Tomorrow, the John McGlashan College duo will arrive in Milford Sound and start walking, running and cycling 485km through inhospitable icy valleys, over snowy mountain passes and around obstacles like lakes, to Shag Point (north of Palmerston) - all in the middle of winter.
"It's definitely going to be cold,'' Cameron said.
"A lot of people have asked us if we're a little bit crazy. Maybe it seems like an insane thing to do, especially during winter, but we don't think it is.''
The 17-year-olds have done a lot of trekking in recent years, including walking the Motatapu multi-sport event and finishing a marathon trek through Nepal earlier this year.
"This is really just another step up from what we've been doing,'' he said.
They hoped their mammoth journey would earn them a coveted McGlashan Challenge award as well as raise funds to support the St John service.
St John is getting a new mobile command unit which will be based in Dunedin and used for co-ordinating responses to major emergency events throughout the lower South Island.
Cameron said the organisation needed extra funding to equip and operate the unit, and he hoped the funds they raised would help.
"They are the specialists who respond to emergencies and save lives in our community every day. They are easy to take for granted but they don't get enough Government funding to operate. They need community funding and we want to help.''
Jack said they aimed to walk, run or bike an average of 34km per day.
They will camp in a tent for a couple of nights when they are away from civilisation, but for most of the trip they will sleep in Doc huts and a campervan.
While Jack joked his main goal was "just to survive'' the mosquitoes and the trek itself, Cameron said they would be well supported by experienced trampers, who would be doing the trek with them.
The non-stop journey was expected to take about two weeks, he said.
"Once we get going, there are definitely going to be things motivating us to finish - the comforts of home, a hot shower, warm dry clothes, a soft bed and I'll certainly be looking forward to using my mobile phone again.''
The route
