Whenua, whakapapa, whanau. In a new podcast series available from 16 October, Bruce Hopkins walks Te Araroa to take his father and brother's ashes back home to Stewart Island.

Bruce Hopkins wants to take the ashes of his dad and brother home to Rakiura/Stewart Island. He's just taking the long way to get there. The long, long way.

The Long Way Home is a unique RNZ podcast in which Bruce tells the story of walking Te Araroa - New Zealand's Trail, from Cape Reinga at the top of New Zealand to Rakiura/Stewart Island at the very bottom. Every week for five months, as he carries the ashes south, listeners will travel with him as he bashes his way through the bush, pushes his endurance to new limits and meets a raft of Kiwi characters.

Part adventure story, part memoir, part travelogue, The Long Way Home will allow you to be with Bruce in almost real-time.

The Long Way Home - whenua, whakapapa, whanau.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details