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Sarah and Elsie take on the 12Ks of Christmas for Project Island Song! 💚🌿

  • One day to go!

      11 December 2025
    Posted by: Project Island Song
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    Tomorrow is the final day, and it’s a big one for all our participants. Those who’ve been building up from 1km will have their biggest run yet, while I’m sure the 12km is not feeling any easier for those who’ve done it 11 times already!

    A few highlights:

    • Jacqui was interviewed on RNZ talking about taking part in the 12ks dressed in her vintage clothing collection.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2019015751/walking-144-kilometres-in-impeccable-vintage

    • The Northern Advocate ran a story including a focus on Jo’s efforts to clean up 12km of litter in Taipa. Jo (now joined by her husband) has been collecting 5 black bags of rubbish every day!

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/on-the-up-locals-walk-run-and-pick-up-litter-for-bay-of-islands-fundraiser/OYPBELMJEVCK5CNVBQ6GYKZL5U/

    • Cam has now run 252km over the past 11 days, which is the distance by road from Russell to central Auckland. Mind-blowing!

    • Just to make things a little hotter, Laura (the penguin), Abby (dolphin), and Maryanne (bat), completed some of their kms in costume at the Paihia and Russell Christmas parades!

    Thank you so much to the 281 people who have already donated so generously.

    Wouldn’t it be an incredible boost to the absolute legends taking part in this if we could get to $18k, $19k, or even the full $20k tomorrow?!

    Please support them and help us to get there however you can - chip in a few dollars, or share their efforts far and wide to encourage others!

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  • 🌿Days 4 and 5 of the 12ks of Christmas!💚

      6 December 2025
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    04/12/25: 4kms

    - Sarah got her 4kms in on a brisk walk up to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, no doubt had beautiful views of the Bay of Islands on the way!

    - Elsie and her partner Rowan discovered the track on the other side of the Rainbow Falls river snapping a pic at the picturesque Kerikeri Basin on the way. How lucky are we to have such beautiful places on our doorsteps!

    05/12/25: 5kms

    - Sarah walked along the gorgeous Haruru Falls track, snapping some excellent pics along the way. The waterfall, boardwalk through the mangroves, birdsong and beautiful bush makes this walk a favorite!

    - Although less scenic, Elsie ramped up her 5km by running this one and it felt awesome! After recovering from a running injury, the 5km was the perfect way to ease back into it!

    Thanks everyone for following along and giving your support! 💚

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    • 09/12/2025 by Jo Hay

      Thanks for the updates. Love reading what you're up to.

  • 03/12/25 Day 3 💚

      3 December 2025
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    What started as a brisk and peaceful morning beach walk with the dogs quickly turned into a full-on power walk once the rain, thunder, and lightning rolled in! Looking out across the bay, the islands were swallowed by thick, dark rain clouds and suddenly we were very grateful we only had 1.5 km left when the rain really set in!

    Luckily, we snapped a photo earlier while the sun was still shining in front of this stunning pōhutukawa in full bloom—just look at that colour! 3 km done and dusted! ✅

    Thank you so much to everyone who has kindly donated so far - legends!

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  • We just reached our $12,000 goal on Day 3!

      3 December 2025
    Posted by: Project Island Song
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    Oh my goodness - after an absolutely colossal day yesterday for Give a Little Day, with more than $6,600 donated in 24 hours, we can’t quite believe that we have just reached our initial goal of $12,000 on the morning of Day 3!

    Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated to support our amazing runners and walkers. We’re completely blown away by the number of people getting behind the 12ks this year.

    A big welcome to our newest participants - Elsie, Kevin, Michelle, Rachel, Sandra, Sarah, and Steph.

    We’ve now got a whopping 20 people taking part which is fantastic, and between them they will be walking or running a combined 2,166km by 12th December!

    This is longer than the length of New Zealand (1,600km), and just slightly more than the distance between Sydney and Auckland (2,156km)!

    What now? Well with 9 days of walking and running still to go, we have just raised the overall goal to $20,000.

    Can we get there? We really don’t know but we hope so! This would be a truly phenomenal amount of money to raise for our collective mahi on the islands.

    Please continue to get behind all our participants, especially as the feet start to blister and the legs begin to tire! Spread the word to friends and family, walk alongside them (literally or figuratively), and be cheerleaders for their awesome efforts. Your support will keep them going.

    Spare an extra thought for all our participants today who may have to time their runs/walks well to avoid getting very soggy!

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  • 02/12/25 💚 Day 2

      3 December 2025
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    Rain or shine! The raincoats were on for this morning’s 2km walk. Mum enjoyed a walk looking out to the Bay of Islands from Paihia, and Elsie got her kms done not far from home in Kerikeri.

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  • 01/12/25 💚 Day 1

      3 December 2025
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    Elsie added an extra km on to her usual 4km morning walk this morning and Sarah got the dogs out to the beach for a healthy dose of exercise to kick off the 12kms of Christmas. Bring it on!

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