Trevor Page, 96, of Napier, is only aided by his stick and philosophy of "keep moving" to climb up and down Sugarloaf hill in Greenmeadows every day. Photo / Duncan Brown
When Napier man Trevor Page retired from work last year he decided to sleep in an extra hour before taking his daily walk, which he has done for the past 40 years.
He used to get up at 5am, summer, autumn, winter and spring, but now it's 6am. And it is still five days a week.
"I take the weekends off," he said.
While many people take a daily morning walk there are two points of difference in Mr Page's case.
The first is he turned 96 in June.
The second is the fact that his walk is far from a short and easy stroll.
He walks up the great Greenmeadows hill called Sugarloaf, and then after going down the other side, walks "a couple of blocks" back to his car.
"I'm not sure how far that is - but it's a bloody long way," he said with a laugh.
"It takes me about an hour."
Anyone who knows Mr Page, or had work dealings with him when he ran Page Plating up until its closure last May and retired at the age of 95, will probably not be surprised.
"I was lucky in the fact that I worked all my life and I looked forward to it," he said.
"It was physical and it was mental."
While he said he had been lucky and blessed with good health, his philosophy was simply one of "keep moving".
"Once you stop you're sunk," he said, adding he was pretty sure he will tackle the Sugarloaf peak when he turns 97 next June.
"I think I'll make it and after that we'll see."
His only aid was a stick, which he used for the downhill stretch as at certain times of the year the grass could be slippery.
In winter he takes his torch.
"You have to see where you're going."
He said despite his knees being "a bit wobbly" they were holding up pretty well. Although he got a bit frustrated at losing some of his strength, particularly in his hands.
"It's getting tougher getting the tops off those damn plastic milk bottles," he said.
A mate passed on his advice after experiencing the same problem.
"He punctured a hole in the top with a screwdriver, but I haven't had to do that yet."
Finally retired from the business he started 59 years ago, he reckoned it was like being on holiday every day now.
"You have a walk, have a cup of tea, read the paper and that's half the day gone."
But he is not finished with work just yet.
"No, I keep moving and there's work to do around the house."
There are 'trees down in many places' on the main road between Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.