by When Sacha Shaw decided to move from Melbourne to Canada, he was determined to travel without flying.
But the environmental researcher and freelance journalist hadn’t even left Australian shores before he realized it was going to be more difficult than he first thought.
Shaw traveled to Mount Isa by bus and train in January before hitchhiking across the Northern Territory to Darwin.
There he contacted several cargo ship companies sailing to Indonesia, but he says that “they laughed at him a lot in the port of Darwin.”
He eventually put up what he calls his “lost dog sign” around Darwin Harbor that simply said: “Are you heading north and looking for crew?”
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A month passed before someone called, saying they were sailing to Timor-Leste and then on to Indonesia.
The trip was anything but smooth, he says, and included an engine failure, a storm that tore the ship’s sails and a medical emergency on board, which meant a port authority ship had to take them to Dili port.
Since then, his journey has become easier and he has now reached Dubai via Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal, northern India, Pakistan and Iran. The journey has been a combination of ferries, passenger ships, trains, buses, motorcycles and hitchhiking.
“There are many ways to travel without flying. Just crossing international waters becomes a problem,” he says.
Many Australians are increasingly concerned about their flygskam (fly shame), but the sad reality is that other options for international travel here may be limited.
Tony Wheeler, founder and former director of Lonely Planet, told Guardian Australia that he is “much less convinced” when he hears something about non-air travel from someone who lives in Europe.
“Stopping flying is no problem for the Greta Thunbergs of this world who live in Stockholm. “It would be a very different story for them if they lived in Sydney or Tokyo.”
So how realistic is it to move to OS from Oz without hopping on a plane?
Cruise ships
Of course, there are many cruise ships leaving Australian shores, but their environmental record is not something to be celebrated.
The International Council on Clean Transportation found in 2022 that cruising almost always generates more carbon emissions than flying and staying in a hotel. The research suggests that the world’s largest cruise ships emit around 250 grams of CO2 per passenger kilometer, compared to 80g on longer flights with lower emissions, although the analysis did not take into account other gases such as methane.
Environmental think tank Energy Monitor calculated that an average seven-day cruise over a distance of 1,096 kilometers each way would generate, on average, three times as many emissions as flying.
Swipe right to see a sailboat
Whether you’re an established sea dog or a first-time sailor, there are several websites, including Find a Crew or Crew Bay, that match yachts and sailboats with potential crew around the world, including in Australia.
Be sure to take safety precautions, as some women have reported unwanted sexual advances and even assaults while at sea.
Suggestions from former victims include asking captains for a copy of their passport, video chatting before boarding, and writing down contact details for local police in the areas they are traveling to.
cargo ships
Globally, there are websites such as Cargo Ship Travel and Maris Freighter Cruises that offer limited passenger spots on cargo ships. But don’t expect them to be cheaper than flying, and their schedule is irregular at best.
As for time, the length of the trip will depend on how often the ship is scheduled to stop, but as an idea, one company offers trips from China to Los Angeles that take 15 days to cross the Pacific.
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Chris Zeiher, senior director at Lonely Planet, says since Covid it has become almost impossible to secure berths on container ships from Australia.
“Cargo ship cruises were once a solid no-fly option for Australians, but after the pandemic there are almost no options available locally,” he says.
A spokesperson for the Maritime Union of Australia said that although cargo ships carried passengers in the past, the practice has virtually ceased because these ships are usually crewed by foreign companies and workers who rarely have systems to carry passengers.
Other options
If it is very difficult not to fly completely, it can be much easier once you arrive in Indonesia.
While flying from Melbourne to Jakarta could still emit around a tonne of CO2, that’s still significantly less than the 3.3 tonnes produced by flying to London.
Of course, you will have to reserve more time for the trip. Shaw has spent six months going from Indonesia to Dubai and says he has had spectacular experiences. “After leaving the sailboat, I used local ferries and it was a fantastic way to travel, faster than you would expect, although it can take a while.
“The longest boat trip I took was about 50 hours with about 2,000 other people. I was one of two foreigners and I had a great time.”
The other option, of course, is to try to make peace with exploration closer to home.
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Melbourne filmmaker and Flight Free Australia member Peter Miller says when he and his wife made the decision to stop flying, they knew it would mean never leaving Australia again.
“It was a difficult decision because we have family abroad,” he says. “We had to think a little, but in the end we realized that we could not, in good conscience, continue to contribute to the problem in such a significant way, especially just for personal enjoyment.
“So we reviewed our life goals, broadened our horizons a little and have invested our money in our own Australian tourism industry. “It’s been a pretty positive experience for the most part.”
