Comedian Rhian Wood-Hill trekking to Rotorua as part of 500 Mile Walking Tour fundraiser

Comedian Rhian Wood-Hill is supporting Lifeline Aotearoa by walking to each of his New Zealand shows on the '500 Mile Walking Tour of How I Met My Father'. Photo / Supplied

The Rotorua public is being asked to support a worthwhile cause while enjoying a show which will be full of laughs.

Award-winning comedian Rhian Wood-Hill is supporting Lifeline Aotearoa by walking to each of his New Zealand shows on his 500 Mile Walking Tour of How I Met My Father, ending his trek at The Proclaimers' Auckland concert in May.

His tour and trek will bring him to Rotorua for his show tomorrow, 8pm to 10pm at the Rotorua Little Theatre.

Wood-Hill is donating 50 per cent of ticket sales from his shows on the tour to Lifeline Aotearoa, as well as raising funds through a givealittle page.

He will not be taking the easy route as he walks to each of his four shows across the North Island.

Starting in Raumati Beach, he is walking to Whanganui, through to Napier, Rotorua and will end his walk in Auckland.

Wood-Hill's motivation for supporting Lifeline Aotearoa comes from his own experience with loss.

Supporting Lifeline Aotearoa is a tribute to his sister, who partly lived with Rhian's father growing up and took her own life before Rhian was able meet her.

Wood-Hill also remembers that at the age of 18 there had already been three boys around his age who had died, one of whom had been a childhood friend - "it rocked my community".

Lifeline receives more than 10,000 calls per month and helps an average of eight people a day at high risk of suicide.

With no government funding for this service, Lifeline relies on donations. It costs an average of $25 to respond to each call.

Wood-Hills' 500 Mile Walking Tour is a creative take on The Proclaimers song I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

How I met My Father is an autobiographical comedy which follows Rhian's experiences of meeting his father at 21.

When the Rotorua Daily Post caught up with Wood-Hill, he was in Hastings having a rest day.

He said the trek had currently been both painful and brilliant, and it was an experience.

Wood-Hill said an example of pros and cons so far was that one day he was walking the Manuwatu Gorge, which was beautiful and cool, but he did about 45 minutes of the walk in the dark and did not have a torch.

He said Lifeline Aotearoa was a worthwhile and great cause for people to get behind - "They do amazing things for the public".

He was looking forward to the show in Rotorua and said he loved the people here.

"I'm hoping to get to one of your hot pools and soak my muscles.

Tickets are available at www.eventfinda.co.nz or you can donate at givealittle.co.nz.

Where to get help
- If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call 111.
- If you need to talk to someone, the following free helplines operate 24/7: DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757; LIFELINE: 0800 543 354; NEED TO TALK? Call or text 1737; SAMARITANS: 0800 726 666; YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633 or text 234.