Brando explained to more than one of those audiences that, for example, fish played an important role in achieving his goal of living off the land. He didn't sit on a rock and wait for something to take his bait though - he harpooned them. Fishing by more traditional means would have meant waiting, and waiting was not his forte.
And when he climbed his final hill, raised his arms and declared 'I'm back!' he looked as fresh as the day he spoke to the Northland Age on January 31 last year, before one final night's sleep in a comfortable bed at great aunt and uncle Anna and Drago Yelavich's home in Kaitaia and the drive to Cape Reinga. The rigours he faced over the ensuing 19 months seemed to have had no physical effect on him whatsoever.
He had two reasons for doing what no one else had ever done, and no one is likely to be in a hurry to do again. Firstly he wanted to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, and has done so very successfully. More importantly, he wanted to do it for himself.
This engaging, candid young man told the children at Paparore School as he neared the end of his marathon that he had been "heading down the wrong road." He had got into "a bit of trouble" with the police, and a lot of trouble with his parents. He didn't like the person he had become, or where his life was going, but, with ADHD and dyslexia, the more obvious solutions were beyond his reach. University was never going to be for him, so he set out to "re-invent" himself, and so open doors that he hoped would give him a future.
Therein lies the legacy this young man has gifted to others who may be in need of inspiration and a vision. In 19 months he has compiled a remarkable CV, a history that goes far beyond expressing the hopes and promises that many young people make but which must largely be taken on faith. He has proved that he has qualities that stand him apart. He has proved that he has vision, courage, determination, a degree of self-understanding that few of his age, any age, could hope to emulate, and that he is capable of creating opportunities that would otherwise not present themselves.
The challenges facing Brando Yelavich were much more daunting than those that will ever be encountered by most. And many with less inner strength than he has to draw upon might well have capitulated to two conditions that are seen as even more debilitating in this day and age than in the past. He is not alone in staring down dyslexia - many people have overcome that affliction with sheer determination and the development of other skills to establish themselves in all manner of careers - but the example he has set is unique, and all the evidence anyone will ever need that each of us has within us what is needed to succeed.
His achievement, and more impressively his attitude to life and his determination not to concede to the potentially negative cards he has been dealt, should inspire those who tend to see themselves as victims of fate. Too many people these days seem to concede defeat without even putting up a fight. Too many people complain that the odds are stacked against them, that they have been denied the things that would pave their way to success and prosperity, that life's all a bit too hard. This young man was entitled, more than most, to give up, although many people will not have the strength of character he has, or perhaps the family support that he clearly enjoys. And has earned.
As we are all so often the authors of our own misfortune, however, so too are we ultimately responsible for making our own way in life. No one can do that for us. Luck might play a role in life, but it is a small role. Good things come not only to those who wait but also to those who reach for them, who make good use of the talents and qualities they have. And every one of us has talents and qualities that we can draw on and polish. Every one of us can challenge ourselves.
This might have become a world where academic success is king, where almost every field of human endeavour seems to require a piece of paper to gain admission. We now know, if we didn't before, that that need not be so. However each of us begins our life, every last one of us is limited only by our imaginations, our ability to dream and our determination to achieve those dreams.
Brando has spoken of hoping to have the opportunity to front a nature programme of some sort on television, and it would be surprising if some of those who could make that dream come true are not already looking at opening the doors he has knocked upon so loudly. If he can continue to inspire others to set and pursue lofty goals then so much the better.
Whatever happens, there can be no doubt that this young man is destined to achieve great things. We have not heard the last of Brando Yelavich.
