Hope Trust fundraiser

Jo Magill has so far walked 550km from Cape Reinga to Auckland along the Te Araroa trail. Photo / Supplied

Art by celebrated Hawke's Bay painters will go under the hammer this week, to help organise walks on New Zealand trails for society's most vulnerable.

Veteran social justice campaigner Pat Magill said this Saturday's Ahuriri Art Auction would feature work by acclaimed kiwi artists, including Dick Frizzell, John Walsh and Martin Poppelwell.

Mr Magill was calling on the public to get behind the auction, which aimed to raise funds for the Te Araroa Offers Hope Trust.

The trust is building a network of organised walks along Te Araroa trail, from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The trails offer a healthy and empowering experience for disenfranchised walkers.

He described the initiative as an "affordable outward bound," which offers an "uplifting spiritual experience".

"It's showing great promise. It lifts kids out of a minority," he said. "It is more than a respite from boredom and hopelessness; it offers hope through the Wairua of the walk."

His daughter-in-law, Jo Magill, would speak at the auction about her 550km walk from Cape Reinga to Auckland. She is walking the trail in instalments, and hoping to eventually reach Bluff.

The event will be held at 6pm this Saturday at Para Matchitt's Art Studio, 35 Campbell St, Ahuriri. Guests are asked to RSVP to selwyn.hawthorne@xtra.co.nz.

For more information, visit the Facebook page: Te Araroa Offers Hope.