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DISPUTED borders, threats from rebels and searing heat were unable to stop a Melbourne woman from becoming what is believed to be the first person

to cycle continuously from Africa's most westerly to easterly points.

Kate Leeming completed her epic 22,000-kilometre journey on August 16, ending an 11-month adventure aimed at raising awareness about the
plight of Africa.

The journey took her from Cap Vert in Senegal to Cape Hufan in Somalia and through some of the most remote and dangerous territory on earth.

Ms Leeming plans to make a documentary and write a book about the experience, with the trip inspired by her belief that people need a leg

up and not a hand out.

Ms Leeming, 43, will arrive in Melbourne tonight from Dubai where she has been recovering.

In her blog she writes of hearing pleas for survival from the last pygmy village in a region of the Republic of the Congo, getting lost on the
Burkina Faso and Niger border and seeing everyday people carrying guns
in the deserts of Ethiopia.

She needed an armed escort through several countries on her 22-country journey and in a part of the Republic of the Congo had support from the

military, gendarmerie and police, to protect her from local rebels.
Near the end of her journey, as she travelled near the disputed borders
of Puntland and Somaliland in Somalia, she was given a revolver to
carry in her bag as well as armed escorts.

Speaking from his Kew hotel, where he is staying before seeing his daughter for the first time in almost a year, her father Ted said the trip had
reinforced her view that people need more than handouts to survive.

He pointed to a European project that she had seen in Mauritania that had initially helped the locals grow produce but had fallen into disrepair
after the water pump broke down because no one could fix it.

''Had the same [operation] educated someone about pump maintenance it would not have happened,'' he said.

''She's seen situations where people are dependent on aid, though they don't seem to be getting anywhere, whereas in other places where people have
come in and helped them plan factories or gardens they are doing much
better.''

Ms Leeming has previously ridden about 25,000 kilometres in Australia to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, and in 1993 became the first woman to cycle unsupported
across Russia to help victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

Her father said he did not know where her passion came from but both he and his daughter were relieved the latest challenge was over.

''We've been worried really for months now,'' he said. ''Having said that, we had complete confidence in her ability to handle people and handle
situations and plan ahead.

''The first thing she said [to me last week] was 'I've done it'. She's a terribly strong girl. But I think she's mentally and physically tired.''