Matty Hunter will set off on an epic adventure on Tuesday, December 12 to raise awareness for the plight of our endangered species.
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His mission will be to navigate the entire length of Australia’s longest river, the Murray, by foot and then by canoe.
A total of over 2500 kilometres across 83 days, averaging 35 kilometres per day.
Originally from Adelaide, Mr Hunter has been volunteering at the Secret Creek Sanctuary in Lithgow every day for the past three months.
He will be raising funds for the Australian Ecosystems Foundation, an organisation co-founded by Lithgow’s Trevor Evans.
Mr Evans also created Secret Creek back in 1996, which is now home to several of Australia’s endangered species including Tasmanian Devils and Eastern Quolls.
Mr Hunter said he had wanted to travel the full length of the Murray for many years after growing up beside the waterway in Meningie in South Australia.
However he struggled to pair the river journey with a worthy cause to support.
“After meeting Trev and falling in love with the sanctuary, we met and three months later this (MATES) was born,” Mr Hunter said.
He said he would love to raise enough money to build an “interactive information centre explaining and educating how we can look after our special, unique animals.”
Mr Hunter’s journey has been titled the Murray Adventure Trip for Endangered Species or MATES for short.
He will taken by helicopter to where the Murray trickles out of the ground near Cowombat Flat and finish in March at Goolwa, South Australia.
The river trip will encompass several days of hiking, white water rafting, canoeing and then 65 days in a special vessel built specifically for the MATES journey.
The design for the rig, named Mr Percival, is the brainchild of Mr Evans.
The innovative concept of a boat propelled by paddles and pedal power has already captured the interest of a few boating companies.
Have a look at Mr Percival in action in the video below.
Hunter will be posting regular updates of his journey online which you can follow on the Murray Adventure Trip for Endangered Species Facebook page.
For more information or to donate visit give.everydayhero.com/au/m-a-t-e-s.
