Lachlan McKenzie says Walk1200km helps him find new tracks to walk.

A life-threatening tramping accident has not soured Lachlan McKenzie from the great outdoors. It has strengthened his resolve to keep active and not take his legs for granted.

Despite slipping 50m while descending Mt Ngauruhoe in December 2000, Lachlan is into outdoor pursuits in a big way.

“I’ve been quite lucky to get back to tramping,” he says. “I very narrowly escaped paralysis.”

Following the accident, in which vertebrae in his neck were broken, Lachlan needed help to get moving again, but he returned to tramping just over a year later, taking on the Hump Ridge Track.

“That was pretty satisfying, even though those days were long.”

Lachlan says Walk1200km has motivated him to hunt out tracks he hasn’t done before and return to others he has enjoyed.

The 41-year-old didn’t come from an outdoorsy family and says he wasn’t that active as a child, but he has made a habit of tramping since turning 30.

Experienced outdoor friends have helped him, but Lachlan says taking a guided walk or joining a tramping club would be good options for people new to tramping.

With Walk1200km, he is interested to see how far he can walk in a year. In three months, he has covered 320km.

“It’s so nice to see so many people come together over a common interest,” Lachlan says of the challenge.

Join Lachlan in walking 1200km in 12 months. Register here.