FEW will contemplate living life out of a kayak but, for the past four years, Australian Sandy Robson has done just that in her solo quest to paddle from Germany to Australia.

Today, escorted by a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore vessel, she berthed at Raffles Marina, 13,000km into her adventure.

"There have been lots of ups and downs, and I've learnt a lot along the way with things that have happened. But I deal with it and get on. There's no trouble staying motivated," the 47-year-old said.

Robson will spend between seven and 10 days here to plan for her final 9,000km challenge, which will take her to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and, finally, Australia.

Oskar Speck, a German, embarked on a similar voyage in the 1930s spanning seven years, and Robson decided to follow in his footsteps.

Hers has been a ride fraught with hurdles, from encounters with vigilant fishermen near India's south-east coast to dealing with choppy seas and thunderstorms.

When she completes her voyage late next year, she plans to document her adventures in a book.