“On a Mish” #385 It’s Time to Go Back! Active Hearts Foundation Adventure. New Zealand to Nepal October 2023. 31.10.2023. In 2010-2011 Christchurch and the surrounding Canterbury area was continuously rocked by earthquakes. The deviation was immense and many lives were lost thanks to the violent movement of faults amongst the tectonic plates that have created the mountains I love and play in. Far away from Aotearoa there is another mountainous place, and not only would the mountains of this far away land become added to the list of locations I love, but it would also suffer the same fate as the city I grew up in…
Before 2010 if you had asked any Kiwi about where the next major earthquake in New Zealand would be I don’t think anyone would have said Christchurch. I’m sure all that live there would have hoped that the severe shaking would have happened somewhere else. Unfortunately all of the wishing in the world wouldn’t have prevented the mass destruction and temporary chaos. It was a terrible fate dealt to my hometown and my lifelong connection with Christchurch meant I was more than happy to help with the clean up. Not many had heard of liquefaction before the quakes, but we were experts on the stuff after a couple of long weeks.
Miles from Christchurch and Aotearoa there is a place that is synonymous with mountains and New Zealand. Nepal was thrust into the lives of Kiwi’s when with the immense help and experience of the legendary Tenzing Norgay, Sir Edmund Hillary stood atop the tallest mountain on the planet. Successfully climbing Sagarmatha / Chomolungma / Mt Everest created a connection between New Zealand and Nepal which still stands strong today. Unfortunately the country of many mountains plus marvellous men, wonderful women and cheerful children shook as hard if not more than the city I was raised in.
Once the dust had settled a good friend of mine put the call out to anyone that wanted to make the trek to Nepal to provide shelter, funds, aid and friendship to our fellow human beings. After some careful planning an international team was assembled and we wandered our way into the Solukumbu Region to the tiny town of Gurdel. The first of many Active Hearts Foundation trips was underway. All of the organising, fund finding and a bunch of other behind the scene stuff is taken care of by my brother from another Dan (founder of the Active Hearts Foundation), and his man on the ground in Nepal Mr Arjun. Both of these dudes plus many more in Nepal have become some of my most favourite friends and although we can communicate via the web it is no match for being there with my friends / brothers. Once you spend some time with Nepali people you will understand why I have made it one of my life’s missions to head back as often as possible just like Sir Ed did after he successfully climbed Everest.
Since the first tremendous trek I have been back many times to continue to provide aid and support for a country rich in love but poor in finances. I have always believed that if friendliness could be converted into funds then Nepal would be one of the richest countries on the planet!
Just like my outdoor adventures, my missions to Nepal became a normal part of my life and instead of wondering if I would head over there each year, I was at the point where Dan just needed to say when the trip was going to take place and ‘Mr Funky’ would be there! But thanks to my stupid hip / back injury (plus covid) I had yet another thing taken away from me in 2020. Now after a ton of planning, rehab and good luck we will be heading back to continue to the Active Hearts work.
With all of that said it would seem that the sun is coming up again after a very long night of no Nepal. Even though my body was far from ready, when Dan asked if I would like to head back to Nepal to resume the Active Hearts Foundation story I don’t think he had finished the sentence before I blasted his ears with the word Yes!
Now comes the part where you can help us out. To raise funds for this very important mish I have published a book with some of my adventures in it. All funds raised after the publishing costs have been covered will go towards this next important adventure. It is a bit of a double whammy as not only do you get to support our trip and all of the awesome work that the Active Hearts team do. But you will also get a book full of tales of adventure for your troubles! To purchase a book and support the cause head to – www.nzhikes.co.nz. Once there you can also click on a link that will take you to the Active Hearts page and that will tell you all about the charity that has become part of my whanau. Also if you have any questions about the trip, Active Hearts or anything else please feel free to message me via email [email protected] or NZ Hikes
Stay tuned for more as the mish is only a matter of a few weeks away. Thank you for all of the support so far and now I have to put my head down and do a lot more rehab and training if I want to survive the trek…
