Website Walkers For The Love Of It

Dame Susan Devoy and her friend and business colleague, Paula Thompson, both of Tauranga are on a crusade to bring New Zealand women to their feet.

The former world squash champion and Paula have launched WonderWalkers.co.nz, a new website which is the focal point of their campaign to encourage and support women to walk for health and hilarity.

The website aims to link, inform, entertain and encourage would-be walkers and seasoned walkers by providing everything from local and nationwide walking routes and event details to advice and cheeky weekly soap-style installments from a fictional walking group.

“Humour is an essential part of this,” Susan says. “We’re all sick of feeling guilty about exercise.”

“I was raised on serious sport but now I walk for friendship, wellness and good fun.”
Susan says she and fellow website developer, consultant and friend Paula Thompson, are typical of the women they hope to mobilise.

“Paula and I met while working for a Sport BOP but our friendship – and this whole Wonder Walkers concept – developed while we were walking together.

“After a crappy day in the office or a tough day with the kids, we’d get out and walk, striding off our stresses. No cost, no fancy equipment, no drive to the gym and, best of all, we could talk while we walked.”

Whilst Susan and Paula hope the site will provide some fun the site is also about a serious worldwide issue. Many women don’t get enough exercise-for a variety of reasons- and walking has been proven to be the best exercise of all if taken regularly

“We decided there needed to be a simple way to address TRYING TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT WOMEN TO do something good for them –their families and friends and the planet-Walking with nature opens new doors to our world and if done with friends it can be a lot of fun-We thought that if it worked for us, it’d work for Kaitaia mums and Invercargill executives and all women in-between.”Theres a whole world out there just waiting to be explored and savoured by walking.

The concept Wonder Walkers is very much a work in progress and they hope that women will contribute to the site so it can grow to become a one stop shop for Women and Walking.” We really look forward to women’s contributions and suggestions.

Throughout the years women have also walked for causes- which changed the world and we think Women Walking can be an incredibly powerful way of making statements. It is a very empowering thing to do and it’s Free..

“We want to start a healthy epidemic, one step at a time.”