Southland Sport
Just four weeks ago Shannon Goldsmith was undertaking a trek to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. This weekend he will be competing in the at Sandy Point on the outskirts of Invercargill.
It is quite a transition and former Southlander Goldsmith says the best thing is that rather than struggling to even take the next step at altitudes of up to 5,500 metres, he will be competing at the comparative ease of sea level with a group of mates, all who have connections to the south.
As you can probably guess Goldsmith is an active rester and after marking his 40th birthday with the trip to the base camp he will follow up that adventure by competing in a race dreamed up by a mate, Nick Hamlin. Hamlin is the Arrow International Southern General Manager and Goldsmith, Managing Director of property consultancy company Korimiti Consultancy in Christchurch. They have worked together on a couple of projects and formed a good personal and professional relationship aided by the fact they share a southern connection and have an affinity for the outdoors. Therefore it was a natural progression for Goldsmith to end up competing in the Arrow 6+6 Adventure Race.
Goldsmith has not competed in a lot of multisport, “there is just not enough time to train. I have tended to focus on individual pursuits such as mountain biking and running, that said I do enjoy the team aspect of multisport events.
” For this weekend’s race he has compiled a team all with southern connections. “The Southern Shellfish are comprised of Nathan Hay, son of an Invercargill Blues Galbraith Shield winning rugby player, Kelly Hutton, sister of former Southern Steel netballer Megan Hutton, and Andrew Rowden, a native of Mataura.
Goldsmith is originally from Invercargill, educated at South Primary School, Tweedsmuir Intermediate and Southland Boys High School. Being from the south he enjoyed the ease of access to the outdoors with mountain biking, rugby and rowing (he rowed for the Waihopai Rowing Club) particularly popular. He took an early OE, playing rugby in Leicestershire, England before returning home to attend the University Of Otago at the age of 20. After graduating he took up a Ngai Tahu Property Scholarship at Lincoln University as he has a Ngai Tahu whakapapa. While in Canterbury he continued to mountain bike and play rugby. After his studies were complete he went to Perth to play rugby until Ngai Tahu, who had by then expanded its property portfolio, inquired as to how soon would he be home?
That was 2004 and apart from a season playing and coaching rugby in Ireland in 2006/2007 he has been working and living in Christchurch ever since, recently rounding out his studies with an MBA from the University Of Canterbury.
Goldsmith is also a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation which has permitted him to travel to Asia on several occasions. He has always held a strong respect for Sir Edmund Hillary following his achievements in 1953 and with Goldsmith having more recently travelled the well-worn path between Christchurch and Invercargill many times to celebrate mates 40th birthdays he decided to celebrate his own by doing something different. His celebrations were inspired by watching Anton Oliver’s journey to Nepal which featured on the television series Intrepid Journeys. Ironically Goldsmith ended up with the same guide that had accompanied Oliver during Anton’s trek to the Annapurna Base Camp. “It was a tough mental and physical challenge. We covered 150km on foot which saw us climb and acclimatise over eight days followed by a five day descent.” Despite the physical challenge one of Goldsmith’s most lasting memories was the culture shock of experiencing just how much of an impoverished country Nepal is. “That said, once you start climbing in the Himalayas, with just yourself and the elements, the problems of the world seem a million miles away. It was a fantastic experience.”