Stephen Basset and Jake on the road on the Longest Walk.
Stephen Basset and Jake on the road on the Longest Walk.
Wellingtonian Stephen Brassett and the two little dogs that accompanied him every step of the way have finally completed their mammoth walk from one end of the country almost to the other, then another half-lap.
The trip took them a year. Stephen, six-year-old pug-cross Jake and 12-year-old Chihuahua-cross Piccolo calleda camper on bicycle wheels home as they made their way from one SPCA/animal shelter to the next, from Invercargill to Awanui then back to Wellington.
They had been on the road for 10 months, and Stephen had just celebrated his 35th birthday, when they passed through Kaitaia heading for Ahipara and the west coast route south.
They were staying with friends in Kaitaia, but spent most nights tucked up in their tiny mobile home, with cargo including food for 10 days, dog food for 20 days and 11 litres of water.
Stephen Brassett and Jake were heading for home when they passed through Kaitaia in October, but were in no hurry to get there.
It wasn't all plain sailing — at one point a gust of wind blew them over a cliff, a stand of trees saving them from disaster — but all three had enjoyed 'The longest walk New Zealand'.
"It's been a great way to experiment with minimal living," he said last week. His few mod cons included a tiny laundry holder hanging off the back of the camper and a small solar panel on top to charge batteries and his phone.
"Sometimes I struggled with being public all the time. Obviously there's a lot of curiosity that follows me, regardless of how I'm feeling."
The dogs had enjoyed the trip too. Piccolo, who could be shy of strangers, preferred to ride in the camper most of the way, but Jake was more outgoing and liked to meet new people, doing his bit to encourage people to get involved with their local animal welfare organisation.
"Everyone can help. You don't necessarily need to go into the shelter, you don't necessarily need to give money," Stephen said.
Now he was contemplating heading for the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary in Otaki, and living there in a communal setting, to help care for mistreated or unwanted animals, particularly former farm animals.
