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From a desk job in IT to flying one of the world's most dangerous bush pilot routes — Matt Dearden spent seven years flying the Pilatus Porter into 30% gradient mountain airstrips in the remote highlands of Papua, Indonesia. After landing a Susi Air co-pilot job with just 10 days' notice, Matt sold his car, rented out his house, and boarded a one-way flight to a country he'd never visited.

In this episode of The Adventure Diaries, Matt shares how crippling anxiety nearly grounded his flying career, what it's like supplying indigenous Papuan villages only reachable by air, and the near-misses, jungle landings, and cultural encounters that turned a two-year plan into a seven-year adventure. Featured in Channel 4's The Worst Place to Be a Pilot and author of Flying from Shangri-La, Matt offers a rare look at frontier aviation, mental health in high-pressure careers, and the power of pushing your comfort zone — in the air and in life.

Chapters
00:00 - Bush Pilot in Papua, Indonesia
2:48 — Welcome Matt Dearden to the Adventure Diaries
3:41 — Expat Childhood: Middle East to Boarding School
5:40 — RAF Cadets and the First Taste of Flying
8:37 — From IT Career to Commercial Pilot Training
12:31 — Mental Health, Anxiety, and Finding Clarity in the Cockpit
17:20 — Landing a Pilot Job in Indonesia with 10 Days Notice
20:41 — Arriving in Jakarta: Culture Shock and Susi Air Training
33:30 — Discovering Papua: Bush Flying the Pilatus Porter
50:00 — Extreme Airstrips, 30% Gradients, and Near Misses
1:08:01 — The Worst Place to Be a Pilot: Channel 4 TV Series and Book
1:13:25 — Closing Traditions: Pay It Forward, Call to Adventure & Quickfire


Follow Matt

• https://mattdearden.co.uk/
• https://www.instagram.com/indopilot/
• His Book - Flying From Shangri La
  
  
  
• Topics: bush flying, Pilatus Porter, Susi Air, Papua Indonesia, Cessna Caravan, mountain airstrips, aviation careers, mental health, anxiety, adventure travel, expat life, career change.

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Please visit AdventureDiaries.com/GO For more authentic stories of Adventure Exploration and the natural world

The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering

🎧 Follow the show here— it really helps Adventure Diaries reach more listeners. Thank you.

Today's guest is Henry Brydon — adventurer, writer, and founder of We Are Explorers (Australia's biggest adventure publication) and Outside Kids (a platform for dads raising adventurous children).

In this episode, Henry shares his epic two-year, 38,000km bicycle journey from London to Sydney through 30 countries — including Central Asia in minus 30°C temperatures and the Middle East during the Arab Spring, all on a $5/day budget. He unpacks what the trip taught him, how it shaped his mission to raise adventurous kids, and why "good friction" matters for children growing up in a world full of digital distractions.

This is great conversation and even more so for fathers

Guest Links

• Outside Kids: https://outsidekids.co.uk
• We Are Explorers: https://www.weareexplorers.co
• Henry Brydon Instagram

Chapters
00:00 —"Let's go to Beijing"
00:56 — Welcome to the Adventure Diaries Podcast
02:31 — Meet Henry Brydon of Outside Kids & We Are Explorers
03:26 — Growing up in Shrewsbury & the road trip that sparked it all
07:22 — From Dubai recruiter to London–Sydney by bike
10:16 — The route: Europe → Balkans → Middle East → Asia
11:28 — Kurdistan in midwinter & the kindness of strangers
12:56 — Arab Spring, Syria, Iraq & shifting world views
16:54 — Iran, Tehran couch-surfing & Indonesia highlights
19:15 — Arriving in Sydney & meeting Susie on day one
22:35 — Lessons from the trip: agency, self-belief, comfort with uncertainty
27:20 — Founding We Are Explorers
39:13 — Why he launched Outside Kids
43:22 — Dads, rough-and-tumble & writing with humor
47:26 — "Good friction": building resilience through discomfort
50:35 — Shared family memories & making the most of time with kids
54:46 — Advice for parents new to the outdoors (start small, geocaching, litter-picking adventures)
1:01:32 — Off-grid cabin trips & digital detox with "Brick"
1:05:11 — Upcoming dads & kids camp-out (June)
1:06:35 — Pay It Forward: Marcus Skeet (The Whole Boy)
1:08:50 — Call to Adventure: Tasmania & the Franklin River
1:10:27 — 10 Fire-Round Questions
1:17:51 — Wrap-up & where to find Henry

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thanks For Listening.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment and subscribe for more exciting content.

Please visit AdventureDiaries.com/GO For more authentic stories of Adventure Exploration and the natural world

The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering

Summer is just around the corner — is your next adventure planned? In this short feature we spotlight Cicerone Press, the UK-based publisher that's been getting people outdoors for over 50 years. From a weekend on the Southwest Coast Path to multi-week epics like the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Camino de Santiago, Cicerone has over 400 expert-written guidebooks covering walking, cycling, climbing, and trekking across the UK and beyond. Every guide is packed with detailed route descriptions, maps, and practical advice so you can explore with confidence.

Get the offer: head to adventurediaries.com/offer to browse the Cicerone catalogue and grab a guide for this summer's adventure.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro: Plan your next adventure
• 00:10 — Meet Cicerone Press
• 00:25 — 400+ guides for every adventure
• 00:53 — AdventureDiaries.com/Offer

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thanks For Listening.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment and subscribe for more exciting content.

Please visit AdventureDiaries.com/GO For more authentic stories of Adventure Exploration and the natural world

The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering