Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
He walked out of his tiny Mitcham unit nine years ago to clear his head and finished almost 11,000 kilometres later in the CBD.<\/p>\n
Rob Olifiers, a primary school teacher and 18-year State Emergency Service volunteer, has gone through 22 pairs of shoes to trek every road in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Robert Olifiers completes his 21st and last metropolitan Melbourne council walk on Friday afternoon.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n On Friday, the 64-year-old took his last steps on Swanston Street \u2013 one of the about 71,000 thoroughfares he estimates he has wandered \u2013 and was welcomed by the Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece at Melbourne Town Hall.<\/p>\n Melbourne\u2019s ever-expanding urban sprawl means Olifers\u2019 metropolitan map may have different boundaries to the state government surveyor, but you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find anyone to deny him the title of Melbourne\u2019s Forrest Gump.<\/p>\n He claims to have covered every street, court, and lane in the city\u2019s 21 most central council areas \u2013 from Calder Park in the north-west, to Chirnside Park in the north-east, down to Patterson Lakes in the south-east, and across to Point Cook in the south-west.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Olifiers explains the journey began in less than ideal circumstances: he split from his wife and moved out of the family home in 2014.<\/p>\n Armed with a counselling background, Olifiers knew he had to break his funk and decided to walk an hour a day near his Mitcham unit for his wellbeing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a person who likes variety \u2013 I hate doing the same old block,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I got a Melways and started marking the streets I\u2019d done.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n After running out of options exploring his new suburb, Olifiers grabbed a map from the local Whitehorse council and the journey continued.<\/p>\n Once that was done things snowballed.<\/p>\n Rob Olifiers and his daughter Sarah upon finishing his trek along all the roads in the Merri-bek council area.<\/span><\/p>\n Nearby Boroondara was next. Then Maroondah, where he grew up. Next was Manningham. Much later, during COVID, the five-kilometre radius rule imposed during lockdowns saw him explore the streets of Darebin, Banyule and Yarra councils near his new home in Alphington.<\/p>\n Once 2023 rolled around, he was driving more than an hour to get to Brimbank on the other side of town, early on weekends, to tick off 15 or so kilometres \u2013 tracking it all on his Fitbit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big impost on your day,\u201d Olifiers says. \u201cIt didn\u2019t get any easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Thankfully, the relatively small City of Melbourne was saved for last. On Friday, he marched up St Kilda Road alongside friends, family, and SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch to complete the odyssey.<\/p>\n Olifiers outside Melbourne Town Hall on Friday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n Olifiers walks in an SES hat and shorts and speaks with a measured tone. He trekked without music or podcasts, preferring to be attuned to the communities he passed through. Although he started out for himself, he now tries to raise awareness of the SES\u2019 work and remains fascinated with the city\u2019s diverse neighbourhoods \u2013 prompting an Instagram account dedicated to his favourite unique letterboxes. He also plans to create a photographic book about his travels for his students at Kingswood College in Box Hill.<\/p>\n The best council area? Boroondara.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because of the beauty of the parklands,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt goes by the Yarra \u2026 and the old-style houses.\u201d<\/p>\n The battle-weary runners Olifiers wore on the final leg of his journey on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n The worst area? He\u2019s too nice to tell. But he\u2019s had a few bad days after being bitten multiple times by dogs \u2013 turning a love for canines into a bit of a fear, and harbouring some anger towards their owners.<\/p>\n Socks wore through quickly. New shoes were a reward for each complete council. But Olifiers ultimately used one extra pair of runners than local government zones he traversed, thanks to a bizarre and frightening moment.<\/p>\n It was early on a hot summer\u2019s day last year when he drove to Sunshine to start his hike. He spotted smoke rising in a park nearby and soon realised it was coming from a fire in dry scrubland. He called emergency services and began stamping on the flames.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time they got there, it was out,\u201d Olifiers says. \u201cBut my runners had pretty much melted … that was an interesting day.\u201d<\/p>\n He has considered extending his expedition to Melbourne councils covering regional roads, on the city fringe, but is satisfied with the effort so far.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve loved it,\u201d he says. \u201c[But], petrol isn\u2019t cheap these days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s helped me through those last years immensely with wellbeing of mind and body, but it\u2019ll be a relief it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n