A Belgian adventurer has emerged from the Tasmanian wilderness cut, bruised and 15 kilos lighter.

But, he's got a new record under his belt.

Louis-Philippe Loncke has acquired the nickname "Mad Belgian" after spending the last 52 days completing the world's first un-resupplied winter crossing of mainland Tasmania from Penguin, in the state's north, to the South Cape, a distance of around 550 kilometres.

"A few friends and adventurers said it was completely mad," he said.

Mr Loncke, 41, arrived at Cockle Creek in Tasmania's far south yesterday afternoon after setting off from Penguin on August 5.

He's faced waist deep snow, relentless forests and wild lakes.

The rules he made to set the record were that he must not be not be resupplied with any food or gas, not use any roads, and only sleep in his tent.

"On this sort of expedition you can fail on the first day and you can fail 200 metres from the finish," he said.

Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke at the finish line at Cockle Creek. ( ABC Hobart: Georgie Burgess )

Mr Loncke said the most challenging part was leaving his tent each day.

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"When it's raining or snowing you just don't want to," he said.

"It was so long and you have to do it every day."

His pack weighed more than 60 kilos when he set off from the North West.

"The two really hard things were the weight of the pack and the fact that you can't stop moving," he said,

"If you stop moving you get cold."

Mr Loncke said during the day he would break for only a few minutes.

His record attempt has largely flown under the radar, but he was greeted at the finish line by former ranger Phil Wyatt and nature photographer Nick Monk.

Keen bushwalkers monitored his progress through an online forum.

Former park ranger Phil Wyatt offers Louis-Philippe Loncke some Belgian chocolates at the finish line. ( ABC Hobart: Georgie Burgess )

Cravings for clean teeth and hot shower

Mr Loncke said he was looking forward to cleaning his teeth, and a hot shower was also high on the list.

The adventurer had food to last him 44 days, and he ran out of supplies towards the end of the journey.

"My only supper was hot water with an aspirin or two," he said.

Breakfast was a ration of nuts, sometimes only 30 grams.

He lost 15 kilos during the traverse and his mental health also took a battering.

"I have cried three times today," he said.

"On this kind of expedition you lose a lot, you lose some personality that's still out there."

Adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke encountered thick snow during his winter crossing. ( Supplied: Louis-Philippe Loncke )

'I was kind of drowning'

Mr Loncke will work with scientists back in Europe who are researching decision making under stress in extreme environments.

He said his brain was not always working properly during the walk.

"I obviously made a lot of good decisions, or I would not be alive," he said.

But some decisions were certainly questionable.

Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke ( ABC Hobart: Georgie Burgess )

Towards the end of the walk he burnt a hole in his tent fly with his stove.

A bad decision while rafting the rapids of the River Derwent near Lake St Clair nearly cost him his life.

He decided to raft over a log, instead of briefly stopping to go around it.

The raft got stuck under water.

"I was kind of drowning," he said.

"I managed to get out of the boat, because of the force of the water the boat stayed in place on the log.

"It took me half an hour to drag the boat without being trapped."

During this incident he lost his day bag.

"There's now a reward if you find my bag with my camera in there, you can keep the sunglasses," he said. "I've lost equipment, but I've earned this world record."

He also lost his head torch, and on some nights could only see by moonlight.

Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe's shins and feet. ( ABC Hobart: Georgie Burgess )

Mr Loncke's opinion on Tasmania's wild areas hasn't been tainted by the harsh conditions: "It's so beautiful".

He's now considering writing his first book.

Mr Loncke returns to Belgium next week.