Mike Johnson starts 5000km journey from Margaret River to Noosa riding penny-farthing & carting grass tree

A Margaret River man has embarked on a bizarre cross-country trek to raise awareness about the loss of Australia’s iconic ancient trees.

Mike Johnson set off from his South West hometown riding a penny-farthing that is pulling a trailer with a grass tree secured in the hopes of turning heads and starting conversations about the survival of Australia’s oldest trees.

Mr Johnson, owner and operator of Margaret River Trees and new sister charity Tree SAINTs, said he had been working to save as many trees as possible from State Government-approved land clearing for the past 17 years.

He described the trade as “pioneering” but told the Times he and his team could save only less than one per cent of trees on the chopping block.

“We rescue trees from planned clearings, mainly developments like new roads or buildings — basically whenever trees are in the firing line of a bulldozer,” Mr Johnson said.

“Because the harsh reality is, if we aren’t there these trees are bulldozed, piled up and burnt, and that’s what’s happening to the other 99 per cent.”

After brainstorming to come up with new ways to capture the nation’s attention, Mr Johnson and his general manager Mark Jones decided the ancient trees needed an old school form of transport for a cross-country trip.

The penny-farthing was chosen and for the next 18 months they engineered the bike and trialled the ride, with Mr Johnson experiencing some “nasty stacks” along the way.

The bike and the grass tree in its trailer are not expected to be the only thing turning heads, as Mr Johnson plans to dress up along the way.

His primary outfit will resemble a grass tree but he has packed a jockey outfit — which he plans to wear for the Melbourne Cup — a Santa Claus outfit for when he reaches Bondi, and a meter maid outfit for when he arrives at the Gold Coast for the finale.

Following him is a separate trailer full of rescued grass trees, boab trees and more.

He set off on Monday night and Mr Johnson said he was already feeling the burn, wishing he had more time to train.

“People look at me and think that this is impossible,” he said.

“But I know that I’m very strong mentally and I know my heart and mind can get me through the pain.

“We are hoping to raise money to grow the business and save more trees. If Australia, and maybe even other parts of the world, get behind us, we will be able to save up to 30 per cent of these trees.”

You can follow their journey trough social media @margaretrivertrees on Instagram or Margaret River Trees on Facebook.