In memory of Steve Cawthorne a world traveller who sadly passed away whilst still doing what he loved, riding his bike.
Here you will find copies of some letters that Steve sent to Paul Mullis and a selection of photographs (kindly supplied by Steve’s family) of his tour through Alaska, Canada, North America, South America and Australia, from August 1990 to July 1993.
Darwin, Australia, 10th July 1993
Hello. O.K. so I've been lazy again. I make it just over 5 months since I last wrote. What do you want, blood? There are other things to do, as well you know. When I wrote last I was in the hills of Victoria heading for Tasmania. Actually I was at the IT Rally, which...
A picnic table beside a road somewhere in Eastern Victoria, Australia, 2nd February 1993
G'day Possum, Been meaning to write for a month or two but severe laziness set in. The family caught up with me because I stayed a while at my cousin's near Sydney, and my sister said you'd phoned to see whether I was dead or not as you hadn't heard anything for a...
Silver Springs, Nevada, USA, 4th October 1992
Ey-up Matey, Seem to have lost all interest in writing letters recently. It was good to get a letter from you [Paul Mullis] after all this time. I'd left Daytona by the time it arrived but Wyatt and Tina sent it on to Prince Rupert, British Colombia where they knew I...
Daytona, Florida, USA, 14th June 1992
Dear Paul, It seems like a long tine since I wrote - to anybody for that matter. When I left Asuncion I headed east across Paraguay and had a pleasant ride through nice countryside, rolling hills and glorious weather. I planned to visit the Iquazu falls but not to...
Asuncion, Paraguay, 28th March 1992
Hi-de-hi. Another Epic, I only stayed in Julio's house in Mendoza for three nights, going into the town in the evenings to sample what was going on. When I took the keys back I asked them to check who was supposed to be feeding the dog. The house is in a secure...
Mendoza, Argentina, 26th February 1992
Dear Paul, I'm getting more and more lazy when it comes to writing letters and sending cards. Hardly anybody gets any nowadays. It's seven and a half weeks since I wrote from the Moreno glacier, and I'm about one and a half thousand miles further North in a straight...
Beside a Lake, Opposite a Glacier, Nr Calafate, S.W.Argentina, 4th January 1992
Hello, It’s me again, Happy New Year It's just over six weeks since I wrote from Puerto Mont in Chile, so I thought I'd drop you a line. I think I said it was 1,000 miles after the ferry to Ushuaia at the bottom of Tierra del Fuego. The road isn't quite that straight...
Puerto Mont, Chile, 20th November 1991
Dear Paul, It's a month since I wrote from Puno in Peru and I can't remember if I mentioned what a filthy hole it is. The locals genuinely think that all the tourists go there because its beautiful, when in reality they go because it’s on Lake Titicaca, and until they...
Cuzco, Peru, 19th October 1991
Maldonado is where the river system (which connects with the Amazon) meets the road which links up with the rest of the country. Trucks do use it every day, but I still can't believe it. The previous road from Brazil was nothing! I won't bother with all the details,...
Puerto Malorado, Peru, 13th October 1991
It's possible! If I had to get from where I was to where I am, I would do it again but I'd prefer to find a reason not to need to get from where I was to where I am. This one set a new standard for the worst road I've ever been on. It would be difficult to get a worse...