Despite moving “a little slower” than the majority of hikers on the trail due to his extra luggage, the golf caddy now has fewer than 90 days remaining on his trek.
He spoke to the BBC from the town of Havelock – near the top of the South Island – and said the journey was “going by at a very rapid rate”.
“But that finish line is still quite a long way away, so it’s still a long, long endeavour,” he said.
Along the Te Araroa, Dougie said there were volunteers, called Trail Angels, who “open their homes, their gardens, their kitchens to people on the trail and basically let us all stay there”.
“It’s been absolutely amazing and humbling. I’ve known how amazing the country of New Zealand, and its community, is, but it’s gone to another level being on this trail,” he said.
