Invercargill teenager Oliver Speight will be spending the next four months walking the Te Araroa Trail, raising funds and awareness for Leukemia and Blood Cancer NZ. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Oliver Speight, 16, just finished year 13 at James Hargest College.
He decided to take a gap year before heading to university in 2026, where he hoped to complete an aeronautical engineering degree.
However, while he waited for this time to come, he decided to accomplish another dream, he will be spending the next four months walking the Te Araroa Trail from Bluff to Cape Reinga, raising funds and awareness for Leukemia and Blood Cancer NZ.
"I always wanted to do some sort of walk to challenge myself. It was between either doing the Te Araroa Trail down here, or going over to Europe and trying to do something like the St James Way (Camino de Santiago) in Spain.
"It is just an opportunity to do something good. Both my neighbour and a close family friend have been affected by [blood] cancer over the past couple of years, and I feel it really doesn't get as much attention as some of the other ones, like bowel cancer or breast cancer.
I thought it was a good cause to help."
Oliver plans to begin his journey in Bluff on December 29 and complete the walk in Cape Reinga in four months' time.
He is going to walk the distance solo with nothing but a backpack, a sleeping bag and a tent.
He would carry some food, but his parents would also send parcels of supplies along the way, he said.
With only weeks before his journey begins, the teenager confessed he was both nervous and excited; the biggest walk he had done previously was only about four days.
"I've got some plans for most of the way up the South Island. I'm going to try to do about 30 kilometres a day and then past that, I guess it'll just be how I feel on a day-to-day basis."
He hoped to raise at least $15,000 for his chosen cause. People interested in helping are encouraged to get in touch through his Instagram account.
