General News
6 May, 2026
‘Last trip’ rakes up kms
THE family behind Mal Leyland’s “one last trip” say the cross-country journey is gathering momentum, with hundreds of kilometres already covered in just over a week.
Carmen Leyland said the trip had been “very, very busy so far”, with the family travelling extensively as they retraced parts of the Leyland Brothers’ historic 1966 expedition.
“We’ve travelled quite a few kilometres in just over a week,” she said.
Among the most significant stops so far was Newcastle, where Mr Leyland reunited with his original Land Rover club.
“The most significant, I guess, was our time in Newcastle, when we went and caught up with dad’s original Land Rover club that he was a part of as a founding member back in the 1960s,” Ms Leyland said.
The journey also included a visit to the Birdwood Motor Museum, where the family saw the original Land Rover used in the 1966 ‘Wheels Across the Wilderness’ crossing.
“Yesterday afternoon, we went to Birdwood Motor Museum, where we got to see dad’s old Land Rover that he did the original Wheels Across the Wilderness crossing in back in 1966, because it’s on display down there in the museum,” she said.
Ms Leyland said Mr Leyland had embraced the trip, enjoying both the travel and the public response along the way.
“He’s loving getting out and seeing the country again, because he’s been sort of, you know, stuck at home, being able to be a bit of a homebody for a while,” she said.
Crowds have gathered at several stops, including Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Birdwood, where people turned out to meet the television pioneer.
“He still gets a little overwhelmed… he’s like, ‘Oh my God, these people are here to see me’… and we’re like, ‘yeah’… and yeah, he’s sort of like, ‘wow, that’s just amazing’,” she said.
The family has reached Port Augusta and plans to continue west through Streaky Bay before crossing the Nullarbor.
“I think that’s when he’ll start to really enjoy, you know, travelling through those more remote regions,” Ms Leyland said.
The family is expected to continue sharing updates as the journey progresses, with further coverage planned as they travel across Australia.
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