After almost 10 weeks of isolation, calloused hands and freeze-dried meals, Michelle Lee from Sydney has become the first woman in Australia to row across any ocean solo.

Upon arriving in Antigua after crossing the Atlantic, the 46-year-old told her best friend: "Don't ever let me do that without you again!"

The loneliness was a huge mental challenge for Ms Lee, who said there were times she felt "complete and utter" distress whilst completing the 5,000-kilometre journey.

"There were days I didn't even know how I was going to do it," she said.

"You are just so tired … there's no tired like it."

Michelle steps onto dry land after 68 days at sea. ( Supplied: Atlantic Campaigns )

But the massage therapist from Kellyville in Sydney's north-west realised people simply underestimate themselves.

"We are so much more capable of what we think we are.

"When you think there's nothing left in the tank, there is shedloads.

"I will carry that through my 9-5 Monday to Friday life now and dig deep."

Ms Lee's trip was also about digging deep, raising money for The Sanctuary, a crisis shelter in Castle Hill for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Dolphins and orcas served as rowing companions

Setting off from the Canary Islands, Ms Lee felt the first 42 days of her trip were thrilling.

She loved life at sea as dolphins swam beside her and a pod of five orcas rode the same waves.

But then it all flipped and the row became much more of a survival challenge.

"I realised just how vulnerable I was," she said.

"Quite often I felt that Mother Nature was working against me."

Michelle's boat is just a speck in the dark ocean. ( Supplied: Atlantic Campaigns )

The Atlantic Ocean is known for its favourable trade winds but Ms Lee faced many days of smooth sailing, which was not exactly what she wanted.

"It was flat, which means it is hard, hard work."

On one phone call to her mentor she claimed she was "rowing like a f*****g pansie".

Pippi infestations and a stove fire

But on she pulled, with red, raw hands.

"I have nice big callouses, a couple of holes in my hands," she said.

And while trying to fight off those "I give up" feelings, Ms Lee had visitors of the unwelcome kind.

Her boat got a "dirty bottom" — a pippi infestation.

War wounds — calloused, raw hands. ( Supplied: Different Worlds-Michelle Million Metre Row )

They were attached by the hundreds and slowing her down. Her only choice was to dive in and scrape them off time and time again.

She said there was no shortage of hurdles like this, another being when her stove caught fire and had to be thrown overboard.

But there were also moments of sheer joy, like when she used her radio to talk to ship crews nearby for company or having seabirds fly with her for days.

Despite the sometimes unbearable demands from such a crossing, Ms Lee will not rule out another row.

"I would consider doing it again but certainly not solo."

After her hands heal, Ms Lee will return to her work as a massage therapist — the one title she will allow herself.

"I'm not elite, I'm not an athlete and I'm certainly not a rower."