2025 Coast to Coast Challenge

Join this gutsy adventure to help increase survival rates, life expectancy, and quality of life for gut cancer patients.

Following the fully booked 2023 Coast to Coast Challenge, we are repeating the challenge in 2025! This unique multi-sport fundraising challenge will take place from the 9th to 14th March 2025. Led by the team from World Expeditions and their experienced guides, you will cycle, hike and raft the route of the iconic Coast to Coast event but not at race pace!

This epic 6 day journey takes you coast to coast from the Tasman Sea on the west, over the Southern Alps to the shores of the Pacific Ocean on the east. The journey starts with a warm up, exploring the West Coast Wilderness cycle trails, before embarking on the epic Coast to Coast. The experienced guides will lead the way over the iconic Goat Pass and down the Waimakariri River Gorge. Join us on this classic Kiwi challenge and tick off this bucket-list adventure whilst raising funds to support Kiwis with gut cancers! For the full itinerary, costs and inclusions click here.

Places are limited on this unique adventure, so head to the World Expeditions website and book now here!

Once you have registered for the Coast to Coast Challenge, we will forward you a link to setup your own online fundraising page which you can share with family and friends to support you with donations. We ask everyone taking part to raise a minimum of $2,000 and with the regular fundraising support and tips along the way, you should exceed the goal. All money raised will directly fund access to international clinical trials for New Zealanders, giving Kiwis in need access to new and unfunded treatments right now.

If you have any questions, please email abi@gutcancer.org.nz or call 0800 112 775.

Your Team Leader: Dr Ben Lawrence

We are thrilled to announce that Dr Ben Lawrence will be leading the Coast to Coast Challenge.

Ben is a leading Medical Oncologist and researcher and specializes in caring for patients with gastrointestinal cancers and neuroendocrine tumours, cancer molecular profiling and cancer genomics.

Ben is also heavily involved with research and is the Head of Oncology and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. He is an active member of the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group (AGITG) where he sits on their New Zealand Committee and recently acted as Co-Convenor for the Annual Scientific Meeting in Ōtautahi, Christchurch.

Coast to Coast Challenge 2023

This unique multi-sport fundraising challenge took place in March 2023. A group of 14 participants led by the team from World Expeditions and their experienced guides, cycled, hiked and rafted 248kms along the route of the iconic Coast to Coast event but not at race pace!

The group completed this epic 6 day journey safely and raised over $55,000 to support Kiwis with gut cancers. This was a record amount raised for the Gut Cancer Foundation for our annual gutsy adventure. Huge thanks to the team!

Hump Ridge Track & Stewart Island Trek 2022

This gutsy adventure took place in March 2022 led by Gut Cancer Foundation board member Anna St George. The group of 11 took on a spectacular journey along remote beaches, through bush and sub-alpine scenery on the Hump Ridge Track and finished off with the wildlife-rich natural beauty of Stewart Island covering a distance of 85km. Over $27,000 was raised to help researchers find better ways to detect, diagnose and treat gut cancers. Big thanks to the team for their fantastic fundraising efforts!

Plains to Peaks Trek 2021

This gutsy adventure took place in March 2021 led by founding Gut Cancer Foundation board member Prof. Mike Findlay. The group of 14 took on a spectacular journey from the Canterbury Plains to the Peaks of the Canterbury Alps over a week of trekking covering 70km. They raised an incredible $43,000 to help improve survival rates, quality of life and outcomes for New Zealanders affected by gut cancers. Huge thanks to the team for their fantastic fundraising efforts!

Southern Alps Trek 2019

In November 2019 our Gutsy team took on the challenge of trekking across New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Walking 70km of the secluded ridges of New Zealand’s mountain range, the team trekked up to 18km a day to complete their challenge.

The team matched their physical feats with an astonishing fundraising effort, raising $35,000 to fund clinical trials, giving New Zealanders access to new treatments faster.

3 of the team discusses their motivation for taking part in the video below: