Kiama’s Alexander Bezzina, 26, is attempting to run the entire length of New Zealand to raise money for New Zealand’s birds.

He says he’s “Just a Hobbit running across Middle Earth to save Aotearoa’s birds” - just a hobbit, because he’s a massive Lord of the Rings fan, he’s running across ‘Middle Earth’ and a friend once told him he looked all hairy like a hobbit.

But while no one ever assumes anything of a little hobbit, they somehow always end up the heroes.

This ‘losthobbit1’ [his Instagram name] aims to raise $30,000 for the NZ wildlife charity Forest and Bird.

In eight weeks of running since February 1, Alex has raised nearly $15,000. At last count, on Day 46, he was close to Auckland having covered 2,175km with just 825km to go. The going is wet and muddy and mentally tough.

Mum, Sue Bezzina, says the family are utterly in awe of his determination to run the 3,000km Te Araroa Trail and his commitment to raise awareness of the plight of NZ birds.

His dad Andrew, a doctor at Wollongong Hospital, is his support team, packing him lunch, stocking his snacks, washing his clothes and being there at the end of the day with some pasta (the Samwise to Alex’s Frodo).

“When I’m really struggling, he’ll usually walk a km or two with me. He’s incredible and I’m so lucky to have him with me,” says Alex.

Alex’s mission (which he has chosen to accept) is to:

1. Run the length of Aotearoa (NZ), run across Middle Earth (NZ) and climb Mount Doom (Ruapehu) for a total of around 3000km;

2. Complete the fastest Northbound crossing of the Te Araroa trail (from Invercargill Bluff to Cape Reinga) in under 60 days averaging 50km a day;

3. Raise $30,000 for Aotearoa Wildlife by raising $10 for every km for Forest and Bird while promoting awareness for threatened wildlife.

An environmental scientist who now lives in Brisbane, Alex did his Masters research on a sub-species of the Kiwi.

He says NZ is regarded as the seabird capital of the world. But sadly, it has the 5th highest proportion of globally threatened bird species in the world (29% threatened with extinction) with 20 of the confirmed 187 bird extinctions since 1500 occurring there.

“Before any more of these quirky birds go the way of the Moa, we need to act. Not just for NZ species, but for all birds we see in our backyards,” says Alex.

“NZ birds are unique creatures but unfortunately they can’t deal with invasive predators like cats, rats, ferrets and stoats. I especially love the critically-endangered Kakapo which is a flightless, ground-loving parrot.”

He chose to support Forest and Bird because it is NZ’s leading independent conservation organisation and a partner with Birdlife International.

Find out more and donate here.