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Former Southlander Syd King, 69, beside the memorial glass table in Queens Park that honours his sister Margery Simpson. King has walked the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa trail to honour his sister and raise funds for Parkinson s NZ.
What started as a boyhood dream turned into a 120-day fundraising mission for a former Southlander. When Syd King set out to walk the Te Araroa Trail, it occurred to him that it would be a great way to honour his sister, well-known Southland artist Margery Simpson. Simpson died of multiple system atrophy (MSA) – a Parkinsonism condition – so while he was at it, he figured he would raise some money for Parkinson’s NZ to support Kiwis going through the same struggles as his sister.
Perth based photographer Louise Coghill at the start of the Te Araroa trail, Cape Reinga. The trail is 3,000km down the length of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga in the north to the southernmost point of Bluff. Photograph: Louise Coghill
For four months Coghill, a photographer from the Australian city of Perth, had been hiking the Te Araroa trail: 3,000km down the length of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga in the north to the southernmost point of Bluff.
Coghill had set out in November 2019. By early March she had made it to the Canterbury region of the South Island. The end of her journey was in sight, plus she had picked up a boyfriend, Marco – a Swiss hiker she had met along the way.
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Bruce Hopkins, a Kiwi actor, spent nearly seven months walking Te Araroa Trail, completing the journey in May 2018. When another wind gust blew him off balance, a passing motorist pulled over and offered a lift. He accepted, and several kilometres later was dropped off just before Bluff, so he could walk through the town to its famous signpost by the ocean, marking the end of his long journey. He had no qualms about taking the ride, given the dangers on the road. “By the time I hauled my ass through the mountains, had my little cancer mass in my bladder, smashed my shin, ripped my knee in the Richmond Ranges, I thought, no, I am OK about that, I am OK to take the odd ride.”