It was a call that changed his life . After a decade without speaking to her , Dan Watson was contacted by his mother Lynn from Ireland last year after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer . The 34 year old Sydney man resolved to turn over a new leaf after hearing the shocking news and decided to hike a staggering 5,000 kilometres across Australia for charity . ‘ I was in a bad place at the time . I realised the only way I was going to make it through the other end of the tunnel was to do something selfless . I had to put others first , ’ Dan told Daily Mail Australia . Dan Watson , 34 , has embarked upon a 5000km solo mega-walk from Perth to Sydney with nothing but a custom made trolley to carry the bare necessities . Watson resolved to make the journey after he spoke with his mother Lynn ( pictured ) after a decade without contact . In a bid to repair his relationship with his mother , Dan embarked on the inspiring mega-walk from Fremantle to Sydney to raise money for the Cancer Council NSW and national mental health charity SANE . ‘ My mother phoned last year from Ireland to say she needed me . She was going through her third round of chemotherapy . I knew it was very serious , ’ he said . The Sydney advertising worker said he had blamed his parents for the anxiety and depression that has plagued him throughout his life , but the walk offered him a means of mending his familial fences . ‘ The thought of losing out on the chance to settle our differences made me sick to my bones . I needed to show her I still cared. ’ Watson arrives to Melbourne with 'Blue Steele ' , a trolley his friends named to give it more personal value . Watson said he had to remind himself that while trip was physically exhausting , it was trivial compared to what his mother was enduring . Dan said the biggest hurdle of the walk was the Nullarbor Desert , a vast and barren swathe of land in South Australia . Before starting the journey , Dan had a custom built trolley made to cart necessities like clothing and food . 'My friends named it Blue Steele . That way it had a human quality and I was more likely to look after it . ' He said the biggest hurdle of the walk , which is set to come to a close this weekend when he arrives at Bondi Beach , was the Nullarbor Desert - a vast and barren swathe of land in southern Australia . ‘ It 's extremely arid and hot . Towards the end of the desert I began to lose my nerve . I was famished , as there were virtually no supermarkets for food. ’ ‘ I started to get this foreboding feeling of regret , that it was all a waste . I just about lost my marbles . 'But I had to tell myself it was only temporary , that my suffering was trivial compared to what my mum was going through. ’ Dan said he lost over 20kgs over the journey and was left 'looking like a malnourished marathon runner ' He is set to complete the mammoth hike this Sunday when he arrives at Bondi Beach . Watson said he expects to reach his goal of raising 20,000 for the Cancer Foundation NSW and SANE , a national mental health charity . While he was lean going into the journey , Dan said he lost over 20kgs . ‘ I began the journey at about 77kg . By the end of the Nullabar I was about 55kg . I looked like a malnourished marathon runner , ’ he said . He expects to reach his goal of raising $ 20,000 when he completes the mammoth hike this Sunday at Bondi Beach . You can donate to Dan Watson 's cause through his crowd-funding page .
Dan Watson 's mother reached out to him after a decade of no contact . The 34-year-old resolved to do the mega-walk to show her he still cared . He lost 20 kg throughout the journey and nearly gave up hope . Watson suffers depression and is fundraising for Cancer Council & SANE . Will complete journey Sunday when he arrives at Bondi beach in Ireland .