After six and a half months and more than 3000 kilometres of dogged walking, actor Bruce Hopkins has finally made it home - the long way around.
Actor and podcaster Bruce Hopkins reaches Bluff after his 3000-kilometre walk along Te Araroa. Photo: Miriam Beatson
An emotional Hopkins ended his walk of Te Araroa - New Zealand's Trail - this morning, by kissing the signpost at Bluff, the southernmost point of New Zealand and the end of a walk that spanned the length of the country.
Along the way Hopkins has been recording The Long Way Home - a weekly podcast for RNZ about his journey, and many thousands have followed his up-and-down journey through some of the country's remotest places.
"It's been the bloody long way home, but I'm here!" said Hopkins, who received a silver medal from the Te Araroa Trust.
Hopkins, who turned 62 while on the trail, is best known for his role as Gamling in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. He began walking Te Araroa in October last year from Cape Reinga in Northland to raise money for the charity Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and in honour of two very special family members.
He has raised $17,000 for the charity.
Around his neck was a pouch containing the ashes of his father Bill and his brother Doug. His plan was to walk the ashes from Northland, where the three had worked together as crayfishermen, to Rakiura/Stewart Island in the south, where the family are from.
But the trail took a few turns along the way. Hopkins was forced to take time out due to an injury to his shin after a bad fall on Ocean Beach in Northland. Some time later, a diagnosis of bladder cancer meant surgery was required, but Hopkins was back walking less than a fortnight later.
Perhaps the greatest twist in the trail occurred when Hopkins was on a break in Auckland and the pouch containing the ashes went missing, possibly stolen. Despite a large public response, the ashes have still not been found. However, the family was able to give Bruce more ashes and those have made it safely to the end of the road.
Waiting for Hopkins underneath the signpost at Bluff were Te Araroa co-founders Geoff Chapple and Miriam Beatson who called the effort "heroic". The medal given to Bruce was especially minted for him, and presented by Chapple and Beatson earlier today.
"People like Bruce embody Te Araroa's spirit," said Chapple. "In my book, he's a hero."
Hopkins intends to travel on to Rakiuara/Stewart Island in the next few days and place the ashes at the headstone marking his father's burial place.
"Te Araroa has been relentless, brutal but magnificent," said Hopkins. "It's amazing what just putting one foot in front of another can achieve."
* You can listen and subscribe to The Long Way Home on the RNZ podcast page or any podcast app.
