WHEN they rode out of Istanbul, Turkey, on quad bikes over a year ago they were three friends on the Quad Squad.

On Sunday night, 48,473km later after tragically losing one of their riders in Africa, two men rode their bikes in to Cabarita.

For rider Ted Davant, it signals the last week of his epic self-funded journey that covered 38 countries and put them in the Guinness Book of Records.

"The excitement is going to end in five days a little disappointing," he said.

"I've got to accept the fact that I'm broke."

Despite his own lack of funds the business consultant and friends Jamie Kenyon and the late Valerio De Simoni have managed to raise $40,000 for Oxfam.

"It's been $10 here and $10 there," Mr Davant said.

"The Australians have been the most generous.

"In Europe you'd get a lot of coins and here we got a lot of notes."

He said they had a rich tapestry of experiences overseas.

"We've eaten camel meat in the Sahara and we saw no women on the streets of Libya," he said.

"We've been in small communities where kids play with string on sticks and just be so happy.

"Humanity is generally very helping and kind but it's not always projected in the media."

Mr Davant spent a night with his uncle in Cabarita who put on a barbecue for the riders.

"It was a short entry in and the beach is very beautiful," Mr Davant said.

"The sun was setting over cloud land and it was absolutely stunning."

The two riders are expecting to arrive in Sydney with a convoy of 300 other riders on Saturday.