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IN 2004, Paula Constant began walking from Trafalgar Square in London. Since then, she has walked over 12000km through 8 countries: England, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Niger. The walk has been done in three separate stages – the first leg, from London to MHamid el Ghizlaine in Southern Morocco, was walked with her husband Gary during 2004-5. Paula and Gary returned to the desert in September 2005 and continued with four camels and local guides. When Gary left the walk that November, Paula continued on to walk over 2,800 km through Morocco and the Western Sahara. She returned to Australia in June 2006 after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in October of that year returned to Mauritania to continue her walk – this time planning to complete a West to East crossing of the Sahara on foot with only local and camel support. She received sponsorship from Dove Australia, Birkenstock Australia, and Utopia travel insurance for this leg of the walk, and chose to dedicate the walk to raising awareness for the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia.
Paula went on to walk over 4,200 km through the Sahara, passing Tomboctou in Mali and entering Niger, where she was stopped by authorities due to a civil war which is as yet unresolved. She was over halfway across the desert when she was forced to halt her walk. Paula plans to return to the desert this October, political conditions permitting. Her first book, Slow Journey South, has been released by Random House in Australia. Paula is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, and is a proud supporter of the Feed the Rat philosophy.