Mr Nieuwenhuys stopped at Thompson’s Beach in Cobram recently on his way to the Murray's mouth on a trip aimed at highlighting the struggles of dealing with depression.
The adventurer suffers from clinically-diagnosed depressions and, while kayaking more than 2400 km unassisted and without support crew, he is writing a book titled Talking About A Lonely Journey.
The Canberra handyman has battled with depression for several years and said deciding to embark on the expedition had given him the courage to stand up and talk openly and honestly about it.
He came up with the idea when he was on a three-day paddle near Albury with a group of his friends when he saw an indicator, which read ‘2168’.
“I had never seen one of those indicators before,” he said.
“One my mates said it was a marker of the distance from the mouth of the river and as soon as he said it, I said ah, I am going to do that and kayak the Murray.
“When I came home and made the decision (to kayak the Murray), it forced me to talk about suffering from depression because I had to tell people why I was doing this.
“I started writing, I am not a writer and I haven’t written anything before, but it flowed and read really well, and it was a really descriptive way to share my brain space.
“Now it is a part of my journey and how I am dealing with depression.”
Mr Nieuwenhuys believed talking about depression was a key step towards dealing with it. He hoped his epic adventure would help others start their own conversation.
“I had to start talking and, once I started, I began feeling better,” he said.
“Talking was a powerful thing to do and it helped me realise that depression is a lonely journey, because it makes it lonely.
“There is so much out there that you can address it with and I guess I wanted to tackle it head on be doing the loneliest possible scenario and beating it – I think that is going to be really powerful.
“I really want to encourage people to have the conversation.
“It doesn’t have to be a conversation about depression with someone else, it can be with yourself.
“It can be as simple as saying I will get up today, have a cup of tea and things will be okay.”
Mr Nieuwenhuys, who has never kayaked on his own before this, was kayaking about 60 km a day and, to make sure he remained connected with the river, was camping on the riverbanks.
His journey started on August 24 and he expected to reach the Murray's mouth by the end of November or early December.
For information and to track Mr Nieuwenhuys’ journey, like the Talking About A Lonely Journey Facebook page or visit www.talkingaboutalonelyjourney.com.au
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