It has been a while since The Happy Walk did any real walking but I haven't stopped doing things in the background and preparing for the next step.
March 18th marks not only exactly 1 year since I put the whole walk on hold for surgery but also the start of my first walk across Australia. Fingers crossed it will the first full walk and not just the first attempt
I will be starting the 8250km (approx) zigzaggy walk from Perth back to Melbourne very early in the morning near Hillarys Beach and slowly making my way across at around 30km/day for 18 months including a break for summer and one of Bob Cooper's Outback Survival courses. I don't plan to do any bushwalking but there will be a few sections where I'll leave the main roads to enjoy some special scenery and serenity. This is a google map link to the planned path https://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?msid=204047151277205796211.0004e1dd42e31f91ab1d3&msa=0
Some of you may remember I started the walk in Tasmania on September 11th 2012 without a fundraising cause and within a few weeks I decided to raise funds for Lifeline. I opened up a fundraising account which wasn't very user friendly so I have changed to a fantastic new platform with GoFundraise - Making a Difference designed for individual events and fundraisers and all donations go direct to the chosen charity, which is Lifeline. My fundraising goal over the 7 years of The Happy Walk is $1million and this week it reached $1658.00! This may not look like a big amount in comparison but for Lifeline, every cent counts and helps them save lives and provide crisis counseling. Here is the link to my fundraiser, please donate and help me help Lifeline http://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/thehappywalk
There are a few reasons why The Happy Walk exists, personal and altruistic. It all started because I wanted to walk around Australia, experience it in slow motion, many years ago but life happened and it remained just a dream. After depression and PTSD made me very sick and I attempted suicide a few times I walked myself to recovery and started turning the dream into a reality to help promote mental health, encourage people to talk about their feelings and get help, talk to communities about how they can help each other and recognise the signs of depression and suicidal feelings. The Happy Walk is not a simple 15-18,000km circuit because I feel a need to carry the message of depression awareness and suicide prevention to towns, communities and workplaces in regions and locations where mental health services are stretched beyond their limit at best. It is also a useful platform to help Lifeline who helped me when I was in crisis. I can do talks and presentations as I go (not for people under 15yo, I won't have that much energy spare) so if you know anyone who might be interested in The Happy Walk visiting please send them my contact details http://www.thehappywalk.com/#!__contact and I can let them know when I hope to be in their town or locality.
I have some excellent sponsors and supporting businesses who have helped The Happy Walk with 10% discounts to fully sponsored donations-in-kind and a few waiting in the wings for my current gear to need replacing including
Wilderness Sports http://www.wildernesssports.com.au/
Mont Adventure Equipment http://www.mont.com.au/
Strive Food http://www.strivefood.com.au/
Columbia Australia http://winter.columbia.com.au/
ExplorOz http://www.exploroz.com/
Ocean Guardians http://oceanguardians.com.au/
Bolle Safety Australia http://www.bollesafety.com.au/
Bob Cooper Outback Survival http://www.bobcoopersurvival.com/index.asp
PowerTraveller https://www.powertraveller.com/
Tasty Bite http://www.tastybite.com.au/
Toll Ipec http://www.tollgroup.com/tollipec
Tier Gear http://www.tiergear.com.au/
Sponsorship is a huge help as I am self-funding The Happy Walk.
If you are not already and would like to follow The Happy Walk you have a few options, including some non-facebook ones
Wordpress http://thehappywalk.wordpress.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/TheHappyWalk nb most of my twitter posts are automatically shared from facebook posts but i try to include short ones so you don't need to visit the facebook page to get the full message.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thehappywalk
and a Panoramio account http://www.panoramio.com/user/6910982 where I occasionally post up some photos from the walk and other travels
So, if you see me plodding along the side of the road pushing a bright yellow and blue trekking cart please stop if it is safe and have a chat, I get tired of talking to myself
There are links to everything I have just mentioned and more at my website http://www.thehappywalk.com/
Thank you for all your support and I look forward to meeting more of you on my way around Australia
Take Care
Cheers
Terra
