Travelling by jetski from Sydney Harbour to Yamba is no easy feat, but for 268 people on 115 jetskis it is all for a great cause.
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The Yamaha Variety Jet Trek is a fundraising event held each year to raise funds for local kids in need and CEO Steve Wakerly said this year’s trek will be the best yet.
“The trek is about helping sick, disabled and disadvantaged kids and providing them with equipment, scholarships or experiences they may never possible,” Mr Wakerly said.
“When we stop overnight in towns we gift families with a range of items that will assist them and make their life easier.
“From wheelchairs and walking frames to electronics and scholarships there is no end to what we have do to help people.
“It is also great for our trekkers to be able to see first hand where our donations go.”
Now it its 20th year, the six day trek, Mr Wakerly said is the only one of its kind in Australia.
“We have been doing the Jet Trek for 20 years, along different coastlines across Australia and it is fantastic that a lot of our riders come back year after year,” he said.
“We have people who have done the ride every year for 20 years and others who have been participating for 10, or five years.
“So we really become a family during the trek and we all look forward to coming together each year to spread the joy.”
Each day the trekkers travel over 100kms on the open seas only coming into land at the end of the day, but he said that it is an action packed adventure.
“The Yamaha Variety Jet Trek is an adrenaline packed adventure, that sees riders travel some of the most picturesque sections of the Australian coastline, which is definitely a draw card.”
The trekkers will arrive in Port Macquarie on Wednesday, March 21 and will stay overnight to launch a new program called ‘Sea of Smiles’ aimed at helping students in towns they visit.
“We are launching a pilot program which will take students with special needs out on the jetskis in an experience like no other.
“In Port Macquarie we will be launching a new program ‘Sea of Smiles’ which will see some of our trekkers, take a group of students from Hastings Secondary College, Westport Campus, for an on-water ride in the Hastings river.
“This will be the first time we do something like this but we are really excited and hope to replicate the program on other treks in the future.”
