North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Dan a good keen man
A North Shore student is gearing up to hike from the top to the bottom of New Zealand to raise money for mental health and find personal clarity.
Daniel Sanson quit his job and plans to leave for his four to fivemonth long trek on November 15, five days after his final day of work.
‘‘I realised it [doing the walk] was kind of a big deal. So, I figured if there was ever an opportunity to do something good, this was it,’’ Sanson said.
‘‘So I decided to fundraise for the Mental Health Foundation.’’
The Albany resident considers himself a ‘‘reasonably experienced’’ hiker, and considered doing a hike in the US before finding the Te Araroa trail.
Te Araroa is a continuous 3000 kilometre walking track that extends the length of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
His decision to support mental health was a personal one.
Sanson had to drop-out of university due to mental health problems, choosing to finish the Bachelor of Engineering, majoring in mechatronics and robotics, through part-time study. ‘‘I had awful anxiety, I would just sit in the car park for 20 minutes and then drive home.’’
He was able to get help through Massey University’s counselling services, and said he was lucky to have the professional help that he needed to give him more options.
His goal is to raise $3000, $1 per kilometre but he said he’d love to ‘‘blow straight past’’ that goal. His blog, A Good Keen Man, will keep his followers up to date with his journey.
Daily progress will be hard to measure by distance, due to New Zealand’s the eclectic terrain, but he aims to walk for 5 to 10 hours a day. However, he has to time the path through Auckland City to tie-in with his girlfriend’s graduation in December.
Along the route, he plans to make full use of the DOC hut network but he will also have his tent for the days where there are no facilities around. The entire trip will take four months, ‘‘hopefully’’, he said.
Currently, Sanson has all-butfinished his degree and he hopes the hike will help him figure out what he wants to do next. ‘‘I’ll have a lot of time to think about it,’’ he said.
❚ Sponsor Dan on his trek, events.mentalhealth.org.nz/ fundraisers/dansanson.
NADIA LIM
Beef and pumpkin curry recipe from My Food Bag’s fresh start menu.
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‘‘I figured if there was ever an opportunity to do something good, this was it.’’
Daniel Sanson
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