Lohnet Murray

Lohnet’s calming influence has placed her as the Chairperson of the Trust and she is often the voice of reason when the girls get excited.

Having gotten her first pony at the age of 5, horses have always held an important place in Lonnie’s life. Together, her and Rob have owned and operated Ahipara Horse Treks since 2006, running a herd of 15 horses and taking customers for beach treks on the renowned 90 Mile Beach all year round.

In 2014, due to the growth of their business Tai Tokerau Honey Ltd, Lonnie retired from primary school teaching in order to be able to dedicate her time to this venture. Now, they operate nearly 5000 hives, specialising in the production Mānuka Honey, employ 20 people and have an extraction and packing facility based in Kaitaia.

Previous experience has seen her serve on the Committee for the Wild Wild West trek events in the Far North, she was on the Herekino Primary School Board of Trustees while her two boys attended there, and was the Staff Rep for Pukepoto Primary School Board of Trustees while she worked as a teacher.

Lonnie participated in 10 stages of the Great NZ Trek, and looked forward to this event every year which inspired her to be part of this new Trek for Life journey.

Selena Anderson

The social butterfly of the Trustees, Selena is our Public Relations manager - you will find her keeping you updated on Social Media, replying to email enquiries and bouncing around to ensure you are enjoying yourself on Trek.

Selena started riding before she could walk. She lives and breathes horses and enjoys sharing her passion by teaching young children both at Pony Club and in private lessons. She runs an Equestrian Training service and manages Ahipara Horse Treks.

Having started the Great NZ Trek when she was 12, she has done the last 12 stages - mostly without a saddle! She enjoyed this so much that she didn’t want to see this journey end and is committed to sharing this experience with others her age in an effort to get more people enjoying this outdoor activity.

Selena has been lucky enough to travel around the world, but still believes that this event is not one to miss and is one of the best ways to explore Aotearoa, socialise with a large group of amazing people from all walks of life, while supporting a great cause.

Twyla MacDonald

The “Miss Efficient” of the group she is the Treasurer of the Trust, and her organisational skills help keep things running smoothly. Her creative talent has come in useful when bringing our logo ideas to life and for the development of the TFL website.

Raised in Ahipara, Twyla originally started working as a guide at Ahipara Horse Treks while she was studying at Auckland University, before moving across in 2012 to support Lonnie and Rob at Tai Tokerau Honey Ltd.

Her hobbies include reading, surfing and horses. In recent years she has developed a passion for Western riding and you can often find her practicing Team Roping and Barrel Racing when she has a minute. She also enjoys starting and training young horses alongside her partner Mikaere (Miki) who you will meet out on the trek route as one of our Horse Marshalls.

Twyla started the Great NZ Trek at the bottom of the North Island and stayed with it through to completion at Bluff and believes that many more people should take advantage of this event and explore the hidden reaches of Aotearoa!

Rob Murray - Route Planner

A self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades and an active business owner of both Tai Tokerau Honey Ltd and Ahipara Horse Treks, Rob has completed all stages of the Great NZ Trek as one of the Tailing Charlies. He has found this week-long event a great way to decompress from the busy summer period, and when it looked like the adventure would finish at the Bluff, he stepped forward to kickstart the Trek for Life.

Rob enjoys being out in the great outdoors, and is enjoying the challenge of finding suitable routes to allow all you trekkers to explore the area while on the Trek.

Tania Lloyd - Secretary, Admin and Services

In 2018 Tania joined the Great NZ Trek as a volunteer and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Since then, she has been working on her riding skills with the aim of participating as a horse rider this time around.

She comes to the Trek for Life with strong administrative and organisational skills, having previously worked at WINZ and been on numerous committees such as her local Marae Committee and the local Playcentre Committee. She has been putting a lot of effort into securing funding and sponsorship for this event.

Brigitte Anderson - Walker Liaison

Welcome to our week of sharing our journey with horse riders, mountain bikers and walkers! My name is Brigitte and I will be your walker liaison for this fun event!
I joined the Great NZ Trek in 2008 together with my then 13 year old daughter Selena, who rode on a horse (most of it bareback) and I walked all the different stages from Port Waikato to Bluff.
I am passionate about the outdoors , love skiing, biking, walking and hiking, bikram yoga and lately a bit of horse riding. I have traveled extensively - mainly backpacking through Europe, Asia and the Americas and specifically enjoyed longer journeys on foot like the Camino through France and Spain, Seoraksan in Korea and Inca Trail in Peru. I love meeting different people and practicing the 4 languages I speak. My next project to hopefully realise is the Shikoku, a 1500km pilgrimage through Japan.
I am looking forward to meet you while walking the Trek for Life!