Walk1200km is an incentive for the Dowle family to go on adventures.

Jo Dowle says the Walk1200km challenge has been great for her eight-year-old son, Isaac.

“He definitely didn’t like walking but he’s goal-oriented, and with that target he’ll now say, ‘We’ve got to go out for a walk.’”

That’s made family outings less stressful, which is good news for daughter Abby, 10.

“She loves walking and I think she’s just happy to have that time with Mum and Dad,” Jo says.

As well as building fitness, the challenge has helped the Dowle children build resilience.

While they don’t walk to school in Christchurch when it’s pouring, they still go out in all weathers at the weekend to keep their K’s up.

The Dowles started the challenge on the last day of 2021 and have the Whanganui River Journey and Tongariro Alpine Crossing on their progress tracker.

But in March they contracted Covid, and Jo developed long Covid.

The tracker has helped her measure her six-month recovery, from being able to walk just a few hundred metres to a return to tramping.

She and husband Mark had active childhoods and want the same for their children.

“We adore being out in nature,” Jo says. “That’s our happy place.”

As a family, they tried to do a tramp or two a year, but Walk1200km has increased that goal.

“I think it’s been brilliant,” Jo says of the challenge.