“ I lost just about everything in my world": Why this man is walking a 15,000km lap of Australia

In the past, Andy Hope has experienced what he calls “compulsive gambling.”

“ I lost just about everything in my world. My house, my business, the roof over my head and all that sort of thing,” he told The Mid North Coaster.

For the past 15 years, he has been without a home of his own. On Saturday, August 9, for his 60th birthday, Hope left Coffs Harbour with his dog, Scrubby, to set  off on a lap around Australia. 

Why? The 15,000km Walk Against Gambling (WAG – as Hope has called it) – is to raise awareness of problem gambling across the country, with a target to raise $15,000 for Lifeline. The support organisation runs Gambleaware for the Mid and Northern parts of NSW.

Hope said he wanted to make a difference in the world. 

“I’m trying to give back to society.”

Most of the pokies

Australia has most of the world’s pub and club poker machines, according to The Australia Institute.

The report states Australia has about 0.3 percent of the world’s population, but 2.5 percent of its gaming machines.

“Why do we need that many? Why do we need to stay open all hours of the night?,” Hope said.

“I’d like to see a ban of gambling ads… On any channel you get continual bombardment.”

Hope is concerned about the impact of easy access to gambling on the younger generation.

“[Young people] are already starting to see it on their phones. They have access to sports betting, and you can get poker machine sites…young kids are taught to gamble from a young age. It’s terrible.”

Along the journey, Hope has a mission to speak to and help as many people with problems as possible. “Not just gambling. Any addiction, whether that be alcohol, or drugs, or food, social media, whatever it may be.”

“Life begins at 60 for me”

The trip is expected to take two years to complete.

Hope aims to walk 30 kilometres a day. Scrubby walks just five of those, and the rest of the time he sits up the front of the cart to enjoy the view.

There’s no support crew for Hope and his dog. “We’re just relying on good will from others as we go, if we get it.”

At night, the pair will sleep in a tent. 

“Sometimes we might get offered a place by some kind soul, other times we’ll just find a bit of grass somewhere.”

Six days ago, on his 60th birthday, Hope left Coffs Harbour.

“There’s no money to back me up, I’m just relying on good will.”

But he is confident he will make it around the country, and has already received support from members of the Mid North Community, who have offered food, stopping to talk and donating to the cause.

“Life begins at 60 for me.”

Andy & Scrubby are looking to reach Port Macquarie on Friday, August 15, so keep an eye out for a man and his dog.

To find out more, head to Andy & Scrubby’s big WAG Facebook page.