A community advocate, Portobello School teacher and member of Otago Peninsula Community Board, Ms Neill begins her journey to Europe next week, travelling with her sister Kim Van Gog, with whom she will make the epic 1000km trek.
The sisters will depart from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France, walking on average 25km per day, with the aim of reaching the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, and then going on another 100km to Cape Finisterre on the Mediterranean coast. The trek should take about 40 days.
The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St James, follows a pilgrimage route that was established in medieval times, and remains popular with pilgrims, hikers and tour groups.
For Ms Neill, the trek represents "a good physical challenge, a chance to push myself and a great way to meet new people and learn about other cultures".
"The idea of doing the trek has been in the back of my mind for years," Ms Neill said.
"As I turn 60 this year, I thought if I am going to do it, I had better do it now.
"We are expecting it to be pretty tough in places - on the first day we will have to climb over the Pyrenees, which will be a big challenge.
"I’m expecting it to be tough walking 25km per day in the heat as well."
Ms Neill has been training for months for the massive trek, including walking trails around Otago Peninsula and climbing Hereweka-Harbour Cone, Poatiri-Mt Charles and Mt Cargill.
Along with tackling the personal challenge of the Camino de Santiago, Ms Neill wants to use the experience to help support Dunedin people in need, and so will be running a Givealittle campaign under the heading " Cheryl’s Camino" to raise funds for the Dunedin Night Shelter.
During the trek, she will document her progress by posting video updates, which will be shared on the Dunedin Night Shelter facebook page.
Night shelter manager David McKenzie said Ms Neill’s kindness in using her personal trek to support the facility was "very special".
"It is another wonderful example of just how fortunate we are to have such invaluable support from our community," he said.
