17,664 Stairs (Huks)

24-Hour “Huks-a-thon”

Join us in climbing the Hakarimata Summit to raise money for Melanoma NZ, in honour of everyone who has fought or is fighting cancer.

In July Mike completed his 9.5-hour trail run and managed 13 summits (35,000 stairs) in this time. Mike has been training for this all year, however, due to a recent medical condition and some injuries, his family is concerned. So, instead of quitting, Mike is asking you to join in.

The big day will be 25 Nov 2023 at 8 am starting from the waterfall. We want as many people as possible to join in. Whether you join us for 24 min or the full 24 hours, whether you climb 100 stairs or 10 summits every stair climbed will be counted.

Head over to our Facebook page for more details and to join the climbers or volunteer team.

In honour of Gavin du Preez

We all know someone who has been affected by the dreaded C in one way or another. In May of 2015, just four months after arriving in New Zealand from South Africa, my nephew Gavin du Preez was diagnosed with melanoma. It was extremely aggressive and only 6 months later (23rd of November 2015) he passed away at the young age of 48, leaving his wife (Penny) and two kids (David, 4, and Joshua, 2) behind. In his honour, I plan to climb the Hakarimata summit stairs, Ngaruawahia, at least one stair for every day he was on earth (17,664 days/stairs) to fundraise for Melanoma New Zealand - www.melanoma.org.nz