An Australian woman who has taken nearly three years to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle has arrived in Mosgiel to house-sit for a month.
Sherri Jo Wilkins said New Zealand was the final country to explore before returning to Australia to complete a motorcycle journey she began on June 1, 2010.
She will head back to Adelaide, her home for the past 15 years.
The Indiana-born traveller said she had ridden her 654cc motorcycle in 49 countries in the past 1065 days.
The reason she started the sojourn was simple, she said.
''Because I can. I don't have a husband, I don't have children. I'm literally doing it just because I can. I had a wonderful home, a nice car and a nice job in South Australia and you wonder what else is out there.''
She left her job selling health food and started the journey.
The generosity of the people she had met was the best part of the trip, she said.
''I've been treated like a queen here in New Zealand, but what I get amazed at the most is the extremely poor people who want to give you everything.''
However, the trip had been some ''big'' low points too, she said.
She stopped for three months after a man she was in a relationship with was killed in an accident when they were riding in Mexico.
''At the point, I was like 'screw it' and I stopped.''
She waited in Cusco, Peru, for three months for the shock to dissipate.
She expected to return to Australia in July and might write a book to help encourage pensive people to try travel, she said.
''Travel is quite a scary thing ... I had my little panic attacks but 10 minutes down the road it all went away.''
