In September 2017 Fr Jim Carty (78) walked an incredible 740 Km on the first ‘Walk for Wilai’ to raise money for the Wilai Foundation Ltd, on the Camino in France. This outstanding effort by Fr Jim has inspired us to launch the Walk for Wilai 2020, journeying on the Australian Camino.
If you have ever wanted to walk the Camino in Spain or France and it has always seemed out of reach – now you have the opportunity to be part of a wonderful community of people from varying faith backgrounds and walk the Camino on Australian soil, close to home!
The Walk for Wilai will follow the Australian Camino, from Portland, VIC, to Penola, SA. These two towns connect two significant places in the life of Saint Mary MacKillop, our Australian Saint. The first few days will include clifftop and beach walks, as we follow the coastline from Portland to Port MacDonnell, then inland and north to Penola via Mt Gambier. The Walk for Wilai will measure over 200 km, averaging a daily walk of 20 km.
Your pilgrimage will be a time of physical challenge and personal growth, community, bonding and sharing and with each step, you will also be assisting Wilai and our sponsored girls with a future that offers hope, love, care and a place they can call home.
| Date | Itinerary | |
Thursday 23 Sep |
BUS | From Geelong to Portland |
| STAY | Portland Bay Lodge, Portland (1/2) | |
Friday 24 Sep |
BUS | Portland Bay Lodge to Portland Information Centre |
| WALK | Portland Information Centre to Cape Nelson Lighthouse | |
| BUS | Cape Nelson Lighthouse to Portland Bay Lodge | |
| STAY | Portland Bay Lodge (2/2) | |
Saturday 25 Sep |
BUS | Portland Bay Lodge to Cape Nelson Lighthouse |
| WALK | Cape Nelson Lighthouse to Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp | |
| STAY | Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp (1/2) | |
Sunday 26 Sep |
WALK | Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp to Bridgewater Lakes |
| BUS | Bridgewater Lakes to Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp | |
| STAY | Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp (2/2) | |
Monday 27 Sep |
BUS | To Lake Mombeong |
| WALK | Lake Mombeong to Nelson | |
| STAY | Casuarina Cabins (Nelson) (1/2) | |
Tuesday 28 Sep |
WALK | Casuarina Cabins (Nelson) to Port Macdonnell |
| BUS | Port Macdonnell to Casuarina Cabins | |
| STAY | Casuarina Cabins (Nelson) (2/2) | |
Wednes 29 Sep |
BUS | To Port Macdonnell |
| WALK | Port Macdonnell to Old Mount Gambier Gaol | |
| STAY | The Old Mt Gambier Gaol (1/4) | |
Thursday 30 Sep |
WALK | Old Mt Gambier Gaol to Tarpeena |
| BUS | Tarpeena to Old Mount Gambier Gaol | |
| STAY | The Old Mt Gambier Gaol (2/4) | |
Friday 1 Oct |
BUS | The Old Mt Gambier Gaol to Tarpeena |
| WALK | Tarpeena to Penola | |
| BUS | Penola to Coonawarra | |
| STAY | The Old Mt Gambier Gaol (3/4) | |
Saturday 2 Oct |
CELEBRATE | Rest and debrief |
| VISIT | Mary Mackillop Centre, Penola | |
| STAY | The Old Mt Gambier Gaol (4/4) | |
Sunday 3 Oct |
BUS | Mount Gambier to Geelong |
Alternate Ways to Participate
There are a range of options for involvement that don’t involve
Registering as a Pilgrim and walking the 200+ km!
Here’s how:
Enter as a team and alternate walkers (either throughout the day, or day-about).
{Limited places exist for teams. Talk to us about how this could work for you!}Volunteer… You can find further information here.
Be part of it by offering your support through encouragement, sponsorship and donations for each pilgrim. Each pilgrim will carry the name of their sponsors with them on the pilgrimage. So you will be a valued part of the event. [See our sponsorship page for more details].
How will the money raised be used?
All funds raised by the Walk for Wilai will directly benefit Wilai and other girls who are orphaned and stateless and sponsored by the Wilai Foundation. While most registered charities of this nature focus on taking care of the village, we at the Wilai Foundation are taking a different approach: we seek to be the village for Wilai and other stateless, orphaned girls in Thailand and Myanmar. The provision of support to such girls is our principal purpose.
Such support includes assisting them to enjoy fully their human rights including the right to an identity, education, health, an adequate standard of living, family life and freedom of movement, as well as financial and emotional support until they are of the age of independence and enjoying quality of life. As we work to achieve our primary purpose, funds will also go towards fulfilling all objects of the Wilai Foundation: acting as advocates for stateless, orphaned girls who, unlike refugees and internally displaced people, generally do not benefit from the protection and assistance of governments, aid agencies and the UN, despite the latter’s mandate over stateless persons.
