The major border town is the last stop on Mr Polkinghorne’s 303 kilometre ‘Walk for Water’ trek from Barham to the Hume Dam.
The dam, which is a Murray River storage point, is roughly 11 kilometres east of Albury.
Locals have told Mr Polkinghorne of several issues driving them - and their communities - to the brink.
These issues include population decline, loss of town services, families telling kids not to bother taking over the farm, the loss of water reliability making people reluctant to invest and the ever-constant mental toll farming is taking in the area.
“Some people have really been pushed to the edge and it’s by no fault of their own,” Mr Polkinghorne said.
From local farming families himself, Mr Polkinghorne wants to see the environmental, agricultural and social failures of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan fixed.
Come Saturday Mr Polkinghorne, his wife, two young daughters and anyone wanting to join will hit the road shoulder one last time and make their way to the Hume Dam, which currently sits at 76.9 per cent capacity.
Mr Polkinghorne said it was “pretty exciting” to make good time into Albury and “the old body is still holding together”.
“We have a rest day tomorrow (Friday) and then we’ll aim to finish at the dam around lunch time,” he said.
It is the third rest day Mr Polkinghorne has enjoyed since beginning his walk two weeks ago on November 11.
“The people along the way have been really welcoming. They have opened up about the issues effecting their communities,” the Koondrook local said.
The walk – which aims to bring attention to the failures in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and hear from locals directly – has also been building media attention.
This week alone Mr Polkinghorne has spoken to seven different TV crews and radio shows, alongside conducting several newspaper interviews.
Last weekend Mr Polkinghorne spoke on Australia All Over, also known as Sundays with Macca.
“It was good to speak to Macca and we had lots of interest come from it and people get in touch,” Mr Polkinghorne said.
“I want to give a big thanks to everyone who’s gotten involved and supported us throughout. They’ve created memories I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Particular high points for Mr Polkinghorne include getting his name painted on a silage bunker and having a “ripping night out” at the Blighty Pub with some of the few dairy farmers left in town.
The walk will be concluding just in time, with a scorcher of a day predicted on Saturday.
11°C