Walker leaves Whanganui on Te Araroa trail - with her pet cockatiel

A harnessed Ollie spends a lot of time sitting on Robyn Chappell's shoulder.

Leaving Whanganui to walk 3000km carrying a cockatiel is the adventure of a lifetime for Cambridge woman Robyn Chappell.

Chappell sets out today

carrying a 16kg pack and a disabled cockatiel called Ollie.

While her bed-and-breakfast accommodation business, Huntington Stables Retreat, relies on international visitors and is closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she's seizing the chance to take six months off and walk the 3000km Te Araroa trail.

"I'm nearly 60 and I'm unfit and I haven't had an adventure like this ever. I'm doing it while I still can," she said.

She wants to use a Givealittle page to raise $10,000 as she walks, with the money going straight into the trail's bank account.

Taking the bird is "a blatant attempt" to raise as much money as she can.

It will also be an extra challenge in terms of bulk and the weight of a month's birdseed.

She chose the trail to fundraise for, because she knew there wouldn't be international backpackers here this year making donations, and it doesn't get government funding.

She's already raised $1420, plus paid the $500 expected of every trail walker.

She'd also like to inspire other people to "get off the couch and go and explore".

Ollie sits on the travel pack he will ride in during wild weather on the trail. Photo / Laurel Stowell

"I would like my grandies and their grandies to have a trail like this in the future."

Chappell is starting from Whanganui because the Far North is closed off by Covid and the route south from here is mainly flat, with road walking for the first few days.

She intends to double back and end her journey in Whanganui as well. It's a brilliant choice, she said, because paddling the Whanganui River is part of the trail and it scares her.

"I'm very scared of water. Thinking of paddling that river was really scaring the hell out of me. It will be the last thing I do, when I'm more confident and fit," she said.

Chappell has a bird rescue set-up at her Cambridge property. Usually the birds are garden birds that recuperate and are released.

Ollie the cockatiel came to her as a hatchling 18 months ago, badly injured. He had been attacked by a male cockatiel that took chunks out of his face and neck and tried to tear his leg off.

"He survived, so we are stuck with him now," Chappell said.

Ollie has one weak leg and a twisted body. He can't stand on the leg but uses it to keep himself upright. He can fly, but not strongly.

"He relies on me for everything. I can't leave him behind to sit in a little cage for six months," Chappell said.

If it's raining or windy or the terrain is tough, he will ride in an imported travel pack with mesh so that he can see out. If it's cold he can wear one of the multi-coloured vests crocheted for him.

When the going is easy he will sit on Chappell's shoulder, wearing a harness.

"He loves being on my shoulder. He can sit there all day, and he is well used to being outside. He goes everywhere with me," she said.

Ollie's Facebook page has been getting encouraging messages from another page dedicated to the former Marton ITM cat Rodney, who now lives in Whanganui.

Chappell wants the two to meet, and will also take Ollie to a rest home to "perk up" a follower there.

She promises to keep Ollie's fans updated on his progress, mainly through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071125504595.