Kurt Herzog prepares to hike 223km for remote pools

A Bachie sweetheart is raising much-needed funds for the Territory. Find out who.

FROM the Olympics to The Bachelorette, Kurt Herzog has dipped his toes into many areas.

But now he has set his sights on raising funds for the Territory’s remote swimming pools, which will take him across the Larapinta Trail. He plans to hike the 223km in about 60 hours in early May and will donate the money to the Remote Pools Project.

“I am a bit nervous, to be honest,” he said, adding in his first weeks of training he developed “gnarly” blisters.

Hertzog said for Indigenous communities swimming pools were more than a place of recreation, helping to reduce rates of infectious disease, chronic disease and drowning while also offering local employment.

Kids in from Utju at their local swimming pool which is Kurt Herzog works at. Picture: Supplied

“Studies show people drown in the Territory at higher rates, but pools also help reduce things like skin sores which can lead to rheumatic heart disease,” Herzog said. “I’ve seen kids (in Utju) swimming for four to six hours a day. The things that does for not just their physical health but mental health can’t really be quantified.” According to the 2021 Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report, the NT had the highest drowning rate at 2.03 per 100,000 population.

Public swimming pools in the NT are mostly subject to council funding.