21 Sep 2008
Day Thirty-five - Templeton to Rolleston
Today the emotions were running high as we all new that the long journey we had all been on was about to come to an end. We had all been waiting for this day but it seemed surreal that it was finally here.
The starting point today was Shell Templeton and the distance of the walk was the shortest yet at only 10km. The finish line was situated at the site of the crash which Louise and the two other women lost their lives.
As we arrived at Shell in Templeton, there were a huge amount of supporters willing to do the final leg with Chris. These people included Shell, KiwiRail, Police, Fire Service and The Rock FM, Jason Gunn, Stephen Fleming, Brendan McCullum, Shane Bond, the Local Government and members of the public. Cairnsy would like to thank all of the people who turned up to show their support.
As we set off for the last 10km the wind was quite strong but spirits were up and Chris finally slowed down the pace to let everyone keep up with him. More supporters joined the walk at the 3km out point and participated in finishing the journey with Chris. Even a couple of horses joined in at the final stages!
As we neared the finish line, the team got a little emotional. The supporters had separated into 2 lines and cheered the team through the middle. We all linked arms together and crossed the line as one. This moment brought a few tears and all the team hugged and thanked each other for everything we had accomplished in the last 5 weeks.
Immediately after the finish, a few words were said by David Jackson, Hon. Harry Duynhoven, Sue Foley and Chris himself who blamed watery eyes on the dust blowing in from the north. The afternoon was capped of by the local Priest performed a prayer and flowers were laid at the crash site.
The team was pretty exhausted after this and needed a rest before the big party that we are having tonight. So we went our separate ways and geared up for a big night ahead. The party is being held to say thank you to our sponsors and supporters!
On behalf of Chris and the Foundation we would like to say thank-you for everybody’s support and generosity towards our cause. This could not have been achieved without all of you.
Cheers everyone!
PJ & SW
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