By Tyler Wright
The Oxfam Trailwalker returned to Melbourne over the weekend, this time beginning in Gembrook for the first time in its 24-year history.
Held from Friday 24 March to Sunday 26 March on trails throughout the Yarra Ranges, thousands of people walked either 30 kilometres, 55 kilometres or 100 kilometres, helping achieve Oxfam’s goal of raising $2.2 million to challenge poverty.
This year’s route passed through Silvan and Lilydale Lake before heading back up the hill and over to Lysterfield Lake, seeing Lilydale SES get on board to guide traffic and walkers.
Father-daughter duo from The Basin – Warren and Ebony Miller – took on the 100 kilometre two-day trek, starting at Puffing Billy Railway Station in Gembrook and passing by stops including SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, with a group of four other participants.
While it was Warren’s 15th time conquering the journey, it was Ebony’s first time, with the pair preparing for the event by completing two 25 kilometre walks; one flat around the Kew area, and another trail from Montrose up to Mount Dandenong and over to the Thousand Steps.
“I’ve wanted to do it for a while now, but obviously because of Covid and everything it’s been postponed, and then last year I was supposed to do it but I busted my ankle just a week out, so I couldn’t do it,” Ebony said.
“This is the hardest trail I think that they’ve ever done.
“It is a bit daunting knowing that we’re going to be covering such distance with little to no sleep and very short breaks, but I think we’ll be all right. If dad can do it, I can do it.“
Warren said the groups could take breaks to sit, eat and drink along the way, with checkpoints providing amenities for walkers.
“You’ve all got to start and finish together. You could get sprung out a bit along the trail, but you don’t want to get too far from each other,“ he said.
“It’s been really good. We’ve done the Melbourne ones, and then there’s Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and we’ve done some in New Zealand as well.“
By Monday 27 March the group, named Legends and Apprentices, had raised $3530 through donations.
“It’s a nice feeling, knowing that you’re helping someone as well who’s less fortunate, and it’s also really nice that other people are going out of their way to donate you because you’re finishing the 100ks as well,“ Ebony said.
Since 1999, 96,400 people have participated in the event and raised more than $98.5 million for Oxfam Australia.
Kathryn Eames from Sassafras, Judy Friguglietti from Menzies Creek and Katerina Volny from Upwey also joined Sue Filmer from Lara for the New Zealand Oxfam Trailwalk at New Plymouth on the North Island earlier this month.
Their team, named Fit Just Got Real, raised close to $3000 as part of Judy’s 10th Trailwalk.
“We started in the dark at 6am Saturday and walked through the night to finish at 6.05am on Sunday, achieving our goal of 100km in 24 hours with the help of our excellent support crew, Katerina’s partner Matthew Wall,“ Judy said.
“When you’re walking in the dark with sore, blistered feet and trying to spot the next trail marker it feels hard, but then you think of the people who have to walk 50km just to get water or medical help,“ she said.
“Oxfam’s mission is to tackle the root causes of poverty, and that can mean anything from providing clean water and sanitation in Papua New Guinea or supporting farmers in Timor-Leste to adapt to climate change.”
Oxfam was sitting shy of its goal, having raised $1,411,272 by Monday morning.
