WHILE most people are getting into their cars and heading off on holiday, Polly Letofsky is walking the length of New Zealand to raise awareness of breast cancer worldwide.
The 37-year-old American lost a close friend to breast cancer, and decided to do something worthwhile, both as a tribute to her friend and to bring the issue of breast cancer to the attention of the world.
Her walk began in August last year in Vail, Colorado, from where she headed west to Los Angeles. She then flew to Auckland for the New Zealand leg, which began at Cape Reinga on November 8.
She walks at a steady pace, covering an average of 28k in a day.
"It's a lot different walking here, and not just because you walk on the other side of the road," she said.
"In America, the businesses along the way all got involved and put us up, whereas the public tended not to. Down here, the people have all been great, putting us up and feeding us. But the businesses haven't gotten very involved."
She was recording details of her trip in the form of a daily journal on a website, which was proving very popular.
"We're getting about 7000 hits a week on the site, which is great. The website has also become a resource for newly-diagnosed breast cancer sufferers."
Always an endurance athlete, Ms Letofsky has not been troubled by injury along the way.
"On the first leg in the States, I suffered from terrible blisters, but I haven't had a single one since arriving in New Zealand."
She has had some experience of New Zealand before, having worked in Auckland for four years in the domestic travel industry.
On Thursday, her walk took her from Marton to Sanson where she planned to take a two-day break for the millennium celebrations.
Walking hasn't been a lonely experience for her, as partners have accompanied her on many of her days on the road.
During her walk to Sanson, she was accompanied by Palmerston North breast cancer survivor Lorraine Green.
She said they didn't do much fundraising on the roadside.
Instead, they encouraged people to log on to the website of the World Walk Foundation or the local breast cancer organisations.
When the Now Zealand leg finishes in Bluff on February 20, she will fly to Melbourne to walk around the southern and eastern coasts to Cape York in the North.
For more information on Polly Letofsky's walk around the world or breast cancer issues, log on to: www.globalwalk.org, or www.breast.co.nz.
