Trio ready for a quality walk

KATINA CURTIS

YOU may notice more people walking around Shellharbour this week as they gear up to walk from Shellharbour Village to Botany Bay for charity at the end of the month.

So far 61 people have signed up for the 100km walk on May 31, which will raise money for Camp Quality.

Organiser Chris Lovatt said he had chosen the charity because it helped children and, since he ran the Shell Cove preschool, he was interested in the welfare of children.

“We’ve had a lot of enthusiasm for the walk and I’ve had a lot of people ring me in the past couple of weeks,” Mr Lovatt said.

He hopes to get 100 people to do the walk and to raise $25,000.

The walkers will meet near the Ocean Beach Hotel, on Addison Street in Shellharbour Village, at 6.30am for a 7am start on Saturday.

Mr Lovatt said the walk would be divided into sections of between 10km and 32km so people could choose how far they wanted to walk.

“We’ll be walking to Stanwell Park on the first day, which is 50km. People don’t have to do the whole way; if they just want to do 10km they can, and some people are doing it as relays,” he said.

The walking will mostly be done along the highway, with walkers dressed in bright colours, and on the Sunday there will be a section along the fire trails through the Royal National Park from Bundeena.

A vehicle carrying water and first aid supplies will support the walkers.

Kiama resident Richard Austin is part of a team of six staff from the Shellharbour Workers’ Club doing the walk.

“A lot of us involved have lost weight or been on a health kick as you do during the summer period and so when we heard about the walk we thought we’re doing this anyway, why not do it for a good cause?” he said.

“We are just overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve had from companies.”

For more information or to register to join the walk, visit www.campqualitywalkathon.com or phone Chris Lovatt on 0414 335 769.

If you cannot do the walk but want to pledge money, cheques made out to “Camp Quality Limited” can be posted care of Shell Cove Preschool, 32 Southern Cross Boulevarde, Shell Cove, NSW, 2529.