That's because Wood-Hill knows better than most the pain of losing loved ones to suicide. He has had friends and family members take their own lives, including a younger sister.
The walk was a tribute to his sister who lived partly with Rhian's father growing up and took her own life before he was able meet her.
When he was 18 there were three boys of similar age who died.
"One had been a childhood friend. It rocked my community," he said. "If you take out the romance of the song it's just a song about how much you'd do for another person."
"I believe everyone has a mate who they would walk 500 miles for if they were in mental pain."
The story of his relationship with his estranged father, who he didn't met until he was 21, makes the basis for some of his stand-up routine in what was an autobiographical comedy.
Wood-Hill trudged through the Horowhenua with two walking sticks and a 20kg backpack. He had family in Levin and stayed the night in town before breakfast and hitting the road.
He is now somewhere between Bulls and Whanganui.
So far he was on schedule, aside from a few detours. Going from Te Horo to Ōtaki he thought it would be nice to walk along the beach, but failed to conquer the Ōtaki River mouth and was forced to turn back and head towards the State Highway.
"I didn't think that one through," he said.
He was listening to audio books to break the monotony of the walk and had already finished eight books, including a murder-mystery written by former basketballer Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
"What a bizarre career shift. It's actually not bad," he said.
"I have the audio books going for about six hours then have a break where it is just myself," he said.
Wood-Hill, a professional poker player and top swimmer in the past, was donating half of the money from ticket sales from his shows on the tour to Lifeline Aotearoa.
He was also raising funds through a Givealittle page with almost $2000 already raised.
He was not taking an easy route to Auckland. He started at Raumati Beach and planned to reach Whanganui for a gig tomorrow night (THURS), then detour to Napier before another gig in Rotorua.
Lifeline Aotearoa received more than 10,000 calls per month and helped an average of six people a day at high risk of suicide. With no government funding, Lifeline relied on donations as it costs an average of $25 to respond to each call.
It had provided counselling and support for people in distress or crisis for more than 50 years and received more than 10,000 calls and 10,000 texts each month.
The community helplines (0800 LIFELINE, Suicide Crisis Helpline, 0800 KIDSLINE) were free and answered by trained volunteers and qualified paid staff from call centres in Auckland and Christchurch.
GIG DATES:
3 April – Reddin's, Raumati Beach. 11 April – Lucky Bar, Whanganui. 22 April – Cabana Bar, Napier. 27 April – Little Theatre, Rotorua.
