Dee Why’s Darelle Ratcliff and her two daughters recently walked 500 kilometres, from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to West Wyalong, to raise money for Dementia Australia.
After their plans to embark on the mammoth trek were put on hold last year due to Sydney’s lockdown, the local women spent 17 days in May 2022 successfully completing the journey to Darelle’s hometown.
“It was something we talked about back in late 2020 and one of my daughters, Ellie, who was on the walk said, ‘Let’s do something to raise some money. I wonder how long it would take to walk to West Wyalong’.
Darelle Ratcliff and her daughters, Ellie and Tayla, walked 500 kilometres to raise money and awareness for dementia.
After figuring out it was about 500km, the three of them decided to go for it and raise some ‘well needed funds’ for the cause. They walked approximately 30km a day, through all kinds of terrain and weather.
“It was all around the loss that we felt, and we just wanted to do something to raise some money for dementia research,” Darelle explains.
“I’ve lost both of my parents to dementia, my mom died over nine years ago and, sadly, my dad, who was in care and meant to be [waiting for us] on the finish line, passed away about three weeks prior to us starting the walk.”
“It was all around the loss that we felt, and we just wanted to do something to raise some money for dementia research.”
Darelle Ratcliff
Darelle said training for the fundraising event consisted of lots of walks and mobility training.
“It was a variety of personal training and lots and lots of walking,” Darelle laughs.
“Once we started, every step was a step closer, so that was a good motivation.
“We started to get a few blisters, which we weren’t expecting because we thought we were prepared.”
Darrelle says the people she met along the way inspired and motivated her and her daughters to keep going, particularly after seeing how dementia has impacted so many families.
“Coming into Goulburn, we had to cross the Wollondilly River a few times and we met this beautiful man who had to take us across 20 metres of the river that had flooded. He had brought out his four-wheeler and it just so happened that the day we met him he was putting his wife into care for dementia,” Darelle says.
“Things like that kept us going, because the people that we met along the way were incredible.”
Darrelle and her daughters had raised close to $60,000 when Peninsula Living caught up with them in late May, after they returned to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“We were stoked with that.” Darelle says.
Although Darelle says she wouldn’t do the trek again, she said she had the best time with her family.
“We believe one of the preventative measures for dementia is to keep moving. Unfortunately, as people get older, they tend to slow down. Sometimes it’s because their mobility isn’t great, but keep moving, keep active because we think that is best for the mind.”