Ananova:

A British adventurer is on the verge of becoming the first person to skateboard across Australia.

David Cornthwaite will complete his 3,600-mile journey in Brisbane on Monday, having started his journey in Perth, in August.

The 27-year-old graphic designer, who started skateboarding less than two years ago, decided on his epic journey after waking up one morning and realising he hated his job.

Mr Cornthwaite, from Oxfordshire, told the Daily Telegraph: "I thought, the only thing keeping me going is the skate to and from work.

"I saw a Lonely Planet guide to Australia. There was a map on the back. Perth was on one side and Brisbane on the other and I thought, 'that'll do'."

He prepared by skateboarding from John O'Groats to Lands End. That 896-mile trek, which he finished in June, took just over a month.

But Australia brought unique challenges. He has been blown off his board by the backdraft from huge road trains, had to swerve around huge snakes and had a race with an emu.

Multiple blisters and aching ankles, toes and feet, have kept him in almost constant pain for the last six weeks. Temperatures of 40C and above mean that he has gone through more than a dozen tubes of factor 30 sunscreen.

He has worn through 13 pair of shoes and has an over-developed right calf muscle which he likens to "a giant chicken breast fillet".

The charity trek will raise £50,000 and smash the previous record for a long-distance skateboard, set by American Jack Smith who covered 3,000 miles across the US in 2003.

After finishing the journey Mr Cornthwaite plans to give motivational speeches and write a book: "I'm certainly not going back to the day job," he said.