Portobello School teacher Cheryl Neill, along with her sister Kim Van Gog, walked the Camino de Santiago,known in English as the Way of St James, while raising funds for the Dunedin Night Shelter along the way.
At the end of her hike, she had raised more than $4000 for the charity.
The Camino de Santiago is a series of walks that converge at the medieval city of Santiago de Compostela, where St James — one of Jesus’ 12 apostles — is said to be buried.
The pair’s hike took them 33 days in the blistering summer heat, where temperatures reached more than 30°C in the afternoons.
The sisters started their trip at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port before making it over the Pyrenees mountains and into the northern Spanish countryside, and finishing at "the end of the world" at Cape Finisterre on the Mediterranean coast.
The pair walked to the lighthouse, cried and celebrated with a glass of Champagne and a quick dip in the ocean.
"It’s now time for a few days’ rest and time to come home," Ms Neill said.
One of the most challenging parts was the European summer heat.
"The sun would rise at 8.30am with the hottest part of the day being around 3pm.
"There was very little shade and we were walking most days on average 25km per day."
On the pilgrimage they met people and made friends from all over the world.
They walked for 10 days with a German man named Stefan who knew next to no English.
"Stefan had little English, so the translator app came in handy,
"He walked with us every day, joining us for dinner in the evenings until finally we said goodbye 10 days later in Santiago."
Ms Neill, who turns 60 this year, said she undertook the trek for charity and a physical challenge.
"I wanted to prove to myself that age is only a number and with perseverance and determination anything is possible.
"It also showed me we don’t need much to be happy when undertaking a challenge; just water, a bed, food and good company."
The trip would hold "lots of memories of albergues [backpackers], people, churches, city squares, bush land and many hills".
After a well-deserved rest, she will be flying back home on Thursday.
