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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Will your bucket list hold any water I’m not a fan of the recently invoked ‘bucket list’ – things we want to achieve before we ‘kick the bucket.’ I prefer to continue to do things I want to do without the possible threat of being caught by the sharp blade of the Grim Reaper before I’ve ticked all items off my list.I would have liked to have jogged the 90 Mile Beach run (or 60km in reality) but after a heart operation I decided I didn’t really have a reason to do it, it was just something of personal achievement. Maybe I’ve taken the easy way out by substituting that task for the Oxfam Trailwalk. It was suggested (or was it a challenge) by a daughter that ‘we could do this.’ I don’t recall any negotiation. A team of four was roughly nominated. Names have changed but nonetheless an entry was made and, as time progressed we hit the road striding out the k’s that would stand us in good stead to walk 100km in, what we consider, to be a reasonably achievable time of under 24 hours. It’s something we, as a team, want to achieve. Along with that achievement is the fact that, by entering, we commit to raising funds for the aid group Oxfam – the power of people against poverty. We all have various charities we like to support and in this case it wasn’t an option. It’s an Oxfam fundraiser in itself. So, we’ve done the hard yards in preparation but the trailwalk itself is going to be something else again. Mostly off-road, it is based at Taupo starting at 6am on Saturday April 5 at nearby Kinloch and comprising eight stages around the outer Taupo area. Half of the journey will be in daylight but the latter half will be in darkness. No pikers either. It’s not a relay. All members are expected to sign in at each checkpoint as a team. So that means approximately 50km, darkness, tiredness, aching legs, maybe blisters, quite possibly temperatures dropping to low single figures, a chance of rain? It hasn’t happened in 11 years but, hmmm… Understandably, it’s not everyone’s idea of fun. Can we do it? In the words of Bob the Builder ‘YES WE CAN!’ But we will no doubt be pleased to see daylight on April 6 and we would also like your support to help us get there. We’ll be keeping you informed of our progress with tweets or Facebook entries and we’d be pleased to have your encouragement either verbally or by a monetary donation to Oxfam – however small it will mean a lot to someone, somewhere. Our team name is 4Play. Make of that what you will. Our address: oxfamtrailwalk-er.org.nz, key in ‘4Play’ and you’re right there with us. We hope you enjoy the walk too. Mel Tito, Megan Bennett, Yvonne Boakes, Rob Pooley. |
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