An Australian bicyclist named Kate Leming who is on an Africa-wide trip by bicycle arrived in Somalia's stable Puntland State, Radio Garowe reports.

Ms. Kate Leming began her journey in West Africa and has traveled through 22 African countries already. On Wednesday, Ms. Leming arrived in Puntland and ate dinner with President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole at the State House in Garowe, Puntland's administrative capital.

Ms. Lemings chats with President Farole at Puntland State House

Sponsored by UN agencies and several companies, Ms. Leming's bike trip is entitled, "Breaking the Cycle in Africa." She intends to learn about the causes of poverty in Africa, according to her Website. She is accompanied by her sister and a filmmaker during the road-trip.

On Thursday, Ms. Leming continued her road journey towards Hafun Island, on Puntland's eastern coast, where she will end her African bike trip.

The Australian bicyclist arrived in Puntland via neighboring Somaliland, an unrecognized separatist republic located in northwest Somalia. Before Somaliland, Ms. Leming bicycled through Ethiopia.

Ms. Leming bikes through Garowe, capital of Puntland

Puntland is a self-governing state in northeast Somalia that considers itself as Somalia's first federal state. Puntland supports the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu as a federal solution to Somalia's 20-year political problems.

Puntland maintains its own government, with a constitution and elections, and security forces and courts to uphold the law.

GAROWE ONLINE