Farmer aims to be first to swim length of Darling River

In short:

Victorian farmer Scott Gladman has set out on a mission to swim the full length of the Darling River.

He started his journey in north-west New South Wales on Tuesday and aims to reach the Murray River, at the Victorian border, by the end of the year.

What's next?

Mr Gladman says he will miss grain harvest season, the Victorian election and his son's wedding during the swim, which is likely to take more than 100 days.

For months, Victorian grain farm manager Scott Gladman has spent every working day training for what will be a monumental feat.

At the age of 63, the grandfather plans to become the first person to swim the full length of the Darling River, 1,650 kilometres, to fundraise for causes close to his heart.

His journey, which he is calling 'Fight the Current', began on Tuesday near Brewarrina in far north New South Wales, and will end when he reaches the Murray River at Wentworth in the state's south-west.

He is raising money for Fight Parkinson's and MND Victoria, and expects the journey to take approximately 103 days, if everything goes to plan.

Why the Darling?

The plan came about after a heart scare at the age of 54 prompted Mr Gladman to focus on making the most of his second chance at life.

In 2022, his longtime friend, Russ Wardle, developed a form of Parkinson's disease and was later diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare form of Parkinson's, in 2024.

Around the same time, another family friend, 36-year-old Pat Russell, was also diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

"I've just seen a lot of people along the way that get all sorts of different illnesses and things like that," Mr Gladman said.

"I've got a bit of a second chance [but] they don't have a second chance; they've got a big battle ahead of them."

Mr Gladman said he turned his mind to embarking on a physical fundraising challenge for his mates and all families impacted by MND, PSP and Parkinson's.

"I just thought I could swim the Murray River, but people have done that," he said.

"No-one's had a crack at the Darling."

'He's a machine'

The idea of the endurance swim was first communicated to Mr Russell and Mr Wardle in September last year.

Mr Russell said he and his wife were in awe at how dedicated Mr Gladman was to seeing it through.

"It's shocking and humbling that he would do this for me and my kids," Mr Russell said.

"When he told us about what he was doing I just about fell over; there would've been a few tears.

"And the amount of mental grit and things he's done even before getting in the water has been phenomenal."

Mr Russell will steer a boat ahead of Mr Gladman as he swims the Darling.

"He's twice my age; he's not a young man anymore," he said.

"To get his body in that nick to handle it is a credit to him as a human.

"He's a machine, he sets his mind to something and makes sure it happens."

Preparing for mammoth task

Given the challenge, Mr Gladman tapped renowned swim coach and Australian marathon swimming hall of fame entrant Mike Gregory for advice.

In preparation, each day of the working week, Mr Gladman woke up at his farm at Natya, in Victoria's north-west, at about 4.30am.

He would hop in his ute at 5am and in the warmer months drive 20 minutes to the Murray River at Boundary Bend, Victoria, before swimming about four or five kilometres.

As winter approached, he would instead drive an hour to Swan Hill to swim laps of a 25-metre indoor pool.

Sundays he would save for long swims of about seven or eight kilometres, and Saturdays were his only rest day, where he would help look after his grandchildren.

For his journey down the Darling River, Mr Gladman plans to start swimming 12 kilometres a day before ramping up the distance.

"I have not swam that distance yet, that might sound a bit strange … I haven't really been much over 8 kilometres," he said.

The journey ahead

Also joining Mr Gladman on the three-month journey are his wife, a family friend, and Canberra man Mike Bremer, who has paddled several rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Despite the pair only meeting recently, Mr Bremer decided to join the Darling River journey in a canoe.

"I just said to him 'are you interested in paddling the whole distance with me?' And he said 'yeah, I'll be in that'," Mr Gladman said.

"There's no real form of communication and I wear earplugs … he'll either have to hit me on the back of the head with a paddle to get my attention or he'll just start steering towards me and that will push me one way or the other."

But it may not be all swimming; Mr Gladman said he could be forced to walk in some areas if the Darling River gets too shallow.

"We've got the other interesting challenge that we'll have to get the boat and everything over [any weirs], so we'll be winching it up beside the bank, and then pulling along the bank a little bit and then we'll be dropping it back down the other side," he said.

"A few things I'm sure that we'll find out along the way that may work and some things that may not … that's all the fun of it, I suppose."

Missed milestones and fundraising

During the swim, Mr Gladman will miss a variety of events, including the grain harvest season, the Victorian election on November 28, and an important family milestone.

"[My son will] actually get married while I'm swimming down the river on September 5. I'll be thinking of him and his fiancé; that'll be something else I'll miss,"he said.

"We'll swim for them on that day."

Having secured sponsorship to purchase an ATV and a boat for the journey, Mr Gladman said he would raffle the boat and sell the ATV once he has completed the swim.

He said he was hoping to get more sponsors on board and is running a GoFundMe via his Fight the Current website to raise money for his chosen charities.

He said when they get to the finish, money from the sponsors and donors would be split "half and half, one [lot] to MND and one to Parkinson's".