Caddy faces 'hardest weeks' on New Zealand trek

A caddy hauling two sets of golf clubs the length of New Zealand has described completing the hardest month of the challenge so far.

Dougie Haynes, originally from Oxford, now has fewer than 60 days left on his 3,000km (1,900-mile) trek, which he began in October to raise money for charity.

The 31-year-old has spent the past four weeks travelling from Havelock, near the top of the South Island, to Christchurch, in a section he said was "infamous" for being the most difficult part of the walk.

"The last three back-to-back sections are known for being the hardest, but with that comes the spectacular scenery and beauty," said Dougie, who caddies at two of Aotearoa's most prestigious golf courses.

"We've gone through probably the hardest four weeks of the trail and made it out the other side."

However, he said the latest of stretch of his trek had also provided "spectacular scenery and beauty".

"I felt like I was in a Microsoft screensaver - there were waterfalls, there were mountains, there was snow, there was rainforest."

Dougie is following the Te Araroa Trail, which begins at the northernmost tip of the North Island, Cape Reinga, to Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island.

He said the past four weeks of his journey had been "pretty arduous", having started with traversing the rugged and mountainous Richmond Range and summiting Mount Rintoul, which he said left him with "some very, very sore knees".

There was "no let up" in the trek's difficulty, he said, as he then faced the Waiau Pass, "which for us guys on the trail is known as the hardest one day section".

"You do a very steep ascent up some scree and come down the other side. It's basically pretty close to rock climbing," he said.

"The golf bags had a bit of a clunky descent," he said of his cargo, which weigh up to 15kg (33lbs) each.

Dougie said his mum, who lives in Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire, was "probably having kittens when I tell her some of the things we're doing".

"But luckily when you're in some of these remote places you don't get signal for a week - so I tell her oh if you don't hear from me for 10 days then you can start worrying," he said.

Having spent a week recuperating with friends in Christchurch, Dougie is now preparing to tackle the highest section of the trail, which will see him pass New Zealand's tallest peak, Mount Cook, before heading south to complete his six month adventure.

He has taken on the challenge in the hope of raising NZ$50,000 (£22,000) for two charities close to his heart: a New Zealand-based organisation called Kids Can and the UK mental health charity Mind.

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