With 2150km to go before he reaches Bluff, ex-army major Tony F Williams starts the long slog up Kāeo Hill. Photo / Peter de Graaf
With 2150km to go before he reaches Bluff, ex-army major Tony F Williams starts the long slog up Kāeo Hill. Photo / Peter de Graaf
An ex-army major walking the length of New Zealand aims to raise $1 million for a medical charity working in the world's worst conflict zones.
Tony F Williams started his epic 2300km walk at Cape Reinga on Saturday. He's currently making his way down State Highway 10 - repeating his mantra "step by step, k by k, day by day" - and should reach Whangārei on Monday.
He needs to knock off 30km a day to reach Bluff by late November.
The proceeds of his walk will go to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF or Doctors Without Borders), which provides medical help in war-torn Ukraine and another 70 countries around the world.
Williams, who is 68, had a 27-year career in New Zealand's armed forces. His service took him to places as varied as Singapore, East Timor, the Solomons, Germany and Hawaii.
His first experience of MSF was during the bloody conflict in East Timor.
"We were on the border and armed to the hilt. MSF was a few hundred metres away and completely unarmed. They are absolutely everywhere where there's trouble. Plenty of them have been killed over the years. I admire the hell out of them," Williams said.
The former major said setting a $1m target was nerve-wracking.
"But I don't mess around. You've got to aim high. There's no reason we can't reach $1m, all it takes is one million Kiwis to give $1."
Kevin Herewini, of Whangaroa RSA, accompanies ex-army major Tony F Williams through Kāeo. Photo / Peter de Graaf
However, there's more to Williams' walk than raising money for MSF.
"I'm trying to pull a few threads together. I've been thinking about doing something for veterans for a long time. Too many suffer from mental health issues, or they've just stopped and their home has become their hospice. I'm doing this at the age of 68 to show vets that service doesn't stop when you get out of uniform."
Williams had also long been troubled by the people New Zealand had left behind, youth in particular.
He was convinced veterans could use their skills, mana and wisdom to give young people hope and direction.
"Veterans have a lot to offer our youth. While I'm walking I'm thinking about how to bring them together."
Williams said he had always kept fit and ramped up his road training in February.
All the same, he was tired and his feet were sore as he slogged up Kāeo Hill yesterday.
Such physical discomforts were offset by the "incredible friendliness and support" he had encountered in Northland.
That included a gift of a tewhatewha (a traditional carved weapon), which he had driven into the sand after his send-off from Cape Reinga by Te Aupōuri iwi. Come November he hoped to do the same at Bluff.
Former army major Tony F Williams is discovering the road to Bluff is a long one indeed. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Williams is accompanied by a support crew led by Andy and Shirley Peters of Waitaruke, just north of Kāeo.
They had just bought a camper van when Williams put out a call for helpers, Andy Peters said.
"We thought, 'Why not?' You can't see more of the country than when you're driving at this pace."
The crew carried Williams' gear, provided traffic safety where needed, and kept him fuelled with peanut-butter sandwiches and cups of hot tea.
Peters, president of the Vietnam Veterans Association, hoped to use the fundraising walk to connect with veterans of all armed services, as well as first responders in the police, fire and ambulance services.
Williams' sister Cathy Ahuriri, a police officer who served in Bougainville, is also part of the support team.
On Wednesday night the group was hosted at Tauranga Bay by the Whangaroa RSA.
Williams was joined on part of yesterday's walk by Whangaroa RSA president Kevin Herewini. He aimed to reach Waipapa in time to give a talk at the Kerikeri RSA last night.
Fridays are his rest days but he should reach Kawakawa on Saturday and Whangārei late on Monday.
