trek across NSW.
