Mike completes his mission walk
It’s taken more than a year, but Mike Butler is finally finishing his walk.
The Wellington man, with his dogs Toby and Idol, began a walk from Auckland to Wellington last year to raise money for the Cancer Society, but a little over halfway he slipped and broke his ankle.
Following a year of rehabilitation, including surgery and developing arthritis in his ankle, he got back on the road to complete the hike.
He began on August 3 where he had stopped exactly a year before, in the Wharerata Hills south of Gisborne, to complete the remaining 512 kilometres to Wellington.
Butler says that even from his Gisborne Hospital bed in 2016, he knew he wanted to finish what he started. ’’I was interviewed in the hospital bed the day after I broke it: What are you going to do next?, and I said: well I’m going to recover and I’ll be back.’’
‘‘I didn’t know if it was going to be this year or next year at that stage, but it was always going to be: I will be back.’’
Butler averages 25km a day and travelled in mostly ‘‘acceptable’’ weather.
‘‘I would suggest that God broke my ankle to stop me getting in trouble with the snow, because last year the snow came a few days after I broke it.
‘‘This year all the snow came just a few days before I restarted ... It’s actually been remarkably good. The first three days this year it rained, then I’ve had only showery weather for four days.’’
Butler walked the South Island in 2011, raising $22,000 for the Cancer Society.
His current fundraising target is $12,000 - and he looks set to get there, with $11,660 raised by Wednesday.
‘‘I thought it was a stretch. I expected to get $10,000, hoping for $11,000. It was a stretched target always, so if we make it I’ll be super happy.’’
The ANZ chief analyst programmer will arrive in the capital today - Daffodil Day - where he will visit ANZ branches and the Cancer Society.
The support he has received has been immense, he says.
‘‘Without people, drivers being the support crew, people providing meals and accommodation, people walking with me, and just people tooting and waving as they drive past on the road - without all the support it wouldn’t be possible.’’
* To donate to Butler’s campaign for the Cancer Society, visit doyourthing-wellington.everydayhero.com/nz/mikes-hike.
* Daffodil Day is today. You can donate to street collections, online at daffodilday.org.nz and by texting ‘Hope’ to 336 to donate $3.