Steve Wilson and Jean Bonner, both of Dunedin, began their journey around the fourth-longest river in New Zealand on a cold morning on Easter Monday.
Over the following seven days they hiked through "tiger country" and set new limits for how far they could go together.
Mr Wilson said he wanted to hike around the Taieri after returning from Germany six months ago.
He said he had walked around the Tauber River in Franconia during his time abroad and wanted to cover the river he had grown up around.
It did not take a lot of convincing to get his sister, Mrs Bonner, to join him.
"It was such a meaningful adventure," he said.
The siblings grew up on the Taieri Plain and a lot of the walk was nostalgic for them.
He could remember going fishing with his grandparents and had other fond memories.
Mrs Bonner contacted about 25 farmers before the trek and they were all very helpful, Mr Wilson said.
Although he was no stranger to long walks, he was not sure if he could manage the long distances consecutively for seven days, Mr Wilson said.
The hardest sections of the walk were where there was no tracks and going through the Taieri River Gorge.
Surprisingly, Mr Wilson only had two blisters on his left foot and Mrs Bonner only had a few more.
Mr Wilson said he was pleased to have his sister with him during the walk.
"Jean is a remarkably positive person.
"Given the tiger country-ness of it, having someone with you was necessary and not just for your safety but also for your sanity."
There were not always tracks to follow so the duo resorted to using paper maps, a compass and the Taieri itself to get directions.
There was a lot of "bush bashing" involved to find their way through massive tussocks.
"It was exhausting — there was probably a dozen times when I thought about stopping.
"Her shins started swelling; my right knee started getting sore."
Nonetheless, by day 7 the pair were still having a lot of fun despite first questioning if they would be able to make it.
"I think it’s recognising we have perceived limits of our ability ... but now I look back and go ‘jeez we almost did 250km in a week’."
The pair’s families joined them for the end of the journey and their respective children awarded them with medals they made for them at the end of their adventure.
"It felt special," Mr Wilson said.
