An Invercargill man who is row, row, rowing his boat the length of New Zealand touched down in Timaru last week as part of the 3000km-long journey.
The Rowing for Life fundraiser has rowers from all across New Zealand joining Ian Hamilton as he travels up the entire east coast of New Zealand, raising funds for the Lions Cancer Trust, the Child Cancer Foundation, Starship Foundation and Surf Life Saving New Zealand.
The epic journey began on December 2 when Mr Hamilton and crew set out from the South Cape of Stewart Island.
After taking a small break over Christmas, rowing resumed again on February 10 with the team arriving in Timaru on Friday evening after an 1- hour, 72km row from Oamaru.
The goal is to travel about 40km each day, eventually finishing up at Cape Reinga in July. So, far the team has travelled more than 1200km.
It will be the first time such a feat has been achieved.
Mr Hamilton said it was an idea that had been on his mind for quite some time.
‘‘After rowing Foveaux Strait and Cook Strait, I was looking for another adventure to do some fundraising, I thought I’d only be doing it with four guys but now I’ll end up doing it with 500-plus throughout New Zealand.
‘‘There are 111 legs all the way up the east coast and I’ll be joined by different rowers at different points.
‘‘It’s been amazing to see everybody coming together for these four charities.’’
Lions Club New Zealand has also been heavily involved with the fundraiser, organising meet and greets at landings, and barbecues and other fundraising activities along the way, for which Mr Hamilton was incredibly thankful.
‘‘We’re starting to get the word out there and slowly starting to gather some momentum and they’ve been a massive help.
‘‘It’s pretty overwhelming the support we’ve received and that’s what it’s all about really.’’
He said his own experiences with cancer were a big driving force behind wanting to do the fundraiser.
‘‘I’ve had nieces and cousins that have had cancer and stuff like that and I don’t want to see other families go through what we’ve been going through.
‘‘When I’m rowing and every time I get sore I just think of those family members and other people’s family members that are so deserving to be treated.’’
The team set off for their next leg yesterday morning heading towards Banks Peninsula.
Progress can be followed on the Rowing for Life website and Facebook page and anyone wishing to donate to the cause can do so via the Rowing for Life Aotearoa NZ – A Coastal Rowing Adventure givealittle page.
