Winton volunteer firemen Guy Johnstone (43) and Steve Turton (48) finally walked in to the Queenstown Fire Station about 2pm yesterday, capping off a mammoth week which saw them walk 214km from Bluff to the resort town, raising money for Gumboot Friday.
They finished with a 30km grunt yesterday, from Drift Bay to central Queenstown, starting about 6.30am.
They were joined along the way by members of Queenstown and Frankton’s volunteer fire brigades.
Mr Johnstone said the support from fellow emergency services members, in particular, was phenomenal.
That included district road policing manager Acting Inspector Brett Kingsland, of Invercargill, who was following this week’s Tour of Southland; after speaking to the firefighters on Monday and seeing them again on Tuesday, he called on his way back to Invercargill after Wednesday’s stage of Mossburn to Queenstown.
"He rang me and said, ‘where are you?’," Mr Johnstone said.
"He stopped, pulled in and walked to where we were — about 1km in — and walked another 3km with us."
Fire and Emergency New Zealand region manager Mike Grant also came looking for the pair along the road, while fire stations along the whole route made beds available for them and came out in support.
That was a massive boost, the pair said.
"It was cool, man, it just lifts you up," Mr Johnstone said.
"It was getting tough — it was hot."
They had also been supported by Invercargill’s Traffic Management Services and Southland entertainment provider "Num Nuts", who had been with them every step of the way.
By yesterday afternoon, they had raised close to $7000 between their Givealittle page and donations to the Winton brigade, but had not yet counted the chock-full donation buckets, Mr Turton said.
While there were plenty of laughs along the way, the reason for their latest mission could not have been more serious.
They aimed to raise enough money to cover the cost of counselling for 50 of the 76 daily calls to the children’s free I Am Hope helpline — roughly $6300.
"I went through a dark spot this year; I was able to get help within weeks," Mr Turnton said.
"Kids are having to wait months and it’s just not right."
They were also mindful that statistically, children aged between eight and 11 were asking for the most help, which was concerning.
"It was a privilege to be able to do it as firefighters and [raise] awareness, but it’s all for the kids."
