Mother Gloria Eklund and daughter Carley Jane at Great wall went on a conquest along the Great Wall of China. Photo/supplied
Mother Gloria Eklund and daughter Carley Jane at Great wall went on a conquest along the Great Wall of China. Photo/supplied
Waihi resident Gloria Eklund recently embarked on a10-day adventure.
Gloria trekked the Great Wall of China with her 24-year-old daughter Carley to raise funds and awareness for New Zealand breast cancer research.
The mother-daughter duo was part of the 18 New Zealanders and one Australian to qualify for the2015 Pink Ribbon Trek last September.
On their arrival to Beijing, the group made up of survivors and supporters, had little rest before being immersed into Chinese culture as they went "straight to the Great Wall" on day 4.
From there started a challenging journey in mist covered mountains, into local villages, cross rolling farmland and through dense forest along the snaking 42km portion of the Great Wall.
"We walked an average of 6 hours a day, we just kept going and completed the walk in five days," Gloria said. "Every day was a huge effort to climb those steep and crumbling stairs."
Along the way, they met other trampers who encouraged them to keep going. "'Good on you,' they said." The women also proved to be popular and were photographed by tourists.
Between mother and daughter they managed to raise $7000 for the NZ Breast cancer foundation.
An emotional journey This adventure was planned well in advance.
"My daughter heard about the Pink Ribbon walk last year and launched the idea that we do it together. We had one year to get prepared to fundraise our trip and keep fit."
Since then, Gloria has been training around the pit rim walk and organised fundraising events to make this dream come true.
"To me, it was all about walking the Great Wall and sharing this adventure with my daughter," she said.
Gloria's ambition was also to raise awareness about breast cancer as she was affected by the disease at one stage of her life.
Last week, members of the Bosom Buddies fundraised for the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal in Waihi. Photo/Melanie Camoin
Since her recovery, she joined the foundation and is president of the local group, the Bosom Buddies who provide support to cancer survivors and their relatives.
The last day of their journey in China hit a milestone as Gloria celebrated her 60th birthday.
On their way back to New Zealand, mother and daughter wrote a poem about their experience, one part says:
"We walked the wall for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, eight women diagnosed each day was our motivation. The most important thing about this trip, is that females in New Zealand get some tips. Early detection is the key, we walked the Wall for you and me."
Last week, members of the Bosom Buddies fundraised for the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal in Waihi.
