Joash Taufa'ahau is a born leader. A former school captain at Karabar High School, he loves taking on leadership and volunteering roles in his local community.
And now, the 20-year-old Queanbeyan man is preparing for his next adventure hike, having already trekked over 1200km along the NSW coast, then to Queensland and Victoria.
He's already raised almost $7000 of his $10,000 goal for OzHarvest's Hike for Hunger.
Working in hospitality from the age of 14, he saw huge amounts of food being wasted and wanted to see a change.
OzHarvest's Hike for Hunger fit the bill perfectly.
"When I found out that an organisation like OzHarvest is doing something about it, I was like, 'Wow, that's what I want to dedicate my hike to'," he said.
"Being in the industry, you see the amount of food that gets wasted and I come from a place [Solomon Islands] where food is so valued, in a country where food waste isn't even a topic.
"We're all guilty of wasting food - the rich, the poor, the good, the evil. We all eat, we just need to eat enough and not eat too much more than we need."
His second journey will start on June 28 and run until July 11, walking the ACT perimeter. He plans to cover 20-30km each day.
"From what I've been looking at, it's about 350km to go right around, but I've done that probably three times already, so it's not a huge journey compared to what I've done," he said.
In his previous hike, Mr Taufa'ahau restricted himself to carrying only a backpack with a tent, a bible and $20 to spend per day on his adventure.
As preparations begin for his first winter hike, he said: "I'm definitely more cautious about it. I'm going to look over my gear and take warmer clothes this time around."
He said his overall experiences from the last hike challenged his strength and faith, as the biggest hardship was feeling isolated.
"If I could, I would cry. Oh my goodness, that's how lonely I felt. After a long day you're physically just tortured. Everything hurt physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually," he said.
"You shed a bunch of weight but I've definitely put all the kilos that I have lost back on and I haven't stopped eating since I got back."
His breakfast usually consisted of Redbull and Tim Tams.
"I was always downing them and my justification was I'm just going to use all the calories I ate throughout the day anyways," he said.
Mr Taufa'ahau reflected upon the kindness of strangers as he experienced many nights crashing with people he'd just met.
"It was definitely scary but when you're tired, you just want to sleep and when you're in need, 80 per cent of the time, people will help you," he said. "Thank you to everyone who helped me. Without people, I wouldn't have made it as far as I have."
- To find out more about OzHarvest's Hike for Hunger, visit ozharvest.org.
