Sharyn Smart talks with Brando Yelavich after he completes a 600 day navigation around the wild coastline of NZ.
Making an extreme decision to “clean up” his life changed Brando Yelavich from a troubled youth to inspirational hero.
“Go big or go home. I think that if you are going to do something you might as well give it a 110%. You only do it once, especially if you are walking around NZ. I’m not going to do that again! – he laughs.
The 21-year-old has just returned from his latest adventure at Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand in Anikiwa.
“I had no idea what was going to happen at Outward Bound. So it was just like once again going into the unknown and just living. I wasn’t nervous at all but just excited for an adventure of 21 days in my element.
“I quickly discovered outward bound was completely different to my solo adventure as it was team based. You were forced to be in very close proximity to 14 other people for 21 days. You pretty much can’t escape people. It turns these 14 strangers into family members or friends for life which was absolutely amazing.”