Walking the length of the South Island for charity

$130 donated

Given by 4 generous donors in around 3 months

Cancer survivor walking (& sometimes biking) the Te Araroa Trail to raise money for those who work tirelessly to help others.

Christchurch, Canterbury

+14 images

71 year old Nigel Rushton was halfway through walking the Te Araroa Trail in 2022 when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. A year on, he's recovered well from surgery and has decided to walk it again.

This time he'll be raising money for a couple of charities close to his heart as he goes. He's aiming to complete the South Island section of the trail, from Bluff to Ship Cove, in around 3 months. He set off in mid November 2023. He'll be taking his fold up bike with him to use on sections of the trail that run along the highways.

Nigel's brush with cancer left him with an appreciation of the good works done by the folks at the New Zealand Prostate Cancer Foundation and he hopes to be able to give something back to them. He is also raising money for the New Zealand Red Cross - Nigel has been delivering Meals on Wheels for them for most of the time that he's been living in Christchurch.

Thanks for your support!

Nigel Rushton's involvement (page creator)

Nigel has been living in inner city Christchurch for 20 years, and is known for his advocacy of biking around NZ. This page is being managed by his friend Frances while he's out in the wildnerness.

Made it! 3 April 2024

On 3 March I arrived at Meretoto / Ship Cove at the northern point of Te Waipounamu South Island, and the end of my Te Araroa.

(Because of high river flows, I had earlier postponed the sections between Greyney's Shelter and Windy Point - I completed these parts between 18 - 25 March.)

The 1,300km journey comprised of 53 walking days and 4.5 cycling days.

The longest walking day was 14 hours but quite a few days consisted of more than 10 hours of walking. On several days I managed to do almost 30km.

Sometimes I managed less than 1km per hour! The shortest non-zero day was 4km in 6 hours to go over Goat Pass. 2km in 2 hours in the morning to go up, 2km in 4 hours in the afternoon to go down.

I learnt that even with ultra light gear I didn't walk faster than the first time with heavier loads, but it was over 20 days faster than the first time.

When doing my first Te Araroa, I learnt it's not meant to be enjoyed, it is to be endured. So when people ask what are my favourite parts, I usually reply with my most hated tracks:

1) The Motatapu (Goat) Track

2) Mt Linton

3) Timaru Creek Track

4) Ashburton River North Branch

No's 1 and 3 because of the steep and difficult terrain. No:2 because of the human factor. And No:4 requires wading across the river 49 times!

Share this update

Read 4 more updates

On average, fundraisers pay just 2% to use Givealittle. This is one of the lowest effective fees in New Zealand fundraising. We charge a 5% platform fee to cover the cost of running the platform. Because most donors choose to top up their donation to cover this fee, the effective cost paid by fundraisers is about 2%. That means around 98 cents of every dollar raised goes to the cause. Learn More