WHY IS KANOA DOING BINGO AND HIKING?

Kanoa Lloyd has thrown hiking and bingo into her busy schedule to raise money for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.

The foundation, named after the mountaineer, focuses on building life skills and values in children.

Lloyd, host of The Project, said it had become a passion project for her.

“I love that the foundation is acting to build kids up and send them on their way,” she tells Spy. “Building skills like self-esteem, integrity and respect, that you can use on a sports field, in a laboratory, or in all arenas throughout their lives. I really believe in that kaupapa.”

The bingo afternoon is at Herne Bay Petanque Club on March 30 and Llloyd promises lots of fun as well as the chance to rub shoulders with A-listers.

There’s also an auction, which includes an original art piece by Maori Mermaid and a mystery prize by fashion designer Ingrid Starnes.

To raise awareness for the foundation, Lloyd will go out of her own comfort zone next month by trekking in Vietnam.

Along with her agent Imogen Johnson and a bunch of other fab women, who she says are giving up their time to highlight the cause, they will do a week-long hike in the Sa Pa region.

“It’s going to be a total sensory overload and I’m really excited. I know that we will be walking through rice paddies for hours and there is a fair amount of walking uphill as well as trekking through the jungle.”

They will do homestays and visit local schools on the way. The sassy presenter says she has been trying to get in some good training, but it will definitely be a shock to the system.

“I am probably still going to die . . . but that’s part of the fun too — right?”